If you've wet central heating , I'd steer away from elctric UFH and electric only towel rad, To pricey to run
Stick in a small convertor rad to make up for the small towel rad ( or just fit a bigger towel rad , more space to hang your towels) You could put it in a airing cupboard if you had one in the bathroom.
If your floors tiled and you're worried about cold toes, just run the return pipe from the towel rad up and down the joists a bit, works fine when the CH on.
If you really want a heated towel rad for when the CH if off, then fit an electric element to the wet towel rad. run it off a spur with a timer, placed outside the B. room

Posted By: fostertomOverhead radiant heating - one of those shiny flying saucers - works v well in a bathroom.

Yup, we had an overhead infra-red lamp in the bathroom when I was a kid and I loved it.

Sorry to have spent so long reading and not contributing.

How to heat the bathroom needs more explanation as we all respond with our own feelings and prejudices. In our case my wife is a in need of a wheel chair to get about and gain access to the "en suite". So getting the floor dry is important, yes we have a wet room but use a shower curtain to keep some of the water at bay. I used under floor electric and a towel rail to sort out heating. We are on economy 7 and tend to use the timers to make maximum use of that source of "economical" energy. There has been no mold and it is always pleasant to visit the facilities, the pure cost is not the only reasons for choices. Our house uses E7 storage heaters for heating, but even with gas I would be tempted to look at electrical underfloor heating in a wet room because the gas heating may be off all through the summer

yours Mark

Posted By: fostertomOverhead radiant heating - one of those shiny flying saucers - works v well in a bathroom.

My gran had one of these in a London towerblock. Always seemed kind of antiquated but I remember it being comfortable. In our first flat we had an unheated toilet and I fitted a bayonet cap heat bulb in the ceiling fitting. Can't remember whether we took it out in Summer or not. Had forgotten about it completely until just now.

Just completed a review of bathroom heating for a Client building a rather nice lakeside dwelling.

Looked at electric towel rails, wet towel rails plus electric element for summer, underfloor heating plus wet towel rail. Electric was considered as 6.75 kWp of PV is being provided (there is a 3-phase supply available for an 8-person passenger lift). Main heating is via ASHP units.

The economics worked out in favour of wet underfloor plus wet towel rail. The towel rails are on a separate wet circuit with its own pump. The use of 'free' solar electricity in the summer for towel rail heating didn't stack up compared to the wet system fed via ASHP, with a COP of >4.0, which means 75% can be exported and generate income.

For towel radiators, I use curved ones which are more practical. I have 2 curved chrome rails in storage which I bought in B&Q for £69.00 each on offer.

With respect to cheap & stylish radiators, Myson do one with side panels and top grilles which are a fraction dearer than their standard range. For great looks and performance I favour Jaga Strada, but these are definitely in the mid-price designer bracket.

GaryB - thanks for pointing me at Myson and Jaga - how do Myson compare with stock panel radiators from the likes of Srewfix/Wickes etc (Acova I think)?

Posted By: Ed Daviesan advantage of radiant heating would be that ... it would also heat the walls and fittings more than the air

True, but another way is to just switch it (1.5kW?) on when you're in the bathroom and wet, with the room otherwise unheated, or just background air temp, or maybe even 'normal' air temp for house as a whole.

Whatever the low-to-'normal' air temp is, it's not really enough when you're wet. So we
either shiver even when it's 'normal' air temp (esp with ex fan creating air movement),
or else we run the bathroom at extra-high air temp, for wet comfort,
or we don't rely on air temp but instead create enough hi-temp radiation to feel comfortable.
Actually feels bracing, healthy (like the glow after a cold shower!) instead of fuggy.

Radiant heat in the bathroom is the addditional heat source I am coming around to as well. We have a towel rail connected to c.h. which doesn't give us a nice comfy feel in the bathroom, so have been looking around for a better solution.
Can anyone suggest a good model ?

UFH is nice to stand on in bare feet, and dries up the water splashed on floor quick ly

My mistake was to lay out the UFH just too far from the edge of the room, so cant quite reach the sink while still standing on the warm bit.

Posted By: Simon Still

Posted By: GaryB
The economics worked out in favour of wet underfloor plus wet towel rail. The towel rails are on a separate wet circuit with its own pump. The use of 'free' solar electricity in the summer for towel rail heating didn't stack up compared to the wet system fed via ASHP, with a COP of >4.0, which means 75% can be exported and generate income.

Interesting. How are the towel rails controlled - is that heating circuit on a timer? Also, what temp do they run at?

Yes, on a separate timer (multiple zone programmer). Flow temperature in the circuit will be a maximum 40 degC as the heat source is ASHP.

30 years ago was 1982, time of Exocet guided missiles, Golf GTis and the Space Shuttle was in service, and we had ice on our windows.
We are so dreadfully behind.

Posted By: GaryBYes, on a separate timer (multiple zone programmer). Flow temperature in the circuit will be a maximum 40 degC as the heat source is ASHP.

Is this to dry towels or provide heat for the room - doesn't sound a lot. Any news on effecitveness or is this just planned?

What's the consensus on the correct output per sq. metre for electric UFH for short term comfort heating?

I would expect that our shower/bathrooms will have an air temp. of 19-20C. The downstairs bathroom will have wet UFH but I don't expect that to be in operation for more than 4 months a year so I am proposing to also install electric UFH in both rooms to be switched on when required when someone is taking a shower. Both will be in a thin screed just below ceramic tiles.

I don't think I will bother with heated towel rails as both rooms will have HRV extract so I would expect that towels will try well without them.

What would anyone suggest?

Posted By: jamesingram hairy shirt

I disagree. If green building is to become mainstream, it must come without hair shirts. The general public will not pay for a green building where you have to wear a hairy shirt in the shower.

Fortunately my well insulated, well ventilated, well lit , ufh heated bathroom is much more comfortable for much less energy than its draughty uninsulated predecessor of 30 years ago!

Posted By: Chris P Bacon
I don't think I will bother with heated towel rails as both rooms will have HRV extract so I would expect that towels will try well without them. What would anyone suggest?

Seconded - can anyone speak from experience? Wondering if towelrails are necessary.