What are towel radiators?

These are radiators specifically designed to aid with drying towels, whilst heating the room. The are often tall and thin, rather than long and short and have a number of rails with gaps between them on which to hang towels.

Towel rails can be heating by either of the following methods:

• Wet towel radiators: these are heated by the boiler feeding hot water though the pipes, the same as a normal radiator.
• Electric towel radiators: these have a sealed radiator which is heated by an electric heating element (normally at the bottom of the radiator).

Some towel radiators are dual-fuel, which means they are primarily powered by the boiler, but can also be heated by an electric element. With these, you can choose to control either or both of the heating methods.

Controlling towel radiators with the Genius Hub system

Controlling wet towel radiators

If the bathrooms have towel radiators, we recommend that these are only fitted with Genius Radiator Valve if the radiators are used for heating and not only drying towels. This is because the room would be kept at the correct temperature but the towels might not dry, especially in Summer when the ambient temperature is likely to be high. 

Genius Radiator Valves should not be installed within 60cm of water sources (e.g. baths, showers or sinks). Any water damage caused to the Genius Radiator Valve will invalidate the warranty for that component.

 

If the bathroom has normal radiators, or towel radiators that are primarily used for heating, then adding a Genius radiator valve in these rooms would give you zoned control of the heating in this room.

In the case of en-suite bathrooms, heating schedules can easily be linked to the attached bedroom, or copied from it.

Controlling electric towel radiators

The electric heating element can be controlled by an Electric Switch, wired in between the fused spur and the heating element.

The Electric Switch can then control the zone in either of the following ways:

1. To heat the zone, if a temperature sensor is present in the room (such as a Genius Room Sensor/Thermostat) - preferable if you primarily use the towel radiator for heating.
2. On/off control without respect to the temperature in the zone - if you only use the towel radiator to dry towels.