The Best Towel Radiators For Making The Most Of Bathroom Space

The WarmeHaus is a designer rail made up of wide flat panels rather than round bars, which gives it a clean, modern look and plenty of surface for folded towels. You can choose chrome, white or sand grey to suit the bathroom.

With 13 sizes, there's a WarmeHaus for a compact en-suite and one for a large, cold family bathroom. They run from 650 x 400 mm up to 1800 x 600 mm, and the output climbs with the size, from 797 BTU on the smallest to 3434 BTU on the largest.

WarmeHaus pressure tests the rail to 10 bar, makes it to BS EN 442 and includes the plugs and bleed vent in the box. It comes with a 10 year guarantee, and it's the most expensive rail in this roundup.

The Requena is a straightforward chrome ladder rail that keeps the cost down. There are nine sizes, running from 650 x 400 mm to 1600 x 600 mm, all in a polished chrome finish.

It doesn't give out as much heat as the painted rails here, with outputs from 501 to 1651 BTU, partly because chrome gives off less heat than a painted finish of the same size, so the Requena is best kept for small bathrooms, en-suites and cloakrooms rather than a large room with an outside wall.

Requena says the rail meets current British standards and is safety tested at 15 bar. It works with combi boilers and tank-fed systems, and the wall brackets and fittings come in the box.

Anthracite grey suits a modern bathroom and works well with black taps and dark tiles. The NRG Contemporary is a flat panel rail with a triple-layer powder coat, which gives it a tougher finish than a single coat of paint.

Even the smallest size gives a useful amount of heat at 1540 BTU, and the largest reaches 2540 BTU. Sizes run from 650 x 450 mm to 1600 x 450 mm.

The rail is made from low carbon steel to BS EN 442, suits all UK heating systems and comes with wall fixings and brackets. NRG backs it with a 15 year warranty.

The Huiyang is another anthracite flat panel rail, made from mild steel with a triple-layered finish. Huiyang says it's manufactured to current British standards and suits all UK heating systems.

Its sizes are on the smaller side, from 650 x 400 mm to 800 x 600 mm, with outputs between 1120 and 2174 BTU. That makes it a good match for an en-suite or small family bathroom where there isn't room for a tall rail.

The guarantee runs for 10 years, which matches the WarmeHaus and DuraTherm but falls short of the 15 years NRG offers.

The DuraTherm has a similar flat panel look to the NRG and Huiyang, but it's made from stainless steel rather than mild or low carbon steel. Stainless steel doesn't rust from the inside the way ordinary steel can, which is a real plus in a steamy bathroom.

The wider sizes go up to 600 mm, which gives you more room for towels. It comes in anthracite grey, in sizes from 650 x 450 mm to 1600 x 600 mm, with outputs from 1010 to 2398 BTU.

The rail is CE marked and backed by a 10 year guarantee. It costs more than most of the rails here, which is the price of the stainless construction.

The Elegant is a classic chrome ladder rail, available with straight or curved bars. The curved version bows out from the wall slightly, which gives towels a bit more space to air.

There are 10 sizes from 600 x 800 mm to 1800 x 500 mm, with outputs from 550 to 1850 BTU. Like the Requena, it's chrome, so it gives out less heat than the painted rails, but it's plenty for drying towels and warming a small bathroom.

Elegant says the chrome finish has passed more than 200 hours of salt spray testing, and all brackets and fittings are included. The build quality isn't as solid as the pricier rails, though it's good for the money.