Electric showers are the most common kind and work off a mains water supply. You must have a minimal mains pressure for these to work and they will not work off a storage tank in the loft.
A good size wattage for a shower is between 9.5kw and 10.5kw but you must have the water pressure and flow to get the best results for it to work. You can also buy electric showers in 7.5kw and 8.5kw.
The next thing to keep in mind is the cable size and RCD device. This is best dealt with by a fully qualified Part P electrician as this can be costly.

Pumped showers are exactly that: non-electric showers that are helped by a separate electric pump. It's worth noting that these usually have to be sited in the airing cupboard and the hot water supply has to be fed off the first point out of the hot water cylinder for the guarantee to be valid. See the manufacturer's instructions for details. Don't forget it will need a power supply but can be normally run off a 13 amp plug. Again read the instructions.
Another thing to keep in mind is the size of your storage tank. If it is too small and your pump is too big, then it will not be long before you run out of water.

Electric Power showers are low ampage electrical internal pumped showers which have a Hot and Cold feed which is gravity fed. These cannot be fed from either mains or pressurized systems.

Manual showers can be gravity fed, pumped, or supplied by a pressurized system.

Thermostatic showers are the same as manual showers apart from they will maintain a set temperature. The other difference is the price. Expect to pay a lot more.

Built in showers look good but need to be housed in the wall by at least 75mm to 100mm along with the pipe work. You need to know that this can be done before buying a shower of this kind. One point to keep in mind is that if it goes wrong, then it could mean that the tiles need to come off.

Digital showers are the in thing and can be sited in the roof area. They have an internal pump which is gravity fed and in most cases come with a remote control set. These are well recomended but they do come with a price tag to match.

Buying a shower can be both confusing and costly if you get it wrong. If you are in doubt, give us a call on 01865 772192.