We’ve considered many different types of towel warmers and have found that warmers which fully enclose the towels provide the best performance with the least amount of effort. Our top recommended cabinet-type warmer is the Elite Hot Towel Cabi-Warmer. If you are interested in the wall-mounted towel warmer, then consider the Amba RWH-CB Radiant Hardwired Towel Warmer.
There are a few important things you should consider when deciding which type of towel warmer to buy.
- A hardwired towel warmer has a higher ceiling in terms of heat produced than plug-in types.
- Ambient room temperature can heavily influence how warm your towels are. A Cabinet towel warmer avoids this problem.
- A hardwired towel warmer will require an electrician to complete the installation.
- If you’re getting a plug-in type, then consider where you will be able to install it near a socket. Free-standing models give you some flexibility, but often bathrooms don’t have many sockets available.
- Hydronic Towel Warmer uses a closed-loop boiler system that circulates water (or sometimes glycol) to circulate the heated liquid to radiators than warm-up rooms. This type of system is used for heating radiant floors. These units are not your typical water heater used for heating tap water.
Which Brands?
The leading brands in North America are Amba, ICO, Runtal, WarmlyYours, and Warmrails.
The free-standing racks often don’t produce enough heat to both warm the towels and compensate for heat lost to the room. Cabinets are enclosures, so that problem is easily avoided.
A hardwired towel warmer has more positive reviews overall than plug-in types. But if you want the best of the best, then hydronic is the way to go.
What Makes a Good Electric Towel Warmer?
- Fits your installation requirements.
- BTU Rating (Heat Output).
- Optimal surface area contact with towels. Either flat-tube designs or tightly-spaced round tubes will maximize heat transferred to the towels.
First, you need to decide if you want your electric towel warmer to be a permanent fixture in your bathroom. A hardwired towel warmer offers better heating and convenience with integration into a smart home system and programmable built-in timer.
However, you will need to hire an electrician to complete the install. If you’re doing a remodel or building a new home, then the additional cost is minor.
What’s the heat output difference between hardwired and plug-in types? Well, the highest BTU rating from Amba’s plugin options is just above 500 BTUs (at 150W), while their highest hardwired option is around 1800 BTUs (at 530W).
A typical low setting on a common space heater is 800 to 100 Watts, so you can see that these bath towel warmers consume significantly less energy.
Choose Your Style – (Skip to a Section)
Cabinet Towel Warmer
Wall-Mount Towel Warmer
Free-standing Towel Warmer
Cabinet Towel Warmer
Top Choice: Elite Hot Towel Cabi-Warmer
This towel warmer can handle wet or dry towels. Turn it on about 30 minutes before your shower for a relaxingly warm drying off experience.
Check Current PriceComparison Table
The Elite Hot Towel Cabi-Warmer is one of the most highly-rated cabinet style towel warmers. They’re primarily made with small facial-sized towels in mind, but you can also fit full-sized towels inside, just less of them.
These models have a drip tray to catch water if you decide to warm up some wet towels.
Here are a couple of recommendations for these towel warmers.
- Do not leave wet towels in this unit with the door closed for longer than 12 hours to prevent odor.
- Do not leave dry towels in this unit, with the cabinet in operation, longer than six hours, to prevent odor and shrinkage.
- Keep these towel warmers out of reach of children.
Our recommended model can hold two full-size towels, however, this depends very much on how thick your towels are and their length.
About the Cabinet Towel Warmer
Cabinet towel warmers have the advantage of being able to warm moist or dry towels. Like to do your own spa treatments at home? These are the same type of warmers that salons and spas use to warm their towels.
Like freestanding racks, a cabinet towel warmer has no additional work required to use them. You just need somewhere to put it that is near an electrical socket.
Cabinet warmers are also more efficient than heated towel racks due to them being enclosed. It’s just how it is. Racks have to overcome the loss of heat to the room, while cabinets hold the heat inside and do a better job of completely heating the towels. It’s no surprise that many of the lower-powered towel racks have complaints that the towels are barely warm or only warm in a few spots.
Efficiency and satisfaction seem to be better overall for a cabinet towel warmer in the same low price range as heated towel rack. In other words, if you’re looking to buy on a budget, then go for the cabinet towel warmer instead of a similarly priced towel rack. But if the cost is less of a concern, then check out the hardwired wall-mounted electric towel warmer.
Wall-Mounted Electric Towel Warmer
There are 3 types of wall-mounted heated towel racks.
- Hardwired Electric – Requires an electrician to install.
- Plug-in Electric – The warmer plugs into a standard socket. Make sure you have one within range of where you want to install the rack.
- Hydronic – Connects to a boiler system, like the kind used with radiant flooring. This is not the same as a typical water heater.
We highly recommend hardwired types for the best performance. Get a quote from a local electrician for accurate pricing, but you may be surprised how cheap adding an electric towel warmer and drying rack to your bathroom can be. This is especially true if you’re already planning a remodel or building a new home.
Plug-in types typically have a lower BTU rating than hardwired models, and this is one of the main reasons hardwired takes the top spot. Hardwired models can also be connected to smart home systems and programmable timers for extra convenience. There are programmable timer modules that you can use for plug-in types as well, as pictured below.
We’re going to take a look at some of the top models from Amba and we’ve grouped them by width. In each width category, we’ve picked out some tall and short models, from 4 horizontal bars up to more than 30.
- The Amba Antus Drying Rack Series is the tallest at a max height of 73″.
- The Amba Sirio Drying Rack Series is the widest at a max width of 57″.
That’s the max dimensions you can expect and there are models in each series that all different shapes and sizes below those maximum measurements.
Measure the space you have in mind, then decide if you want a taller rack or a wide one. If you don’t have much room for a wide model, then you can get a taller one to fit more towels, and vice versa if you don’t have much vertical space.
Hardwired – 21″ Width
Amba Quadro 2016
This hardwired model is relatively small and suitable for one full-size towel. The horizontal bars are large and tightly packed, which improves heat transfer.
- 314 BTUs – 92 Watts
- Average Temp Range: 140-149 F
- 115 Volts
- Dimensions: 16.75″ H x 20.5″ W; Protrudes 4.75″ from wall
- 3-year Warranty
- Digital Heat Controller Sold Separately
At 20.5 inches wide, the Amba Quadro 2016, made in Italy, is one of their smaller options and is a good choice for if you just don’t have the wall space for the larger models.
The Quadro 2016 is going to hold 1-2 towels depending on how, and if, you fold them. The horizontal bars give you a nice large surface area for the towels to stay in contact with the warmer. Additionally, the 3-year warranty is one of the longer warranties offered by Amba.
Hardwired – 25″ Width
Amba Sirio 2142
Now we’re getting up to the power range where you’ll start noticing some heating of the room, but at 232 Watts it’s still much less than a typical space heater. You can expect to fit 2 full-size towels on this rack. It has 16 horizontal cylindrical bars.
- 791 BTUs – 232 Watts
- Average Temp Range: 131-167 F
- Built-in Digital Heat Controller – 9 Heat Settings
- 115 Volts
- Stainless steel
- Dimensions: 42.75″ H x 24.5″ W; Protrudes 4.75″ from wall
- 3-year Warranty
The Sirio 2142 comes with a built-in heat controller that lets you vary the heat from 131 to 167 degrees F. That feature alone is a huge value. Adding a digital controller to the models that don’t have it included can cost around $250.
If you’ve got the space and budget, then the Sirio 2142 is a nice upgrade to the Quadro 2016 above.
Hardwired – 32″ Width
Amba Antus A2856B
One of the ultra large models, the Antus 2856 can hold 2 to 4 full-size towels and features 32 cylindrical bars. Not only can this rack warm your towels, but your bathroom as well.
- 1807 BTUs – 530 Watts
- Average Temp Range: 131-167 F
- Built-in Digital Heat Controller – 9 Heat Settings
- 115 Volts
- Dimensions: 58.38″ H x 31.5″ W; Protrudes 4.31″ from wall
- 3-year Warranty
At 5 feet tall, this electric towel warmer and drying rack is about as large as most people are willing to go. Depending on how you mount it, some people might have trouble reaching a towel on the top rack.
This rack can put out some real heat and includes a digital controller for adjusting the heat output. It’s also designed to be turned on continuously, but that’s optional.
Comparison Table
| Model | Width | Height | Wattage | Towels | Availability |
| Amba Jeeves | 21" | 54" | 240 | 2-4 | Check Price |
| WarmlyYours Metropolitan | 20" | 42" | 150 | 2 | Check Price |
| Amba Quadro | 21" | 19" | 92 | 1 | Check Price |
| Amba Sirio | 21" | 42" | 232 | 2 | Check Price |
| WarmlyYours Riviera | 24" | 32" | 150 | 2 | Check Price |
| Runtal Radia | 24" | 29" | 450 | 2 | Check Price |
| Runtal Radia | 30" | 46" | 900 | 2-3 | Check Price |
| Amba Sirio | 33" | 35" | 232 | 2 | Check Price |
| Amba Antus | 32" | 59" | 530 | 2-4 | Check Price |
Here’s a quick glance at the size and power of some of the models in this category. One thing is for sure, you can get as much or as little as you want from these towel warmers. Keep in mind all of the models above are hardwired electric and will require an electrician to complete the installation. It’s a simple install but requires more effort than plug-in types and the freestanding racks.
For additional information about Amba towel racks check out their comparison page.
If you’re interested in Runtal towel warmers you can find their page here.
Freestanding Heated Towel Racks
The freestanding towel warmer and drying rack is a plug-in style and has a lower maximum heat output than hardwired racks. However, they’re easier to use.
- Typically units are 150W and produce about 500 BTU/hour.
- Warm-up times range from 10 to 20 minutes, but ambient temperature can affect this.
- Don’t expect these units to warm up your bathroom.
Hardwired racks have significantly higher BTU ratings, which addresses the primary complaint about freestanding racks. More heat!
That’s not to say freestanding racks can’t warm towel, but you will not get the same warmth as a hardwired rack with higher BTU output. It’s just physics. The other side of the coin is, however, not everyone wants to or can install a hardwired rack, and that’s what freestanding towel warmer rack and cabinet towel warmer are for.
Top Choice: Amba Solo 33
The competition in the freestanding towel warmer rack category is pretty weak. We have to give this spot to Amba, mainly because of their 2-year warranty on the heating element.
- 5 ft. Power Cable
- 512 BTUs – 150 Watts
- 149 Degrees F Max
- 115 Volts
- Stainless steel
- Dimensions: 32.5″ L x 15″ W x 38″ H
- 2-year Warranty
One of the common complaints about the Amba Solo is the feet not being level. While this is inconvenient, it doesn’t actually affect how warm towels get. There are also many solutions out there that can remedy this problem, such as rubber stabilizers.
Warmer Buckets for Towels
One of the most popular models in this category has been the Brookstone Towel Warmer. However, reviewers are not always happy, with primary complaints being unit failure and poor heating.
For those reasons, we’re recommending the Haven Towel Warmer that looks very similar to the Brookstone but has more positive reviews.
Top Choice: Haven Towel Warmer
Bucket towel warmer is easier to place than cabinet or wall-mounted towel warmers in most bathrooms. It’s made to sit on the floor, like a clothes hamper, and you just pull out a towel when you need it. This model holds 2 towels and has an automatic shut-off.
Check Current PriceWarmer buckets and bins are similar to cabinets, in that they completely enclose the towels, but are placed on the floor like a freestanding rack. That means you don’t need counter space or any other type of shelving to use them.
You tend to get longer warranties with most of the metal racks, generally 2 or 3 years. Heating elements do eventually fail, so choosing one of these products based on the length of the warranty isn’t a bad idea.