Just wondering how interpretive you can be of the new zoning regs for
bathrooms :-}

The light in ours would notionally fall under zone 2, being about 50cm
outside zone 1, however zone 2 only appears to apply up to 2.25m high.

Our ceiling is 2.30m high.

Looking at the pocket guide, i'm not sure if it becomes a zone 3 which
covers an additional 0.75m height, following the same 0.6m "radius"
from the bath as shown on the diagram, or if the zone 3 markings only
apply to adjacent walls as shown on the diagram...

Either way, it looks like a standard 240V lamp would be ok unless you
start talking about the size of lamp fittings ! (which is likely to be
a slim profile enclosed fitting by the time the wife finishes anyway)

Has anyone fitted a whirlpool bath recently ? the regs say under the
bath is zone 1 if accessible without tools, but not what it's classed
as if you _do_ need tools :-}

....also, are they typically LV or 240V these days ? (just trying to
imagine the size of conductors required if it incorporated a heating
element !)

Last but not least, what classes as Class I or II equipment these days
for the purposes of cross-bonding ? - the wording of the regs seems to
suggest either:

a) local cross bonding should go to all terminals of protective
conductors within zones 1, 2 and 3

b) i'm misinterpreting it and you need to take the cross bonding all
the way back to the consumer unit

Colin Wilson wrote:

Just wondering how interpretive you can be of the new zoning regs for
bathrooms :-}

The light in ours would notionally fall under zone 2, being about 50cm
outside zone 1, however zone 2 only appears to apply up to 2.25m high.

Our ceiling is 2.30m high.

Looking at the pocket guide, i'm not sure if it becomes a zone 3 which
covers an additional 0.75m height, following the same 0.6m "radius"
from the bath as shown on the diagram, or if the zone 3 markings only
apply to adjacent walls as shown on the diagram...

If I understand what you are describing (i.e. a light offset to the side
of the bath , but less than 0.6m horizontally), the the space directly
above Zone 2 from 2.25m to 3m is Zone 3. Above that is out of the zones.

Either way, it looks like a standard 240V lamp would be ok unless you
start talking about the size of lamp fittings ! (which is likely to be
a slim profile enclosed fitting by the time the wife finishes anyway)

Mostly, in that the general requirements of BS7671 would apply. Those do
include a requirement that fittings selected are appropriate for the
location. So if it gets very steamy in there, something with better
moisture ingress protection than a bog standard light may still be a
good idea.

Has anyone fitted a whirlpool bath recently ? the regs say under the
bath is zone 1 if accessible without tools, but not what it's classed
as if you _do_ need tools :-}

Outside of the zones. i.e. you can fit anything you like including a
conventional socket.

...also, are they typically LV or 240V these days ? (just trying to
imagine the size of conductors required if it incorporated a heating
element !)

Mains (in my limited experience of them). They have relatively modest
requirements if they just have a pump, but can require fairly
significant power if they are electrically heated.

Last but not least, what classes as Class I or II equipment these days
for the purposes of cross-bonding ? - the wording of the regs seems to
suggest either:

a) local cross bonding should go to all terminals of protective
conductors within zones 1, 2 and 3

Well not all terminals, but that all the CPCs of all the circuits that
supply equipment within the zones should be included in the bonding.

So for example, if the only circuit was the lighting one, but there were
two lamp fittings in the room, you would need one connection between the
local eq bond, and the earth of the lighting circuit. This could be
taken from any appropriate place where the circuit earth is accessible.

b) i'm misinterpreting it and you need to take the cross bonding all
the way back to the consumer unit

No need for an explicit connection to the CU. (even though you get an
implicit one by virtue of the CPCs of any bonded circuits.

--
Cheers,

John.

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| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
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| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

a) local cross bonding should go to all terminals of protective
conductors within zones 1, 2 and 3
Well not all terminals, but that all the CPCs of all the circuits that
supply equipment within the zones should be included in the bonding.
So for example, if the only circuit was the lighting one, but there were
two lamp fittings in the room, you would need one connection between the
local eq bond, and the earth of the lighting circuit. This could be
taken from any appropriate place where the circuit earth is accessible.

Cheers for that - I might have to see how the hell I can get an
additional earth to the lamp then :-}

Colin Wilson wrote:

Cheers for that - I might have to see how the hell I can get an
additional earth to the lamp then :-}

You may find it easier to intercept the supply cable to it at a
convenient place. This could be just outside the bathroom if that was
simpler.

(or wait for the 17th edition to take force - no EQ bonding required,
but you will need RCD protection for all circuits in the bathroom
including the lighting)

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

(or wait for the 17th edition to take force - no EQ bonding required,
but you will need RCD protection for all circuits in the bathroom
including the lighting)

It probably wouldn't be too hard for me to do that - it's a downstairs
bathroom, and there's a 2.5mm to a fused switch that used to supply a
downflow heater, and the lighting was (IIRC) also run seperately
direct from the CU.

My biggest problem would be finding and fitting RCDs in the CU !

Colin Wilson wrote:
(or wait for the 17th edition to take force - no EQ bonding required,
but you will need RCD protection for all circuits in the bathroom
including the lighting)

It probably wouldn't be too hard for me to do that - it's a downstairs
bathroom, and there's a 2.5mm to a fused switch that used to supply a
downflow heater, and the lighting was (IIRC) also run seperately
direct from the CU.

My biggest problem would be finding and fitting RCDs in the CU !

Nothing to stop you having a RCD in an external enclosure and feeding
the existing cable through it. (or installing a secondary CU fed either
from a submain derived from a non RCD MCB on the main CU, or from split
tails)

If the downflow heater is on its own radial, you may be able to squeeze
a single module wide RCBO in the current CU (depends on brand of CU and
if it can cope with tall MCBs). You could then fuse this down nearer the
bathroom to run the lights in there and save the cost of a second RCBO.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/