Using electrical equipment in bath or shower rooms has always needed care to ensure safety. Now the IEE Wiring Regulations (16th Edition) have identified particular zones within the bathroom to indicate what type of electrical equipment that can be installed.
The zones
The zones are identified from 0 to 3, with 0 being the wettest.
Zone 0
Lighting in a bath or shower which can hold water must be low voltage and rated IP67
Zone 1
The area directly above Zone 0 limited vertically to 2.25m above the bottom of the bath or shower.
Lighting needs protection to IP44 or better, ideally with the transformer located in zone 3 or beyond. We suggest that only low voltage fittings are used in this zone. We do not recommend the use of 240v fittings in this zone but they may be used if a separate 30mA RCD is used to protect the circuit.
Zone 2
The area beyond zones 0 and 1, 0.6m horizontally and up to 2.25m vertically. Zone 2 also included any window with a sill next to the bath. Lighting needs to be IP44 or better, or SELV with the transformer located in zone 3 or beyond.
Zone 3
The area beyond zones 2, 2.4m horizontally and upto 2.25m vertically. The regulations do not specify any IP number for zone 3, however we would suggest that any 240v lamp that can be touched with wet hands is excluded from this area.
Outside Zone 3
No protection required
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Bathroom
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