bathroom lighting

evosteo

does the lighting circuit for a bathroom have to be on its own dedicated circuit?

cast_iron

No. Though it must have RCD protection, and that must be a separate RCD from the sockets etc. The handiest way out would be a 10A RCBO. You could have 2 bathrooms on the one circuit, but I think upstairs and downstairs should be on separate circuits.

Marcus_Crassus

cast_iron is correct, I just looked it up in the ETCI rules.

evosteo

thanks for the responce, so am i correct in saying that if the bathroom is upstairs i can include it on the upstairs circuit once its protected by a 10a rcbo?

meercat

evosteo wrote: »

thanks for the responce, so am i correct in saying that if the bathroom is upstairs i can include it on the upstairs circuit once its protected by a 10a rcbo?

much better to have it on its own dedicated rcbo circuit though

evosteo

whats the advantage of having it on its own circuit?

paddymick

evosteo wrote: »

thanks for the responce, so am i correct in saying that if the bathroom is upstairs i can include it on the upstairs circuit once its protected by a 10a rcbo?

Yes you are correct....And having the rest of the lighting circuit on the RCBO can only be a plus..

M cebee

You cant put other lights on bathroom lighting rcd or rcbo

you dont need if they're 12volt or outside zones

evosteo

so if they are 230v lights in the bathroom they need to be on a dedicated circuit protected by an 10a rcbo

however if they are 12vspots/lights they can be just included on the upstairs circuit on a normal 10a mcb

cast_iron

evosteo wrote: »

however if they are 12vspots/lights they can be just included on the upstairs circuit on a normal 10a mcb

That wouldn't be a great way to do it...as they may be 12v fittings today, but swapped to 220v in the future.

M cebee

Yes 12v. selv lites or lights outside zones dont need dedicated rcd

if i recall the rule says any circuit in bathroom zone needs dedicated rcd
-thats the amended version of the rule

evosteo

jesus i wish they would stop dicking about with the rules,

them etci boys muct get fierce bored, thinking about what to do next,

has anybody every been electricuted by a bathroom light?

evosteo

i also see there was more ammendments made in july of this year fot the 2008 rules:rolleyes:

paddymick

evosteo wrote: »

jesus i wish they would stop dicking about with the rules,

them etci boys muct get fierce bord, thinking about what to do next,

I agree, It wont be long before every circuit is on its own RCD anyway..

It also says in the rules that a bathroom should have at least one light outside of zones thats on its own circuit and not on the RCD so that if the RCD trips you will still have light and avoid injury......I havent met any who does that yet!:rolleyes:

evosteo

sweet jesus,

so the best bet for the bathroom is to have it on its own "dedicated" circuit, protected by a 10A rcd/rcbo, that would cover the bathroom fan and wall shaver light?

and supply the bedrooms with there own 10a circuit

M cebee

The light outside the zones was dropped for domestic in the amendment to the rules

paddymick

I just wire bathrooms and ensuites on their on circuits(inc lights,fans and mirror lights) and stick them on a 10A RCBO,Shaver sockets I wire on their own circuit and put them on their own RCBO.

evosteo

cheers for the info guys, its good to know the right way of doing things and letting others know

mceebe whats the reason for not allowing say two external lights (ie two bedroom lights) to be on the same circuit as the bathroom?

would it not just be extra protection for them extra two lights?

M cebee

if the cicuit is extended outside bathroom the risk of tripping is increased

losing light in a bathroom is a hazard

which is also why they kept the additional light source for commercial as users may not be familiar with bathroim layout

dazed+confused

When did the RCD rule for bathroom lighting come in? In Fás in 2004 I was taught that the shaver socket was safer if it was not on an RCD. Its an isolating transformer anyway so there's no risk of shock.

evosteo

dazed+confused wrote: »

When did the RCD rule for bathroom lighting come in? In Fás in 2004 I was taught that the shaver socket was safer if it was not on an RCD. Its an isolating transformer anyway so there's no risk of shock.

came in 2008 in the 4th edition or the regs i think, if heard many different twists on "how it should be done" even heard mentioned there should be an emergency back up light in the bathroom:rolleyes:

think that was done away with though

M cebee

Ya theres no benefit having a shaver socket on rcd

In normal use

Bruthal

evosteo wrote: »

whats the advantage of having it on its own circuit?

It reduces the chance of being left in the dark in the bathroom, a hazzard in itself, and probably a bigger hazzard than not having an RCD on the bathroom light.

The chance of tripping increases with more rooms besides the bathroom on the RCD/RCBO.

evosteo

sure if your in the bath and the bathroom door is closed would you not be in darkness anyways if the circuit trips?

evosteo

i can see emergency lighting slowly coming into the domestic scene soon,

bathroom
hall
landing
kitchen

sure they are all dangerous places to be if the power goes no?

Bruthal

You would be, but if you had the whole upstairs lighting circuit on an RCD, a trip is more likely than if the bathroom is on its own circuit.

meercat

evosteo wrote: »

i can see emergency lighting slowly coming into the domestic scene soon,

bathroom
hall
landing
kitchen

sure they are all dangerous places to be if the power goes no?

i agree
no harm either
also one near distribution board would be an advantage
i would offer it to clients as an option(2d fitting with emergency pack)

M cebee

i reckon there's going to be an awful lot of changes soon

and a lot more than emergency lights

upon reflection and in the light of this carry-on at those apartments

i reckon the whole self certification business will have to go

as it's not working anyhow

evosteo

hmmm do ya reckon if they bring in independent certification that would put reci and ecssa in trouble,

sure isnt the reason they only exist is for the certification process

contractors would only have to pay the independant certifier/ tester for a cert????

M cebee

ive been reci member for 16yrs until recently
as i'm on maintenance mostly now

but it's a joke

evosteo

only interested in the money???