Bathroom down lights and extractor

Hi all!

I'm looking to install 3 LED down lights and an extractor in my bathroom.

Floor to ceiling height is 2.22m so am I right in thinking that I need a light rated for zone 0 to go directly above the bath?

Would I be best to go for 12v lights all round anyway?

The only place the extractor fan could go is in zone 1 so do I need a particular type of fan?

Any pointers appreciated!

Thanks.

Andygasman2010 said:

Hi all!

I'm looking to install 3 LED down lights and an extractor in my bathroom.

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If they are small recessed downlights, are you OK with the fact that they will be useless at lighting up the bathroom, hellish to look at for anyone lying in the bath, and require a fair bit of work in the loft to seal them?

Floor to ceiling height is 2.22m so am I right in thinking that I need a light rated for zone 0 to go directly above the bath?

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Only if the bath is 2.22m deep: //www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:bathroom-zones

Would I be best to go for 12v lights all round anyway?

The only place the extractor fan could go is in zone 1 so do I need a particular type of fan?

Click to expand...

//www.diynot.com/wiki/electrics:bathroom-zones#zone-1


Also note that you are legally required to apply for Building Regulations approval before you start, or to use a registered electrician.

I took over the fitting of a wet room for my mother and the previous electrician had selected what seemed a very nice fan and 50mm down light system where the down light above shower was fitted inside the grill for the fan and the fan was fitted between the beams. All lights extra low voltage at 12VAC and so I fitted what had already been selected.

However this caused no end of problems. The transformer for lamps failed and was a real pain to assess once ceiling had been fitted and then the fan also failed and there was no access to remove fan without removing the ceiling so it was left where it was the lights reduced from 4 extra low voltage to 3 low voltage and a completely different fan fitted.

There was also a problem in that the fan was from the lighting circuit and when it failed we also lost lights so extra cables had to be pulled in for the fan and it then had it's own isolator.

I wish I had fitted some simple 2D lamps now as I seem to be forever renewing bulbs, and LED versions of the 50mm lamps make it look like a planetarium.

My own bathroom also has 50mm spot lamps but these are on pods so are aimed at the walls not who ever is in the bath.

Good point about lying in the bath!

But why would they be useless at lighting up a bathroom?

They aren't. It's just ban-all-sheds has seen a bad downlighter installation, and is now convinced that all downlighter installations are bad.

This is not the case, but he's made his mind up, and won't hear otherwise.

I think white light LEDs will look nice in a bathroom.

Anyone got any recommendations/advice?

I really like the halers H2 LED downlighters.

They are 8W each, and really are as bright as a 50W halogen equivalent lamp. I would go for the warm white version, as it's a very similar light to normal halogen downlighters.

They come as a complete fitting including the power supply (driver), but unlike many LED downlighters, they have a diffuser lens on the front which gives a really good even spread of light.

They are fire rated and IP65 rated, so suitable for virtually everywhere.

They are a bit expensive at nearly £30 each, but they are a quality unit, and will quickly pay for them selves in saved electricity.

RF Lighting said:

They aren't. It's just ban-all-sheds has seen a bad downlighter installation, and is now convinced that all downlighter installations are bad.

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I have seen hundreds of bad ones.

I have never seen one good one.

I have seen hundreds where multiple lights are used to get round the problem that the lights are actually designed to not light up rooms.

I have never soon one where only a one, or a few, are needed because they are designed to light up rooms.

Andygasman2010 said:

But why would they be useless at lighting up a bathroom?

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They are useless at lighting up any room, because, more than just not being designed to do that, they are actively, positively designed to not do it.

I have them in other rooms and they're fine.