Extractor fan requlations

[Bigglesuk1]

I moved into a brand new house a few months ago.

In my bathroom I have a bath with an electric shower above it, an opening window and an extractor fan.

My extractor fan switch is located outside the door like a light switch (I expected an isolator and it does have a red mark on the switch and a fuse socket next to the switch so I guess this is it). The light switch is on a pull cord inside the bathroom.

The two things work completely independently. I have to physically turn on the extractor fan on the "switch" outside the door then turn on the light pull, when I turn the light pull off the extractor never turns off (which I would expect).

Is this normal? I think something’s been wired a bit strangely, I would have expected an extractor fan isolator above the door not like a light switch to the side of it, and then the pull cord inside to operate both the fan and light?

Are there any building regulations which support my idea or has what’s been done perfectly fine? If it’s not, I can get my builder to rectify it, but I need to know what I can do.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Andrew

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

To comply with the building regulations the fan can be automatically or manually controlled, it does not have to switch on with the light. Having said that normally you would expect it to be wired so as to switch on automatically with the light with the isolator switch allowing the homeowner to switch off if desired. Probably worth approaching your developer anyway and see what they say it may just be an oversite. To get the fan to switch off may just require adjustment, under the cowling they'll likely be a little screw head or similar that can be turned to adjust the overrun period.

 

[Paul_C]

It's perfectly acceptable for the fan to be switched entirely independently of the light. It was the normal arrangement years ago, and personally I think it's preferable. How many times do you go into the bathroom without needing the fan to be run?

The only remotely official mention of having the fan controlled by the main light switch is a note in the "Approved Document" for Part F which just acknowledges it as a possibility.

More recent discussion on this topic:
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1316476#1316476
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1358040#1358040

To get the fan to switch off may just require adjustment, under the cowling they'll likely be a little screw head or similar that can be turned to adjust the overrun period.

In which case the fan would still turn on with the light, assuming all other switches and isolators were closed. If it operates completely independently on its own switch, then it's not been wired for timer operation. It might not even be a timer fan.