Bathroom Zones / Light strips

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Hi all,

In the middle of planning a bathroom renovation and have got to the stage at looking at the lighting in there. At the moment we have 4 GU10 Philips Hue recessed spotlights - which lights the room ok.

We are planning to put up a mirror which would be above the sink / toilet unit, it would be in Zone 2/3. I’d like the mirror to be slightly recessed away from the wall possibly on battons and have some lighting behind it.

We are already well invested into the Phillips hue system so if we were to do this it would be with Hue Light Strips , the light strips are IP20 so have no water protection.

My question is, if we was to run the light strips within a IP protected holder like: (https://www.directtradesupplies.co....MIr_alyoXv2AIVgzgbCh0GdwP4EAQYAiABEgLTWvD_BwE) but obviously with the suitable IP rating would that be acceptable or would the light it’s self need the IP rating?

Not planning to DIY this bit - just after advice if what I want to do is possible.

Thanks
 
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Ah great looks like I was looking at an old image- although with the layout of the bathroom and where the toilet / mirror and proposed light strips would be in Zone 2 near the bath so would something which protects them to a high enough rating be acceptable?

Thanks
 
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The strips them selves would have gone into zone 2 but a good 600m above the bath - but with some little re-thinking i think i can achieve a smaller version of what I want completely out of the zones which would make it all much simpler!

Only issue now is that to power them would need a standard plug socket, there's room in a unit which is outside zones but not 3m from the edge of zone 1 - would a socket in a waterproof enclosure be ok here?
 
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to power them would need a standard plug socket

sounds like you are thinking of a wallwart power supply. Bad idea. Move into the 21st century and use LED lamps.

A diagram of your ideas may help.
 
Only issue now is that to power them would need a standard plug socket, there's room in a unit which is outside zones but not 3m from the edge of zone 1 - would a socket in a waterproof enclosure be ok here?
The "3m rule" makes no exceptions according to the type of socket - so no socket would be allowed closer than that to a bath/shower, even if in a waterproof enclosure - unless the 'enclosure' was such that it could be argued that the socket was not 'in the bathroom' (e.g. if the 'enclosure' were a 'cupboard').

However, it sounds as if you misunderstand the (presumed) reason for that "3m rule". I don't think it is anything to do with protection from water, which is what you seem to think. Rather, I think it is to avoid (reduce!) the risk of people using portable electrical appliances (e.g. hair driers or whatever) whilst in a bath/shower - since the leads of such portable appliances are very rarely more than 3m in length.

As has been said/implied, you really need to avoid any form of bathroom lights (or anything else) which need to be 'plugged in' in the bathroom.

Kind Regards, John
 
Thanks for the replies, makes sense regarding the 3m rule actually being to avoid the use of portable appliances in the bath!

Currently throughout our entire flat we have Philips Hue, the bathroom has 4 Hue GU10 bulbs in bathroom suitable fixtures, we were hoping to use a Philips Hue Light strip around a mirror unit mounted to the wall. If we had an electrician hard wire the light strip into a spur would that be more acceptable? As mentioned am quite keen to stick with Hue as thats whats used throughout but if what I want to do isn't possible will have to give up on it!
 
Currently throughout our entire flat we have Philips Hue, the bathroom has 4 Hue GU10 bulbs in bathroom suitable fixtures, we were hoping to use a Philips Hue Light strip around a mirror unit mounted to the wall. If we had an electrician hard wire the light strip into a spur would that be more acceptable?
If that could be done, it would be acceptable. However, if as JohnD suggested, the lights come with a 'wallwart' (a power supply built into something that plugs into a 13A socket) then that would not be possible - although there might be workarounds.

Can you provide a link to the Phillips Hue striplights you had in mind?

Kind Regards, John
 
Ah I see what you mean - it seems like that maybe the case with these - https://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/7190155PH/hue-white-and-color-ambiance-lightstrip-plus
Indeed. Without a lot of 'surgery' on that (which would, of course, presumably invalidate the warranty), it could not be used directly in the bathroom. The only hope would probably be to take the lead up to above the ceiling, or through the wall into another room (or maybe even into a cupboard) and have the electrician install a socket for it up there (i.e. 'outside of the bathroom').

If you really want to use that particular product (or any other with a similar 'plug-in power supply'), I think you would need to discuss possibilities with the electrician.

Kind Regards, John
 
Indeed. Without a lot of 'surgery' on that (which would, of course, presumably invalidate the warranty), it could not be used directly in the bathroom. The only hope would probably be to take the lead up to above the ceiling, or through the wall into another room (or maybe even into a cupboard) and have the electrician install a socket for it up there (i.e. 'outside of the bathroom').

If you really want to use that particular product (or any other with a similar 'plug-in power supply'), I think you would need to discuss possibilities with the electrician.

Kind Regards, John

Thats an idea re the cupboard / another room which sounds like it could be workable - thanks very much for all the suggestions!
 
All of this discussion is quite interesting to me.

I had thought that socket outlets (apart from “isolated” “Shaver outlets”) were NOT allowed in UK bathrooms at all.

However, if you have a big bathroom, in https://www.diynot.com/wiki/Electrics:bathroom_zones it is shown that

“Outside of the Zones
A socket outlet may be installed providing it is at least 3 metres away horizontally away from the edge of zone 1.”

Contrast that with the situation in Australia where
http://www.build.com.au/distance-between-water-and-power-points shows

“Zone 3 (Outside Zone 2) - Sockets are permitted provided that they're installed at more than 0.3m above the bathroom floor, and fitted with RCD protection.”.

So, in Australia, a socket outlet (RCD protected) may be provided at just over 0.6 m from Zone 1 whereas in the UK such an outlet must be at least 3 m from zone 1.
 

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