LED bathroom mirror...

sh4d0w · 16 Oct 2019

Morning guys,

I am looking at an LED bathroom mirror with heatpad and shaver outlet but confused as how best to wire this up.

I initially thought i would take perm live from light circuit to a fused spur then onto the mirror and turn it on or off manually as and when we get a shower, but then i thought... it will need to have an RCD wont it? - it wont be in the wet area.

How is best to wire in one of these units.

cheers

winston1 · 16 Oct 2019

You DON’T need a fused spur if you are taking it from the lighting circuit. A 3a fuse in a FCU has no discrimination against a 6a MCB.

If your lighting circuit is already RCD protected you won’t need another. If not I would suggest replacing the lighting MCB with a RCBO if possible. If not fit a separate RCD under the CU for that particular circuit.

bernardgreen · 16 Oct 2019

winston1 said:
You DON’T need a fused spur if you are taking it from the lighting circuit. A 3a fuse in a FCU has no discrimination against a 6a MCB.

A fused spur provides a means of isolating the item from the supply. ( disconnecting the Live by removing the fuse ) This would be necessary if the electrics in the mirror became faulty.

If there was no way to disconnect the mirror from the lighting circuit then it would be necessary to turn off that lighting circuit until the mirror was repaired.

Winston is almost correct in saying that a 6 Amp MCB would before a 3 amp fuse blew. It is most likely that a 6 Amp MCB would trip before a 3 Amp fuse melted.

Taylortwocities · 16 Oct 2019

I have a similar mirror. I ran 3core&earth to the mirror and did a little rewiring so that:

The shaver point is premanently powered from the permanent live
The heated mirror is powered from the switched live so it always comes on when the lights are on

That means you aren't faced with a steamed up mirror when you step out of the shower and want to curl your eyelashes. You will often forget to turn the mirror heat switch on..
Even better, you also cannot forget to turn it off. Otherwise it could run for days..= ££ + melt another icecap

sh4d0w · 16 Oct 2019

Seeeeee that is exactly what i wanted to do Taylor, but i was told that it wasnt "allowed" -

I just need to find a mirror/cabinet that i can do that with i guess, what one did you get might i ask?

Taylortwocities · 16 Oct 2019

Of course you can, if its done properly

This is the one I got

JohnD · 16 Oct 2019

sh4d0w said:
i was told that it wasnt "allowed"

who by?

it also depends quite what the question was, and quite what the answer was. For example you would not be "allowed" to do it using a plug and socket inside the bathroom. Or in many cases to do it above or close to a fixed bath or shower.

winston1 · 16 Oct 2019

winston1 said:
M

If your lighting circuit is already RCD protected you won’t need another. If not I would suggest replacing the lighting MCB with a RCBO if possible. If not fit a separate RCD under the CU for that particular circuit.

bernardgreen said:
If there was no way to disconnect the mirror from the lighting circuit then it would be necessary to turn off that lighting circuit until the mirror was repaired.

Winston is correct in saying that a 6 Amp MCB would before a 3 amp fuse blew. It is most likely that a 6 Amp MCB would trip before a 3 Amp fuse melted.

That argument can be applied to every light fitting in your house. Do you fit a FCU on all of them?

bernardgreen · 16 Oct 2019

winston1 said:
Do you fit a FCU on all of them?

No because for a lamp there is a switch on the wall that turns the power off when it it is necessary to replace a faulty lamp.

Taylortwocities · 16 Oct 2019

......TTC reaches for the popcorn, and settles back in a comfy chair.......

winston1 · 16 Oct 2019

bernardgreen said:
No because for a lamp there is a switch on the wall that turns the power off when it it is necessary to replace a faulty lamp.

Well a switch can be used for the mirror then not a FCU.

bernardgreen · 16 Oct 2019

winston1 said:
Well a switch can be used for the mirror then not a FCU.

Yes.

JohnD · 16 Oct 2019

or with TTC's arrangement, a fan isolator. Very widely used in bathrooms, often fitted near the ceiling.

SFK · 16 Oct 2019

Sh,
my opinion is that it is best to have Heated mirror con connected to the main Bathroom light switch/light so the heated mirror always comes on when you switch on the bathroom light.

This is because heated mirrors need a few mins to heat and clear, so best to have mirror start heating and clearing as soon as you enter bathroom.
SFK

Taylortwocities · 16 Oct 2019

@SFK Which is what I have already suggested.

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LED bathroom mirror...

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