Possibly a Building Regs Question about Plinth Heaters??

As the thread title says, this is possibly a Building Regs Question about Plinth Heaters.

I find them very effective.

I'd like one in my bathroom (away from the bath, sink, shower and w.c. obviously.

Can one be fitted in a bathroom or is it a big 'no-no' (I suspect I already know the answer)!

Happy to have it connected via a Fused Connection Unit (FCH) rather than a 13A plug and
fitted inside a vanity unit.

Cheers

XRD

Yes, they can be installed in a bathroom.

XrayDave said:

away from the bath, sink, shower and w.c. obviously.

Click to expand...

600mm from bath and shower.

Other items are unrelated. Diagrams that show otherwise are wrong and always have been.

XrayDave said:

As the thread title says, this is possibly a Building Regs Question about Plinth Heaters.

I find them very effective.

I'd like one in my bathroom (away from the bath, sink, shower and w.c. obviously.

Can one be fitted in a bathroom or is it a big 'no-no' (I suspect I already know the answer)!

Happy to have it connected via a Fused Connection Unit (FCH) rather than a 13A plug and
fitted inside a vanity unit.

Cheers

XRD Slope

Click to expand...

Yes, it can be done, but only if the plinth heater is specifically rated for bathroom installation and complies with the bathroom electrical zones under Part P.
In my experience, the biggest mistake is people fitting standard kitchen plinth heaters in bathrooms where humidity and condensation were never considered in the design.

ladygaga said:

Yes, it can be done, but only if the plinth heater is specifically rated for bathroom installation ....

Click to expand...

Are there actually any that say that they are 'rated for bathroom installation'?

ladygaga said:

... and complies with the bathroom electrical zones under Part P.

Click to expand...

To be compliant with BS7671, it wuld have to comply with what that says about 'bathroom electrical zones'. However, as you probably know, Part P of the Building Regs (indeed, the Building Regs as a whole) says absolutely nothing about such zones.

flameport said:

Yes, they can be installed in a bathroom.


600mm from bath and shower.

Other items are unrelated. Diagrams that show otherwise are wrong and always have been.

Click to expand...

Just to add, you still need to avoid splashes of water getting into the fan heater itself but that is almost always taken care of by the design of the fan heater itself and the vanity unit.

In other words if you were just adding a bog standard fan heater itself you`d have to ensure you mount it in such a way that water is not likely to enter it and allow decent air flow to it and from it.

"Other items are unrelated. Diagrams that show otherwise are wrong and always have been."
yes indeed, that appears to be initiated originally by someone misunderstanding the regs, making a diagram and then everyone copying it, therefore the myth about a zone around a hand basin which does not exist but that myth was born and became folklore.

ebee said:

initiated originally by someone misunderstanding the regs, making a diagram and then everyone copying it

Click to expand...

Not exactly.

The LIA created a document for their members (mostly lighting manufacturers) suggesting that certain types of lighting should be IPX4 when installed in certain places in bathrooms.
It was created after the 2008 changes to BS7671, the most relevant of which removed Zone 3 and therefore meant items previously stated as being suitable 'outside the zones' could now be installed closer to the bath.

This document clearly stated it was a 'cautionary measure ... beyond the scope of the regs' mainly related to the risk of incandescent lamps exploding when water was splashed on them.
The intent being that manufacturers would make lighting that was at least IPX4 when it was being sold as suitable for bathrooms, and that instructions for lighting would state that lighting installed in bathrooms should be at least IPX4.

There was no suggestion that this diagram should be included in the instructions or published anywhere else. However someone(s) (probably from a lighting manufacturer) decided that this diagram was actually the BS7671 version and made other diagrams similar to it claiming it was 'the regs' and then hoards of people decided to copy and paste it everywhere including making their own modifications without checking what it was or even if the content was correct. Now we have 1000s of versions all over the place, the vast majority of which are totally wrong.

The guidance not intended for publication oir including in any other documents / instructions:






What was supposed to be put into end user instructions for bathroom lighting:

Thanks Flameport