Bathroom dimmer switches

[jacko555]

Maybe contentious, hence the ask!

Bathroom being tiled next week. Wife would like dimmable low voltage led strips fitted in the niches, above the bath.

She'd also like to swap out the ceiling downlights with dimmable ones.

I've found these varilight touch dimmers but cannot find an IP rating for them.

Surely this isn't a unique problem (2 sets of dimmable lights in a bathroom). The hallway outside the door is a set of 3 doors with no space for a switch, so cannot put the dimmer there.

Suggestions please:

1. Is there an ip65? touch dimmer suitable for bathroom?

2. If not, how is this problem solved?

There's also the issue of the extractor fan, not suitable for a dimmer. Was considering leaving the pull cord for that.

 

[flameport]

1. Is there an ip65? touch dimmer suitable for bathroom?

No idea. Why do you want one?

2. If not, how is this problem solved?

Switches are permitted in bathrooms provided they are more than 600mm horizontally from the edge of the bath or shower.
They do not need to be IP65.

pull cord

Not needed and never was.

 

[jacko555]

No idea. Why do you want one?

Splash proof rating for peace of mind.

Not needed and never was.

Guessing it was - for convenience - the pull cord is by the door. The bath and shower are either side of the door. A switch on the other side of the room will work, but inconvenient.

 

[jacko555]

Low voltage is between 50 and 1000v AC. Surely this not what she wants

ELV. Pedant.

Is that so she can’t see if she is dirty?

Baths are also for relaxing. I guess you've never shared a candlelit bath...

People don’t normally want dim lights in a bathroom

Then why do pull cord lights exists for the bathroom?

I believe you can get pull cord dimmers

I see now why everyone here bullies you.

 

[RandomGrinch]

Many years ago I bought one of these for my bathroom to control an RGB LED bathpanel that I made.

It looks good in-situ, has performed a sterling service, and as a battery powered remote control is completely safe, even if you do drop it in the bath!
It's not currently available from LightwaveRF, but there is mention of a new model 'coming soon'!
It will of course need linking up with their receiver module, but at today's prices, I don't think I would buy another one!
I'm sure similar alternatives would be available.

People don’t normally want dim lights in a bathroom.

...and dim lights are useful when you need a late night wee! Especially when turning the main light on will also inevitably start the extractor fan!

 

[SUNRAY]

They are not jealous because they know I am often wrong right.

 

[SUNRAY]

...and dim lights are useful when you need a late night wee! Especially when turning the main light on will also inevitably start the extractor fan!

We don't have a fan but it doesn't occur to me to switch the light on in the middle of the night, we even have an independant smell small light over the mirror I could use.

Edit to correct spelling mystook

 

[ericmark]

Well the bathroom is about the only room without some voice control, but easy enough to fit smart bulbs and simply say hey google set bathroom lights to 50% or I would think Alexa will do the same.

I to avoid waking each other at night have a 5 bulb landing lamp, centre bulb colour changing GU10 and outer ones simple on/off with a relay built into the lamp. There are many way to control lamps today, I am using a relay as it allows use of switch as well, but since fitting the light switch is seldom used, I will use it so no sound late at night, but the switch is now extra low voltage so no problem in a bathroom.

I tend to set centre always dimmed, but I can alter it if I wish. With the phone I get so easy enough to switch on/off, to me the biggest challenge is where to get power from for the strip lights, I had it with kitchen, new strip lights needed a socket, and the question was how to mount a socket which would not be seen, so no one would try using it for some thing else.

Your problem is socket not allowed in the bathroom, so likely looking at loft space? We want to hide the controls I have soft toys in front of the sockets and control boxes to hide them, some day may built a pelmet. And yes the lights are not really required to light the room, and in the last house the cabinet lighting was never used, but using smart controls means it auto turns on in the evening and off when we go to bed, so actually now used.

Lights from Ikea outer and Lidi centre. Switching with an Energenie power strip, although centre lights could be controlled direct with zigbee if I wished. The room main light is not central and that area is darker than rest, so cabinet lights do light the dinning area of the room.

 

[ericmark]

an independant smell light

Does that make or remove smells?

 

[JohnW2]

Low voltage is between 50 and 1000v AC. Surely this not what she wants.

According to the IEC, "Low voltage" is less than 1000V AC (with no lower limit), and so does encompass "what she wants".

 

[securespark]

Glove box or glove compartment.

Wing mirror.

Both wrong descriptions when applied to modern cars.

But they persist.

 

[MMarve]

Just as confusing as being told the box on the wall filled with fuses is not in fact called a fuse box.

My fusebox is in the cupboard and I keep my hoover in front of it. It's a great hoover, made by Dyson...

 

[securespark]

I think Marve was just making the point that people call things by the name that most recognise. Fuseboxes do not necessarily have fuses in and Hoovers aren't necessarily made by that particular manufacturer but they do the same job.

 

[markyd1]

Anyway...back to the OP after another post ends up all about Winston..........Try the Quinetic Range from TLC

 

[JohnW2]

Yes it seems the electrical trade has a problem with labels ...

As I recently wrote, I have no great problem with the electrical trade/industry doing whatever it wishes with the terminology/language used only within that trade/industry. However, I do have a problem with their trying to impose their changes in terminology on the general public, particularly when the attempted change results in a word having a totally different meaning from what the vast majority of the general public understand it to mean.

I suppose bulb is short for bulbous ....

The word derives (via Latin) from the Greek bolbós, “plant with round swelling on underground stem”

But stupid statements like bulbs grow in the ground don't help.

Not so stupid in view of the derivation (as above). However, for decades the word has come to have the other meanings with which we are familiar.

From your interest in photography, you will; be aware of the 'Bulb' setting of a camera shutter. More recently, one would use a cable shutter release (or, even more recently, an electronic equivalent) in order to keep the shutter open for as long as one wanted, but originally it was done pneumatically by squeezing a rubber 'bulb' (the shape of a bulb which grows in the ground) attached to the camera mechanism by tubing

Kind Regards, John