On suite downlight IP rating

[zooankski]

I have got myself confused with the IP rating required for some on-suite downlights.
The ceilings are 2600mm and from what i can work out, this falls outside the IP rating zones?
Can anyone please clarify?

 

[JohnW2]

I have got myself confused with the IP rating required for some on-suite downlights.
The ceilings are 2600mm and from what i can work out, this falls outside the IP rating zones? Can anyone please clarify?

Yes, you are right. The 'zones' stop at 2,250mm above finished floor level. There is therefore no explicit IP requirement, but the lights must be "suitable for the environment", which is usually determined by what the manufacturer says.

If these are new lights (rather than replacements), they will need to be RCD protected (all circuits supplying bathrooms now need to be RCD protected).

Kind Regards, John

 

[ericmark]

All electrical items need to comply with IP rating. The only special bit about lights is you are allowed to use Screw and Bayonet fittings and ceiling roses which would not comply with anything but lighting. There are two general IP ratings. 12.5 mm bottom and sides and 1 mm on the top so you can't drop anything in which may short something out, and you can't get your finger in, without use of a key or tool with the exception of a ceiling rose.

So that is IP2X and IP4X were we have water i.e. outside we start at around IP54 to where it is likely to be under water at IP68. However this does not include corrosion so we need the manufacturer to say what is a suitable environment for their products. Also the regulations do stipulate what is permitted within the zones of a bathroom. You are outside the zones, but you still should follow what the manufacturer says.

 

[JohnW2]

So that is IP2X and IP4X were we have water i.e. outside we start at around IP54 to where it is likely to be under water at IP68. However this does not include corrosion so we need the manufacturer to say what is a suitable environment for their products.

That's what I said - and provided that the 'blanket' IP2X/IP4X requirements are satisfied (which they always will be), there is no regulatory requirement for any particular IP rating outside of the zones in a bathroom but, as we have both said, what matters is the manufacturer's view as to whether the product is suitable for the environment in question.

Kind Regards, John

 

[zooankski]

Thanks both!

 

[JohnW2]

Thanks both!

You're welcome!

Kind Regards, John

 

[seasickstevie]

... and ceiling roses which would not comply with anything but lighting.

Small detail, but ceiling roses were often in the past used to supply extractor fans. Is this something that's passed me by? Would that not be allowed today?

 

[JohnW2]

Small detail, but ceiling roses were often in the past used to supply extractor fans. Is this something that's passed me by? Would that not be allowed today?

I don't think it's really anything to do with what is being 'supplied' - but, rather, a question of where it is installed. I think eric's point was that a standard ceiling rose (the accessory) is allowed, presumably because it is attached to a ceiling, despite the fact that, with most designs, the cover can be removed, exposing live parts, without the use of a tool - something that would not be allowed of an accessory in any other location.

Kind Regards, John