Fixtures for the bathroom

The bathroom is very different in humidity from other rooms in the home, therefore, for the safe installation of electrical appliances there, it is important to consider this factor. This also includes fixtures, which, although it is customary to place them high on the ceiling or on the wall, nevertheless, a correctly selected lamp for the bathroom can be installed in almost any humidity zone of the bathroom, provided, of course, that it has the appropriate protection class .

Basically, any bathroom can be divided into four humidity zones, in each of which the requirements for the security of the installed lamp, as well as safety, will be different. Each humidity zone is different from each other, which is why for each of them special requirements are placed on the fixtures.

The first humidity zone is located in the bath itself or in the shower cabin, in general, where the humidity reaches 100%. Only luminaires with low-voltage power supply not exceeding 12 voltspossessing a class of protection against IP67 and above.

That is, the luminaire for mounting directly into the bath itself or directly into the shower cabin must be fully protected both from dust and moisture penetration into its sealed enclosure, even when immersed under water to a depth of 1 meter.

Low-voltage power supply is by no means a problem for modern LED light sources, it should only be remembered that it is advisable to place electric converters for them outside the bathroom.

The second moisture zone refers to the space directly above the bathtub, at an altitude of 2.25 m from the edge of the bathtub. Of course, in this humidity zone the lamp will no longer be completely under water, however, steam, even large splashes, or even water jets, can get on it, therefore, the lamp protection class for placement above the bathtub should be at least IP45.

Power supply from a low-voltage network, with a voltage not exceeding 24 volts, will be completely safe for the lamps of this zone, but the high-voltage part, again, must be brought out of the bathroom.

On the sides of the second moisture zone, about 60 cm left and right, is the third humidity zone. It is drier compared to the previous two, so it is enough for it to have a protection class of IP24, that is, to have protection against splashes. Low voltage power supply is also desirable here.

The driest, finally, part of the bathroom is the fourth moisture zone, it starts 3 meters from the edge of the third. Sprays are unlikely to reach here, except that only steam can threaten the lamps.

The protection class of almost all modern luminaires satisfies the condition of protection against steam. But, in fairness, we note that the second digit in the protection class should be “1” or more. In this humidity zone, you can already safely install a lamp powered directly from a 220 volt network.