Discuss Sockets in bathrooms in the Electrical Wiring, Theories and Regulations area at ElectriciansForums.net

How long before BS 7671 allows socket outlets in bathrooms

  • Amendment to 18th

    Votes: 1 5.9%
  • 19th

    Votes: 5 29.4%
  • Never - far too dangerous

    Votes: 11 64.7%

  • Total voters
    17
  • Poll closed .
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Just seen this thread and thought I would add my t'pennyworth, French regulations say no electrical appliance/socket within Volume 0 & 1 which are the area's encompassing the water and bath, or Volume 2 which extends 600mm beyond that area, however showers are treated slightly differently in that Volume 1 extends 1200mm beyond the shower head unless completely enclosed in which case the inside of the enclosure is Volume 1 and Volume 2 is 600mm beyond this, it then gets a bit complicated where the height of all Volume's are 2250 from the water level in a bath, but 2250mm from finished floor level in a shower room, it is normal practice for washing machine's etc to be located in a Shower/Bathroom all supplied from outside the Volume's as above, but all RCD protected as Regulation requirements to any socket, pull cords for lights and extracts are unusual, normally a standard switch is used.
 
Same in Spain, washing machines in bathrooms very common. My shower room has a socket 300mm from the whb, and 300mm from the bidet, so you can plug stuff in while you sit, so to speak...except when the CU was upgraded the spark took the socket innards out and fitted a blanking plate, helpfully leaving the bits behind for "retro-fit"! The lights are operated via a standard rocker switch just inside the door at the WC...this is common practice. There is a shaver outlet on the lighting pelmet above the WHB, unswitched and fed from the lights, and its terminals were exposed, so could be touched if you were scrabbling for shampoo or whatever on the pelmet top shelf...easily cured with a strip of duct tape...or in my case, a socket blanking plate screwed over the top.
 
I know in mother's old house it did not comply, the socket was likely only 2 meters from the shower, I really do not see a big problem when the floor is carpeted and one is unlikely to really put anything too close to the shower cubical in the bedroom, it really makes no difference if the socket was the full 3 meters everything in the bedroom would be the same, just a longer lead would be used and so cause more not less danger.

I could see the whole idea of not defining the room as a bedroom with shower and saying any room big enough so you could get 3 meters from the shower then allowed a socket, but in the bedroom the shower went in after the socket.

In the bathroom why would you want a socket? It is a bathroom, why we want to shave in the bathroom I don't know, and why you want to charge things where they can fall into the sink? Yes I use an electric tooth brush, but it is charged in bedroom not bathroom, I will admit cutting my beard there is an advantage having a toilet below me to catch the hair, but never stood in the bath to trim my beard, the hair would not go down the plug hole so would need to gather it up anyway.

I know there are some electric teeth cleaners that are hard wired and use more than the 200 VA a shaver socket can deliver, so can see the requirement for a 500 VA shaver type socket in the bathroom.

I bought in the UK a caravan, which has a shower cubical, and the shower cubical is in an area with toilet and sink and wardrobe which has the consumer unit for whole caravan inside the wardrobe, I looked and thought that's shortly not right, but the door on the shower cubical reaches the ceiling, so it actually passes.

So big question is why not make shower cubicles 2.25 meters high? then you could have a socket in the same room.
 
A caravan with the consumer unit in an accessible place? are you sure?

Mine is under the front seat... so you've got to move all the cushions, the other soft furnishings, the heavy seat foam and the seat itself, which is too heavy to hold up on its supposedly supporting hinges... just to flick a circuit breaker which are on the top...
Why they couldnt put the board verticle, just behind the little drop down door below the seat.... or in a sensible place.

Light switches accessible from shower in a caravan? Thats ok... they're 12v
 
every landing that you walk away from is good.

Sockets in bathrooms 1600455483986 - EletriciansForums.net
 
I don't understand what you would want a 1363 socket in a bathroom for?
Just seen this thread and thought I would add my t'pennyworth, French regulations say no electrical appliance/socket within Volume 0 & 1 which are the area's encompassing the water and bath, or Volume 2 which extends 600mm beyond that area, however showers are treated slightly differently in that Volume 1 extends 1200mm beyond the shower head unless completely enclosed in which case the inside of the enclosure is Volume 1 and Volume 2 is 600mm beyond this, it then gets a bit complicated where the height of all Volume's are 2250 from the water level in a bath, but 2250mm from finished floor level in a shower room, it is normal practice for washing machine's etc to be located in a Shower/Bathroom all supplied from outside the Volume's as above, but all RCD protected as Regulation requirements to any socket, pull cords for lights and extracts are unusual, normally a standard switch is used.
You do wonder! If the French, Italians, Spanish, Germans, Americans, New Zealanders, Australians (to mention just a few) manage to teach their children to behave responsibly with socket outlets in a wet room, could we not do the same here in The British Isles?
 
Excellent! We just build a big bathroom at the border in Ireland and trade problems solved, along with any travellers needing relief!

Where is my £10M consultancy payment?
On the way ?. But seriously. Sockets in a bathroom are not dangerous providing they are used in the same responsible way all other electrical accessories are. I come from a country with similar regs, as you but when I see 90% of the world successfully using this sockets successfully (and conveniently) in bathrooms I, m incli Ed to say.. "hold on a second, mayby they are on to something here". Would, nt you agree?
 
Personally I really don't like the idea, having (sadly) enough friends who are muppets when it comes to electrical safety, but some relaxation and adequately isolated products to have USB charge ports would probably avoid a large number of issues with power in bathrooms.

Stuff like hair driers on FCUs don't really worry me, as they can have a flex length & position that avoids bath-use muppetery.
 
Personally I really don't like the idea, having (sadly) enough friends who are muppets when it comes to electrical safety, but some relaxation and adequately isolated products to have USB charge ports would probably avoid a large number of issues with power in bathrooms.

Stuff like hair driers on FCUs don't really worry me, as they can have a flex length & position that avoids bath-use muppetery.
Agreed. I mean in reality you can't legislate for irresponsible behaviour. But when you think about it, millions of us travel abroad every year and don't give a, second thought about using the available electrical accessories in bathrooms. Why not do the same at home?
 
If the socket is protected with an RCD or better an RCBO why not, not every one is a muppet, but that still doesn't prevent someone taking an extension lead into the bathroom that is not protected.
 
With the level of bodgery I often come across I'm surprised I've not seen an ip rated socket fitted in a bathroom yet....never say never.
 
If the socket is protected with an RCD or better an RCBO why not we are not all muppets.
Yes. It's a mindset problem again, is, nt it?. I have no doubt in my own that its just a question of time before it changes. One of the main problems is that the socket in the bathroom has been presented as inherently dangerous when it's nothing of the sort. I find it a little ironic that we have no hesitation of stepping under an electric shower, naked, water flowing under our feet and we dont bat an eyelid
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I would not even fit a light switch in a bathroom let alone a socket.
But you are fine standing under an electric shower?
[automerge]1600463381[/automerge]
If the socket is protected with an RCD or better an RCBO why not, not every one is a muppet, but that still doesn't prevent someone taking an extension lead into the bathroom that is not protected.
Mike by the word "volume" do you mean area?
 
Bound to be a video on youtube that fits the bill.

Sockets in bathrooms {filename} | ElectriciansForums.net

Talk of the devil - already been in Codebreakers

Code 2 apparently... Though the colour scheme may be a Code 1.

Looking further, there's a disabled seat in the shower, so this may have been put in to allow an elderly person to receive 'personal care' from a carer. May actually be safer than an extension lead from the hallway - or would be if it wasn't a BG cheapy with clips that will break in 6 months...
 
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