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The bathroom should be safe, comfortable and beautiful. And one of the factors is lighting. Therefore, it is necessary to choose lamps for the bathroom consciously, taking into account not only the aesthetic component, but also safety. In addition, lighting fixtures should give a sufficient amount of light in the right places.
How to ensure electrical safety in the bathroom
In the bathroom, special attention should be paid to safety: water and electricity are a very dangerous combination. There are two ways:
- use the usual 220 V power supply, but select devices with a high electrical safety class;
- step down the voltage to 24V or 12V using appropriate low voltage lights.
There is, in fact, a third way – to use wireless battery-powered wall lights for lighting. They are equipped with LEDs, so they consume little energy and will last quite a long time. But this option can not give full coverage.
Reducing the voltage is also not easy. In addition to the step-down transformer, it will also be necessary to find suitable fixtures for this area. Of course, there are, but their design, to put it mildly, will not always be able to satisfy the exacting tastes.
The most common approach is to choose bathroom fixtures with increased resistance to moisture – waterproof. But, in addition, to ensure safety, a separate power line is pulled into the bathroom, with its own RCD and circuit breaker. This guarantees the ability to quickly de-energize the room if necessary and automatically turn off the power at the slightest problem.
Protection class of bathroom fixtures
A special system has been developed to classify the protection of devices. The safety class of the device (its case) is displayed by two digits and the Latin letters IP in front of them. The first digit displays how the device is protected from dust and foreign objects getting inside, it also displays the safety of touch, the second one shows the degree of protection against water ingress and water splashes. The minimum protection is 0, the higher the number, the higher the protection. The exact data is displayed in the table.
In the bathroom, the operating conditions of electrical equipment depend on the location. Near a bathtub, sink or shower, there is a high chance that water will get on the appliance in one way or another. Therefore, they try not to put lamps in the zones, and if it is necessary (or really want), then they use cases with a high degree of protection, not lower than IP67 (pictured below). Such lighting devices are placed in the bathtub itself, for illumination or directly in the shower cabin. As follows from the table, water does not enter such a case even when immersed to a depth of up to 1 meter. Bathroom fixtures of this class will cost a lot, so if they are used, then in showers.
Directly above the bath, at a height of 2,25 m, there is an area in which it is permissible to use enclosures with protection not lower than IP 65, with protection against direct water ingress. The same area is located in the immediate vicinity of the washbasin – 60 cm from the tap to the sides and up.
Bathroom fixtures class IP 65 also cost a lot. For this reason, lighting fixtures are rarely installed here. Only waterproof LED strips will feel good. In principle, they can even be immersed in water and such tapes are relatively inexpensive, but they must be powered by low-power sources, so for normal operation a power supply is also required, which lowers the voltage to an acceptable one.
At the same height – 2,25 meters and a width of 0,6 meters around the bath and shower, splashing is quite possible. Therefore, bathroom fixtures with a protection class of at least IP 44 with splash protection are installed in this area.
Types of fixtures used in bathrooms
Lighting in the bathroom is mainly done in the traditional way, installing lamps on the ceiling. And also use wall lamps or lights for the mirror.
Ceiling
Ceiling lights for installation in the bathroom are of two types – built-in and overhead. Recessed are used with suspended (plasterboard or plastic panels) or stretch ceilings. Their distinguishing feature is that most of the body is located behind the plane of the final ceiling. Outside, there is a decorative overlay and part of the light bulb.
The protection class is selected depending on the installation location. Outside of special requirements enclosures can be installed with a splash rating of at least 1 (vertical splash protection), and dust protection is usually not specified.
Light bulbs built into spotlights for the bathroom are better to put LED. They consume little electricity and at the same time shine brightly, almost do not heat up and have a long working life.
The second option has a more traditional look, these are overhead ceiling lights. They consist of a body that is attached to the ceiling and a ceiling. Among these models, there are quite a few with a high class of protection; with such a structure, it is easy to achieve tightness. For this, a rubber gasket is usually used.
The range of both lighting fixtures is large, and besides, they can be combined. With their help, you can create a unique design that fully meets the safety requirements and gives a sufficient amount of light.
Wall mounted
Even with good ceiling lighting in the area of the mirror, there is rarely enough light. Because in the bathroom they still install lamps on the walls.
Depending on where you plan to install the luminaire, it can be IP 44 (zone 2) or IP 21, 31, 41, etc. The second digit may be higher.
Therefore, it makes sense to place bathroom lamps above the mirror or use a moisture-proof (in a polymer tube) LED strip around the mirror’s perimeter. In this case, the light is distributed evenly, which is convenient for both shaving and cosmetic procedures.
Another option is to install wall-mounted spotlights that have a movably fixed ceiling. They allow you to direct the flow of light to the desired area. They are loved by decorators, as they create interesting effects by highlighting a narrow section of the wall.
The combination of ceiling and wall lights for the bathroom will certainly allow you to get the intensity of light that you desire. In addition, it becomes possible to change the degree of illumination at will – turning on and off part of the lighting devices.
Chandeliers
We rarely use chandeliers in the bathroom. In small spaces, they look like an alien element, since for the most part they require a lot of space.
If you have an artistic flair, you can come up with something with chandeliers to improve the interior of the bathroom. But it is better to choose from small concise models, which, firstly, can give enough light, and secondly, will meet safety requirements.
Additional features
A bath is not only a utilitarian room for hygiene procedures. In a warm bath you can relax, unwind, relieve stress. For such cases, you can make a backlight. For this, again, LED strips are used, only not white ones, which are taken for lighting, but colored ones, to create a softer atmosphere conducive to relaxation.
There are LED strips that can change the colors of the glow. They give out less light and are not used for main lighting, but for backlighting – that’s it, because you can choose a color depending on your mood.
For those who want to create a unique bathroom design, there is another interesting and so far little-used opportunity – to make a backlight in the floor. This is a difficult job, but the effect is very interesting.
In general, choosing bathroom fixtures is a creative process. But do not forget about safety.