Electrical

ELECTRICITY IN KITCHENS, BATHROOMS & AROUND THE HOME
West Sussex & Surrounding Areas

At MAW Services, we’re trained and qualified to install and test any electrical works completed in your kitchen, bathroom or anywhere else around your home. In particular, bathrooms and kitchens (known in the wiring regulations as ‘special locations’) have strict rules governing the use of electricity, particularly around sources of water and moisture. When designing and installing your kitchen or bathroom it is important the regulations of BS:7671 (the IET 17th Edition Wiring Regulations) are closely adhered to, ensuring not only compliance with building reglations under Part P, but more importantly, you and your family’s safety.

 

 

ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS IN KITCHENS

 

General Guidance for the location of accessories

 

    • Wiring accessories (e.g. sockets, switches) should preferably be surface mounted on, or recessed in, the wall, not affixed to kitchen furniture

 

    • Cooker control switches, extractor fan switches etc. should not be mounted so that it is necessary to lean over gas or electric hobs to use them

 

    • Sockets should be installed a minimum of 450mm from the floor

 

    • Accessories should be installed a minimum of 300mm from the edge of sinks and draining boards to reduce risk from being splashed

 

    • Sockets should be a minimum of 150mm above the work surface
    • Sockets and flex outlets supplying washing machines and dishwashers etc. should be positioned so any water that may drip from plumbing is unlikely to affect the outlet or plug

 

    • Sockets that supply appliances pushed under the worktop should be accessible when the appliance is pulled out

 

    • Cooker hoods should be 650 – 700mm above the hob surface (subject to manufacturers requirements)

 

 

 

 

ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS IN BATHROOMS

 

-All bathroom circuits to be protected by a 30mA RCD

 

Together with kitchens, bathrooms pose a particular challenge when it comes to fitting electrical fixtures and accessories. Considerable care is required to provide adequate means of protection against electric shock, especially in situations where the body is most susceptible i.e. without clothes or immersed in water. Typically these protections are met by the installation of equipment that is IP rated to a minimum degree of protection for the zone into which it is to be installed. Locations containing a bath or shower are divided into the following zones:

 

IP ratings for current-using equipment (appliances), sockets and switches for each zone are as follows:

Zone IP Rating Appliances Allowed? Switches & Accessories Allowed? Notes
0 IPX7 Yes. Only 12V a.c. and 30V d.c. SELV fixed equipment. The safety source is installed outside zones No The interior of the bathtub or shower basin. For showers without a basin (i.e wetrooms) the height of this zone is 100mm from floor level
1 IPX4 Yes. 25V a.c. and 60V d.c. SELV equipment allowed. Equipment allowed: whirlpool units, electric showers, shower pumps, vents, towel rails, lights, water heaters Yes. Only 12V a.c. and 30V d.c. switches of SELV circuits allowed, the source being installed outside zones i. Zone 1 reaches up to highest source of water or 2.25m above floor level (whichever is highest).
ii. Area under bath or shower is zone 1, unless the area is only accessible by using a tool in which case it is considered outside zones
2 IPX4 (Shaver units complying to BS EN 61558-2-5 allowed when protected from direct spray) Yes. Fixed, permenantly connected (not plugged in) equipment allowed. Yes. SELV switches & sockets allowed, the source being installed outside zones. Shaver units to BS EN 61558-2-5 i. Extends 0.6m from edge of zone 1.
ii. For wetrooms, there is no zone 2. zone 1 is instead increased to a distance of 1.20m
Outside Zones No IP rating required Yes. General dwelling requirements apply Yes. SELV switches & sockets allowed, the source being installed outside zones. Shaver units to BS EN 61558-2-5 Yes. However, 13amp plug sockets are required to be a minimum of 3m from edge of zone 1.

 

Sockets

13A socket outlets only allowed if 3 metres horizontally from zone 1. Shaver outlets complying with BS EN 61558-2-5 are allowed in zone 2.

Switches

Allowed outside zones, which is a minimum of 0.6m from the edge of bath or shower. Must be manufactured to be suitable for the conditions. The operating cord (but not the switch, this is typically located 2.25m above floor level) is allowed in zones 1 & 2.

Lights

230V light fittings are allowed above bath or shower in zone 1 but must be IPX4, completely enclosed and water protected. If outside zones (0.6m from zone 1 or 2.25m above floor level) no special fitting is required but must be manufactured to be suitable for the conditions.

Showers

Electric showers (BS EN 60335-2-35) and shower pumps (BS EN 60335-2-41) must comply with BSEN. Shower is permitted within zone 1. An isolation switch can be located in the bathroom; as with other switches in bathrooms, the operating cord (but not the switch, this is typically located 2.25m above floor level) is allowed in zones 1 & 2.

Extractor Fans

230V extractor fans installed in zones 1 & 2 must have an IP rating of at least IPX4. If powered from the lighting circuit and located in a bathroom without any windows it should have its own mean of isolation. This is to avoid maintenance to the fan being carried out in the dark. An isolation switch for a fan with an overrun (delay switch) will need to be triple-pole (switch wire, live, neutral) and (as with other switches in bathrooms) the operating cord (but not the switch, this is typically located 2.25m above floor level) is allowed in zones 1 & 2.

Fixed Equipment

Outside of zones any fixed equipment can be installed and doesn’t require any IP rating. However, due to the nature of a bathroom (steam, moisture, condensation) most standard equipment does not last long in this environment. It must be fed using a switched fused spur.

Washing machines & Tumble Dryers

May be installed provided they are:

  • outside zones
  • supplied from a switched fused flex outlet (sockets are allowed 3m from zone 1)
  • protected by 30mA RCD
  • manufactued to be suitable for the conditions

 

Earthing/Bonding for copper and plastic pipes in bathrooms:

 

Waste Pipes Cold Water Hot Water Central Heating Supplementary Bonding Required Notes
Copper Copper Copper Copper All metal pipes, earth terminals of appliances/equipment and exposed conductive parts of building structure Metal pipes only to be used if joints are metal to metal
Plastic Plastic Plastic Plastic Earth terminals of appliances/equipment and exposed conductive parts of building structure Unless connected to metallic building structure, no bonding required for bath/taps/baths/radiators
Plastic Plastic Plastic Copper Central Heating metal pipes, earth terminals of appliances/equipment and exposed conductive parts of building structure Unless connected to metallic building structure, no bonding required for bath/taps/baths. Radiators require bonding

 

 

 

AREAS WE COVER IN SUSSEX // SURREY // KENT

Brighton, Broadbridge Heath, Burgess Hill, Cranleigh, Crawley, Crowborough, Cuckfield, Eastbourne, East Grinstead, Heathfield, Horsham, Haywards Heath, Hassocks, Lewes, Uckfield, Worthing, East Sussex, West Sussex, Mid-Sussex