When you are refurbishing or designing a new bathroom, choosing the correct light fixtures can be quite tricky due to the safety regulations that must be followed. These safety regulations lay out an IP rating for light fixtures which identifies to what extent these fixtures stop water from getting inside of them. To understand what IP rating is needed for different forms of lighting, the bathroom is sectioned into ‘zones’ that each have a IP rating specification.
Bathroom Lighting Zones
• Zone 0- is any lighting that would be submerged in water, for instance inside of a bath tub. These lights have to be IP67.
• Zone 1- are any lights that will be directly over a bath or shower and they are also recommended to be an IP67.
• Zone 2- is usually any area that covers the perimeters of zone 1 including the radius of your sink. This is the most common lighting in a bathroom and requires IP44 rated lighting.
• Zone 3- is any other area outside of the zones where no jet water will be present, does not need any special lighting but the minimum of IP20 is recommended.
Understanding these zones and the regulations required for bathroom lighting can help make bathroom lighting choices, just a little bit easier.