To the Electricians

[Emmsy]

can you tell me what the regs are involving downlighter spots.
im going to replace the crappy light fittings i have in my single storey extension with some downlighters preferable 12v ones unless you give me a good reason to go for 240v ones.
they will go into a plasterboard ceiling, do i need to use these top hat fire covers i see about? im planning on sticking some boards down in the loft above at some point. in regards to the lights in the bathroom, what is the minimum spec i require? is it IP44 or 65. if using 12v versions is there any difference required bearing in mind your unlikely to get electrocuted from 12v.

please dont start saying about part P blah blar blah, i did electrical installation at college years ago, im plenty competent enough, just not upto speed on the latest regs.

 

[Justme]

Make sure you can get at the transformer easily as they do tend to blow.

I would say that you do need the fire covers. In the bathroom it will depend on where the lights are as each zone needs a dif spec. I would not fit down lighters in a bathroom as they could let moisture into the loft.

 

[Emmsy]

any decent recommendation on bathroom light?
at the moment there is just 1 round grey plastic (approx 12" dia) thing, which seems to have little light output and looks completely crap!
i was thinking 4 or 5 downighters to replace it.
room is about 2x3m, walk in through the door and we have sink to left, walk in shower back left, toilet back right. its almost a wet room, tiled floors and walls all round. than the downlighters be sealed in place to stop moisture possible entering loft?

 

[mike os]

must have fire hoods.. though many are included in the fitting these days.

make sure you move teh insulation away from the light and transformer.

bathroom fittings must be marked as such and suitable for the zone they are fitted in, given the size I would say go for zone 1 compatable fittings.

 

[brightspark]

can you tell me what the regs are involving downlighter spots.
im going to replace the crappy light fittings i have in my single storey extension with some downlighters preferable 12v ones unless you give me a good reason to go for 240v ones.
they will go into a plasterboard ceiling, do i need to use these top hat fire covers i see about? im planning on sticking some boards down in the loft above at some point. in regards to the lights in the bathroom, what is the minimum spec i require? is it IP44 or 65. if using 12v versions is there any difference required bearing in mind your unlikely to get electrocuted from 12v.

please dont start saying about part P blah blar blah, i did electrical installation at college years ago, im plenty competent enough, just not upto speed on the latest regs.

go for the fire rated fittings that take the 240v g u 10 bulbs . there more reliable and the fittings last longer .also theres more of a selection of bulb types .eg halogen flourescent and leds . in the bathroom use the 12v fittings.240v can be used outside zone 2 but all circuits in bathrooms must be fed through an rcd rated at 30ma

 

[Emmsy]

thanks guys.
brightspark the 12v fittings for bathrooms, will they need to be ip44 /ip65 or whatever?
there will be no insulation around the lamps but they will get boarded over, should be plenty of room for them to breathe though without cooking to death

 

[GrahamGKD]

Emmsy,
This might be useful to you:

http://www.diydata.com/electrics/bathroom_electrics/bathroom_electrics.php

There was some discussion relating to it in this thread:

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=18416

Cheers,
Graham.

 

[brightspark]

equipment in zone 0 should be ipx7 - zone one and 2 ipx4 -equipment exposed to cleaning jets at least ip x5

 

[Mikey D]

i picked some bathroom down lighters from toolstation , IP 65 230 VOLT , (so good for all zones )were pretty cheap but look decent enough . They are on there website

cheers mike