When it comes to finishing touches, adding a towel rail to your bathroom can really be the icing on the cake.
Heated Towel Rails for Bathrooms can either run off the central heating, be heated via electricity or a combindation of both (dual fuel towel rail). The most popular is a central heating towel radiator which is run off central heating just like a regular radiator would be in your house. These are easiest to fit as they do not require any electrical installation.
Electrical towel rails are effective in times when you wouldn’t want to have your central heating on but would like to heat a bathroom say for when you get out of the bath. You can simply turn the radiator on with the flick of a switch (and more importantly off again) thus only using fuel for the time you need.
A combination of these gives a “best of both worlds” solution, in winter months you can run the bathroom radiator off your central heating and then in summer months run it from the electricity. Most heated towel rails can be adapted to this solution with the means of a dual fuel element.
The diagram below shows a bathroom broken down into zones.
It is very important to consider these zones when choosing electrical equipment for your bathroom.
For the purposes of installing electrical equipment, a bathroom is divided into zones. The criteria for each zone is based on the risk of electric shock. The zones relate to the IP rating of products and where they can be safely installed.
Zone 0 – the interior of the bath or shower that can hold water. Requires electrical products to be low voltage (max 12V) and rated IPX7.
Zone 1 – the area directly above zone 0, limited to a height of 2.25m above the bath or shower. Requires electrical products to have an IPX4 or better. Products should use safety extra low voltage (SELV) with the transformer located in zone 3 or beyond.
Zone 2 – the area beyond zones 0 and 1, stretching 0.6m horizontally and up to 2.25m vertically. Also includes the recessed area of a window with a sill next to the bath. Requires electrical products to have an IPX4 or better. SELV with the transformer located in zone 3 or beyond.
Zone 3 – the area beyond zone 2, stretching 2.4m horizontally and up to 2.25m vertically. There is not a specified IP number for this zone, although some products are marked as not for bathroom use. SELV or shaver units are permitted, all other portable electrical equipment is not.
Notes
• When the size of the bathroom extends beyond zone 3, portable electrical equipment must be restricted, e.g. cable length is restricted so it cannot be moved into zone 3.
• Where ceiling heights exceed 2.25m, the zones effectively extend up to 3m with beyond 3m un-zoned.
• Basins are not covered, although they are usually consider to be zone 2.
• If the space under the bath cannot be accessed without using a tool (i.e. a screwdriver) then that space is considered un-zoned.
All electrical work in a bathroom must be carried out by a qualified electrician, if you have questions in relation to bathroom lighting that are specific to your situation we strongly advise you contact a professional for further advice.
