Bathroom remodels require more care than other rooms of the house due to the mixture of electrical and water elements within the same space. Most people have spent time drying their hair with the hairdryer while looking in the mirror near the sink. Because extra caution is required, the bathroom has been broken down into electrical zones, with each zone having standards and practices to maintain safety. We’ve broken down the electrical zones for you here:
Zone 0
This zone includes the areas of the bathroom that hold water. The bathtub and shower basin are examples. This zone requires low voltage fittings or appliances to be used near the area. The caution is to make sure that nothing electrical can be partially or totally immersed in water for fear of electric shock. The electrical charge should be no more than 12v.
Zone 1
This zone covers the area directly above Zone 0 without including Zone 0. This is referred to as the ‘splash zone’. This means that the area can become wet but will not be submerged in water. Due to their being a water hazard, any fitting or appliances within this area need to be splash-proof. You can know this because it will be rated IPX4. The electrical charge is also not more than 12v.
Zone 2
Zone 2 is near Zone 1 but is less likely to be splashed regularly. This area requires the use of residual current devices (RCD) or ground fault interrupters (GFI) which work to cut off the current before a shock happens if it were to get wet or overloaded. These are the type of outlets that are mostly seen by the sink that has the red ‘reset’ button between the plugs. The fittings or appliances can have the IPX4 rating and be no more than 12v.
Consideration should be taken when remodeling a bathroom to make the room is as safe as possible, and to understand where the water will go while the bathroom is being used. Another consideration is who will be using the bathroom and how often. Children could have a higher likelihood to splash in the bathroom than an adult. This would mean that outlets could be put in higher, if possible. The idea is to make sure they can still be used but cannot be wet with water or reached easily while the young ones are using the bathroom as they get ready for bed for during the day.
