When planning a bathroom lighting installation it is first important to consider the Country building Regulations and their I.P. (Ingress Protection) Ratings Guide.

Please note these basic regulations regarding bathroom lighting. Other precautions may be required.

Principal IP regulations:

Zone 0 - Inside the bath or shower. Any fittings used here must be SELV(Separated Extra Low Voltage – max. 12Volts) and have a minimum rating of IPX7(IP67) (protected against immersion in water – total immersion proof)

Zone 1 - Above the bath or shower to a height of 2.25m A minimum rating of IPX4(IP44) is required. In this zone, if there is likelihood of water jets being used for cleaning purposes, a minimum of IPX5 is required. Also, subject to IP rating, SELV or 240V luminaires may be used in this zone; if the fitting is 240 volts, a 30mA residual current device (RCD) must also be used to protect the circuit in this zone.

Zone 2 - The area stretching to 0.6m outside the bath or shower and above the bath or shower to 2.25m An IP rating of at least IPX4(IP44) is required. In this zone, if there is likelihood of water jets being used for cleaning purposes, a minimum of IPX5 is required. Also, subject to IP rating, SELV or 240V luminaires may be used in this zone. In addition, it is a good practice to also consider the area around a wash basin (within a 60cm radius of any tap) as Zone 2. 

Zone 3 - anywhere outside zones 0, 1 and 2. Where water jets are not to be used for cleaning purposes, the general rules of BS7671 apply. Here, there are no requirement for any lighting to be IP rated against water or solids ingression.

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Many areas of the bathroom don't require an IP rating, meaning you can install a mixture of water resistant (IP44 to IP65) and none water resistant (IP20) downlights. Find out more information about bathroom zones.