Adding Powerpoints To Wet Areas

For homeowners building or renovating a laundry or bathroom, did you know that there are specific rules linked to the distance between water and powerpoints?  

While kitchens are often marked as the key room that receives all the attention during renovations or new builds, there are other areas of a home that are often regarded as quiet achievers, such as the laundry room and bathroom. Often the last spaces to get a much needed refresh or a well designed layout, these types of wet areas need to combine form and function.

To further complicate matters, rooms like these have another variable to contend with: how to successfully partner electricity and water. While the two are traditionally not that compatible, almost every home in the nation has a bathroom or laundry that features at least one powerpoint. 

As such, it’s important to get familiar with the strict regulations that surround the location of powerpoints, switches and lights within a wet area like a bathroom or a laundry. In addition to basic safety, it’s important to be aware of these rules to ensure that your plans are compliant, and that you don’t make any subsequent changes that could jeopardise the finished product. 

The Rules For Powerpoints And Switches In Wet Areas 

For the purpose of wiring regulations, bathrooms are divided into four zones, in accordance with the Australian/New Zealand Wiring Rules (AS/NZS 3000:2007). 

Zone 0 – This covers the interior area of the base of the bath or shower.

Zone 1 – This zone is divided into three sections, depending on what you have installed:

• Bath – For a bathtub, Zone 1 is the vertical area from the inner rim of the bath to the ceiling, or 2.5m above the rim, whichever is lower (this usually encompasses zone 0 too).
• Shower over a bath – The area with a horizontal radius of 1.2m from the fixed plumbing connection of the shower (i.e. 1.2m out from the shower outlet).
• Shower – The area with a horizontal radius of 1.2m from the fixed plumbing connection of the shower. The vertical boundaries of this area extend from the floor to the ceiling, or up to 2.5m above the floor, whichever is lower.

Zone 2 – This is the area with a horizontal radius of 0.6m out from Zone 1, and a height of 2.25m above the floor (or to the ceiling, whichever is lower).

Zone 3 – This is the area with a horizontal radius of 2.4m out from Zone 2. The vertical boundaries of this area extend from floor to ceiling or up to 2.5m above the floor, whichever is lower.

In turn, where you can place sockets and switches in a bathroom depends on the zone:

Zone 0 – No sockets or switches are permitted.

Zone 1 – No sockets are permitted. No switches are permitted unless they’re installed higher than 0.3m above the bathroom floor with IPX4 specification. 

Zone 2 – No sockets are permitted unless they’re incorporated into a shaver supply unit OR are protected by Residual Current Detectors (RCD) with a fixed rating of not more than 30mA, and in a cupboard (e.g. a vanity cabinet) that maintains the enclosure of the socket outlet during normal operation of the connected equipment. No switches are permitted unless they’re installed higher than 0.3m above the bathroom floor with IPX4 specification.

Zone 3 – Sockets are permitted provided that they’re installed at more than 0.3m above the bathroom floor, and fitted with RCD protection. No switches are permitted unless they’re installed higher than 0.3m above the bathroom floor. No specific IP rating is required.

To further complicate matters, slightly different rules apply in other areas of a residential home, such as kitchens and laundries around sinks, basins or other fixed water containers. The distance that electrical outlets (GPOs) can be from a sink is determined by how much water it can contain. Sinks, basins or other fixed water containers that hold less than forty-five litres have slightly different rules than those which hold more.

If you’re on the hunt for a decent sparky to help you safely illuminate your home without spending a small fortune, finding a reputable and local electrician to get the job done can feel a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. Thankfully, the team at Shield Electrical offer a solution. 

Where To Get Advice On All Things Electrical 

Here at Shield Electrical, we are a Brisbane based electrical contracting company, and pride ourselves on being shockingly good at watt we do. For us, friendly and reliable customer service isn’t just a nice add on – it’s how we do business. Don’t take our word for it though, just ask our clients. 

Established in 2015, Shield Electrical is lighting the way when it comes to providing electrical work with world class customer service. With our headquarters based in the central suburban pocket of Coorparoo, our team of qualified industry professionals are readily available to deliver quality workmanship, fast quotes, and affordable pricing.

Whether you’re on the hunt for an electrician for domestic services, residential, commercial and industrial construction, security systems or even just further energy saving tips, get in touch with us at Shield today to source practical solutions that don’t break the bank.