Installing a washing machine in the bathroom, the location of the outlet for this household appliance must be thought through first. This is important for the operation of the machine, and for the safety of all tenants. In addition, in addition to a washing machine in a modern bathroom, there are many electrical appliances, so the presence of an outlet in such a room is a very urgent issue.
Requirements
The socket that you intend to install in the bathroom must necessarily have an increased protection against moisture and the presence of a cover to prevent splashes from getting inside. Also an excellent option for the bathroom is an outlet in which the RCD is installed. This is the name of a device that provides a protective power outage when a leakage occurs.
Calculate the cable cross-section
To calculate the wire cross section, consider the power of the washing machine, which you learn from the documentation accompanying the technology or from the Internet. By equipping the power supply network in the bathroom, many apartment owners choose a 2.5 mm2 cable for it, after which several outlets are installed( for the machine, boiler, shower and other purposes).However, experts do not advise.
It is best to separately lay the cable for the washing machine and separately install a socket for such a device. If you want to make a block of outlets, then to calculate the cross-section of the wire, you should calculate the power of all the devices while switching on at the same time. Also, when determining the cross section, it is necessary to take into account, from what material the cable is made( copper or aluminum cores).
The table shows the parameters for 220 V:
| Copper conductors | Cable cross-section( mm2) | Aluminum conductors | ||
| Power( kW) | Current( A) | Power( kW) | Current( A) | |
| 4.1 | 19 | 1.5 | - | - |
| 5,5 | 25 | 2,5 | 4.1 | 19 |
| 7.7 | 35 | 4 | 5.9 | 27 |
| 9,2 | 42 | 6 | 7 | 32 |
| 12,1 | 55 | 10 | 9,2 | 42 |
Rarely in which washing machine power is more than 3 kW, however inthe choice of the cross-section is always left with a small margin of power, so the most common are wires with a cross section of 2.5 mm2.
Which height is optimal?
The minimum distance from the floor of the bathroom to the outlet is 60 centimeters. The same distance should be from the outlet to the nearest source of water - a shower cubicle or a bath. Close to such sources of plenty of spray it is permissible to install only a water heater and low-power devices for the functioning of sanitary ware.
How to install?
The steps of installing the outlet in the bathroom will include the following:
- Buy the outlet and the wire of the desired section.
- Route the wire and lead it to the bathroom.
- Install the machine and the RCD.
- Make a hole in the wall for an outlet using a puncher.
- Install the socket box in the hole and take out the wire there.
- Fasten the scoop with cement mortar and clean the residue after drying.
- Connect the wire to the outlet and install it in the box.
Safety Criteria
The main danger for the socket located in the bathroom is the increased humidity in this room.
This is why the installation of the outlet must be carried out with certain requirements:
- The socket should be connected via an RCD.Ideally, if this device will be presented in the outlet itself, but it can be separate. The optimum parameter of the cut-off current for the RCD in the bathroom is 10 mA, and the operating current of the device must exceed the input current.
- To protect the washing machine and its wiring against short circuits, the outlet must also be connected via an automatic device providing a protective shutdown. Such an automaton is connected before the RCD.In its choice, it is necessary to take into account both the wire cross section and the network load. There are dif-automata in which the protective device is connected to the RCD in one device.
- The washing machine must be grounded. A three-wire cable that is laid on the machine is grounded in the shield, connecting it to the grounding bus.
- A three-core cable must be used for the wiring in the bathroom.
- It is best to perform hidden wiring in the bathroom with careful isolation of its elements.
And a little more information about the bathroom racks in the next video.
