Lighting in the bathroom: wiring, lamps, chandelier, wall lamp, for ceiling

Few people know that the warranty period of operation of the electrical wiring is not more than twenty years. Her safety in the house must be given special attention, since with electricity jokes are bad. If you live in an old house built in the 60s-80s of the last century, replacing the wiring for you is not a precaution, but a forced measure, as it is simply not designed to work with modern facilities.

Washing machines, refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners and other appliances in the house can have a power of up to 10 kW, while in the design of houses the calculation for a power of 1.5 kW was standardized. This excess leads to wear of the insulation, which in turn can cause short circuits and fire.

Particularly relevant is the problem of changing the wiring in the bathroom, where the situation is worsened by high humidity in the room. In this article, we'll talk about how to properly plan and implement the installation of wiring and what nuances should be taken into account when choosing lighting fixtures for the bathroom.

As we already mentioned above, installation errors and wiring damage can have the most unfortunate consequences in the future. The first thing you should pay attention to when planning the wiring in the bathroom is the careful isolation of all wires. Under no circumstances should moisture be allowed to penetrate open parts of the electrical circuit. In order not to be exposed to the risk of electric shock or spoil all wiring in the bathroom as a result of the slightest damage, for example, in case of insulation failure on the mains cord of the washing machine, it is recommended to install additional residual current devices( RCDs).

Even using the highest quality and waterproof fixtures, they should not be placed near water faucets, shower cabins and bathtubs. The distance between them must be at least two meters.

In addition, it is necessary to observe safety precautions when working with electric wires.

For work you will need:

• voltmeter or multimeter;
• pliers with insulating handles;
• screwdriver with insulating handle;
• insulating tape.

When laying the wiring, it is extremely important to plan in advance where your electrical appliances and fixtures will be located. It is necessary to consider the arrangement of switches, sockets, sconces, lamps and chandeliers. This is necessary in order to avoid subsequently the need to pull new wires or rework the existing wiring for each new luminaire. The less twisting and branching will the network have, the more reliable it will be.

Earlier on the lamps in the bathroom for some reason preferred to save, and it was customary to limit one lamp under the ceiling or on the wall, above the entrance. Meanwhile, for many people, water procedures are a whole ritual. During the adoption of the bathroom you want everything around to look calm and harmonious. At the same time, every morning starts with a visit to the bathroom and to feel comfortable in it, you need to think it through.

The most common types of bathroom lighting:

The ceiling light is a classic that never becomes obsolete. In stores now you can find a wide selection of a wide variety of lamps of various sizes, colors and the most bizarre shapes.

From the ceiling lamp, light is scattered all over the room. The main factor in favor of the choice of ceiling lighting is the ease of mounting such lamps.

The second most popular type of lighting - spotlights .Unlike the wall, they do not illuminate the entire room, but only its individual zones or certain elements.

With their help it is convenient to emphasize the design solutions implemented in your bathroom, as well as to perform a kind of zoning with light.

The popularity of spotlights has grown along with the spread of fashion on hinged and stretched ceilings. Spot lights do not take up much space and are convenient to mount in the space behind the ceiling.

Outdoor lighting is a rare and rather ineffective way of lighting residential premises. It is mainly used as an original design move.

For decorative purposes, it can be used to create interesting drawings and ornaments with light, as well as for zoning.

• LED lighting, , although it is also often a design move, is much more functional. It can be used as an independent light source, and as a decorative addition to other lighting devices. Now many people opt for LED lamps because of their greater safety and economy compared to other types of luminaires.

Lighting in the bathroom by type of destination can be divided into three groups: general, zone and decorative .

Uses, as a rule, only one luminaire.

This option is suitable for those who have a small bathroom area if there are no partitions or any type of shower cabin type items that could interfere with the even distribution of light.

The simplest example of a ceiling luminaire is a conventional plafond, which is screwed in the middle of the ceiling and has a streamlined, sealed shape.

Another version of the ceiling lamp - lamps that are mounted in the ceiling. They are convenient to use with hanging or tension ceilings. In any bathroom, these lamps look harmonious and aesthetic.

Using chandeliers is suitable only for those in the bathroom who have high ceilings. Otherwise, its use will not only not give the necessary amount of light, but it will not fit into the interior of the bathroom.

In a spacious bathroom it will be a highlight of the interior, will give charm and uniqueness. When buying, be sure to buy a chandelier, which harmonizes with the design of the entire bathroom.

There are interesting design models that will appeal to fans of non-standard accessories. If your bathroom uses a marine theme, the chandelier-jellyfish will look original.

If the total light is not enough for you, you can additionally tackle the installation of zone lighting and place a sconce or any other fixture in the place where you would like to have more light. It is convenient to use the wall sconce in the bathroom , as additional lighting is not always required, and when there is a separate switch, a lot of electricity is saved.

Fixtures in the bathroom can be either conventional or spotlight. Before buying, be sure to design the ceiling. Perhaps you will need to mount the fixtures in the ceiling and this will be enough?

Wall lamps placed on the mirror will also be appropriate, will add light, functionality and raisins to the interior.

Lighting by LED lamps, although not as effective, but very impressive. Increase their effectiveness by using a large number of mirror surfaces.

In bathroom lamps, as well as in any other lighting fixture, there are four main types of lamps:

• incandescent lamps - the oldest type of lamps, power 40-100 W;
• fluorescent - 7-8 times more effective than incandescent lamps, with a power of 8-80 W;
• halogen is almost twice as bright as conventional incandescent lamps and due to the huge variety of shapes, sizes and designs used mainly for decorative purposes;
• LED features very low power consumption - an average power of 1 to 7 watts. They are also mainly used for decorative purposes.

After you have decided on the type of lighting you want, lights and lamps, you need to make preliminary calculations about the total power of the lamps used so that the room is not dark.

So, for example, for a square bathroom with a light finish, with a mirror and with uniform lighting, the required power per square meter will be 42 W using incandescent lamps and 13 W for fluorescent lamps.

If the bath area is 3.5 m2, the total power for lighting the room will be 147 W for incandescent lamps and 45.5 W for fluorescent lamps. For incandescent lamps, depending on the operating conditions, this value can vary from 42 to 140 W per 1 m2, and for fluorescent - from 13 to 42 W per 1 m2.

There are more complicated formulas. But if you are anxious to calculate everything extremely accurately, it will be easier for you to use special programs.

• When conducting wiring, try to immediately provide for all the important points and do not shift the wiring from place to place several times - on the aluminum wires from deformation appear microcracks, which reduce the period of its operation.

• Do not save on wiring. This applies not only to the wires themselves, but also to switches, sockets, tubes for wires and other components. The quality of the materials you use is directly related to your safety. It is not necessary to purchase expensive items for "gold", but it is not worth buying cheap Chinese plastic products.

• If you started a major overhaul in the bathroom, remember that the replacement of the wiring should be done before any plastering and painting works.

• Also remember that sooner or later, if not you, then your children will have to change the wiring again. Therefore, it is not worth it zamutvo vmurovyvat in the wall.

If you want to make your bathroom special and bring some new solutions to the bathroom lighting issue, try buying LED candles. This is a great alternative to real candles, they will also create a cozy and romantic mood, but with them much less fuss.

You can try to play with light, buying a spotlight with a narrow beam of light and pointing it at some particular piece of furniture, a sink, etc.

Also very comfortable and at the same time effective looking is the illumination of shelves for toiletries.

Do not forget about the natural light of the bathroom. If you have the opportunity to have a window in the bathroom - make it big. Small windows for ventilation are not relevant. The window will save you not only on your electricity bills, and it will be much easier for you to ventilate the room. For the bathroom, this is especially true because of the high humidity. The view from the window to the nature will additionally help to relax.

For the bathroom, glass that is made using the latest technology "smart glass" or smart film PDLC is ideal. Thanks to this technology, at the touch of a button your glass can be transformed from absolutely transparent to matte-white and vice versa. This technology is often used in the meeting rooms.