Is lighting cabling suitable for bathroom heat / light / fan unit?

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Is lighting cabling suitable for bathroom heat / light / fan unit?

Virgil

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#251588 2-Jul-2019 14:34

Pretty much as the title suggests, I've just had an electrician fit a heat / light / fan unit to my bathroom, and he re-used the original 1mm light feed to power the whole lot.

To our resident sparkies (@aredwood?), does this sound acceptable, or should I query it further with the firm or an electrical inspector?

Cheers

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sen8or

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#2268529 2-Jul-2019 15:00

Are you sure? He may have run a switch wire to the existing switch in 1.5. I would have thought a light / heat / fan unit would need 2.5 (not a sparky but do work for an electrical contractor)

skewt

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#2268533 2-Jul-2019 15:07

Its allowed according to this page,

"Heat, extraction and light units - May be wired directly into lighting circuits."

http://www.level.org.nz/energy/electrical-design/wiring/fixed-wiring-for-electrical-systems-and-appliances/

nickb800

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#2268547 2-Jul-2019 15:15

It's fine, 1mm2 is normally good for 10 amps - a heat/light/fan wouldn't use 2 amps. Not rough or cheap - it's normal

Virgil

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#2268558 2-Jul-2019 15:52

Sweet, I'll rest easy, thanks team

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mclean

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#2269048 3-Jul-2019 10:02

If you're extending an existing circuit the important thing is the protection rating, not the load. For example, if the breaker has a 10A rating and the cable is in an insulated wall/ceiling then it really should be 1.5mm2. If the breaker is 6A then 1mm2 is good in all situations.