need electricians advice

[hotpink]

i cant afford to put central heating or underfloor heating in my bathroom, so i was thinking about getting a slim flat panel electric heater fixed to the wall - with the wires going through the wall into a plug socket. my father in law usually does all the odd jobs, but he wanted me to get advice as he says there are so many regulations nowadays. am i ok to put one in?

[Buenchico]

Irrespective of any rules, I'd be concerned about your plans because panel heaters may not be designed for use in a potentially damp environment. In particular, they may have switches which can be operated by damp hands. (The only switches which should be used in bathrooms are those operated by pull-cords).

Forget about panel heaters. While they might be cheap to run, they're generally so low-powered that you'd need to leave them on all of the time. Get a proper bathroom fan heater, which can give you an instant blast of warm air when you actually need it:
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servl et/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500000701&l angId=-1&searchTerms=4157904&x=0&y=0

To install the heater, you'll either need to use the services of an electrician who's registered with a 'competent person scheme' or you'll need to get approval from your local authority's Building Control department. See here:
http://www.eden.gov.uk/pdf/bc-odpm-electrical- safety-leaflet.pdf

Chris

[william c]

Can't you get heaters that are combined with the light?

[hotpink]

i already have a fan heater in there and i may as well employ someone to blow warm air in my direction, its absolute rubbish. i don't want to spend too much, so i would be unsure about the pull cord, i will look into it though. thanks

[buildersmate]

The answer that Chris gives is technically correct. The equipment must be rated for resistance to water ingress and have a rating of IPx4. I doubt that such a fan heater is sold because they aren't designed for bathrooms. The equipment must also be installed by a qualified person, as Chris says, and he/she would have to fit a 30mA RCD protection unit to the supply to protect against electircal shock.

[thugulike]

Why not get a heated towel rail? That'll heat the room and dry the towels. I have these in 3 of my bathrooms and they work fine. You do have to make sure they are the right size for the room though. If you take the dimensions with you the retailer will advise on the size required

[hotpink]

i thought heated towel rails ran through the central heating, am i wrong?

[thugulike]

Um yes. Hangs head in shame and feels very silly. Maybe you can get all electric ones though?

[Buenchico]

You can get heated towel rails which are separate from a central heating system, but they're not cheap:
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servl et/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500000701&l angId=-1&searchTerms=8350051&x=0&y=0
and
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servl et/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=1500000701&l angId=-1&searchTerms=8350068&x=0&y=0

Chris