EICR Report - RCD Protection for Bathroom lighting
Anonymous user 23/02/2024 - 3.42 PM
I recently had an EICR inspection carried out in my 2 bed flat and the engineer gave me a C2 code and 'Unsatisfactory' report for following,
No RCD protection for bathroom lights and no supplementary bonding is present.
I have done some research online and it appears that this code has been given incorrectly because my flat was built in 2006 whereas RCD’s were not required on bathroom lighting circuits until 2008 or even later in January 2019 when the latest 18th edition of BS7671:2018 regulation came into force. The latest regulations also states that allowance must be made for the regulations that were current when the electrical system was installed, so what is now considered dangerous (according to current regulations) was not considered dangerous when it was installed in 2006 in compliance with BS7671:2001 – 16th Edition (I believe)
So my question really is that can I challenge this grade with engineer since my electrical system was installed in 2006 and was considered safe at that time? I never had this issue in my last two EICR inspections and feel that if anything, it should be graded as C3 and not C2.
I would really appreciate if someone could clarify this for me please. Many thanks
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
There is a requirement for bathrooms to have supplementary bonding. That was required in 2006, but there was no requirement to have bathroom lights protected by 30mA RCD back then because it was part of a lighting circuit and lighting circuits weren't required to have it. However, there IS a requirement to have supplementary bonding in place. Your EICR states it is not present. It could be present but may be difficult to see. It may be difficult to determine if there is any without taking the bathroom apart, it could be hidden under floors or behind bath panels. In this situation it is a C2 unless you can be certain there is supplementary bonding. Without it you either need to put it in, or add 30mA RCD protection. There are different ways of achieving this but the most common is a replacement CU when all circuits will be 30mA RCD protected. You can add a 30mA RCD spur to just the bathroom circuits but that may not be straight forward either. It would not be easy to add supplementary bonding in a fully kitted out bathroom. Catch 22. You need to do something to improve the safety and C2 is the correct code.
Answered14 September 2021
3
Anonymous user
Regulations change all the time and as this might have not been seen as dangerous or satisfactory then it definitely is now according to the regs and change is most definitely required..... This is most definitely a C2.
It's a small price to pay to correct this in comparison to what you could be fined for if you don't have it corrected.
Yep definitely a C2. If the electrician actually tested properly and has determined that no supplementary bonding is present then he’s done you a good service and the previous EICRS have missed it.
C3 if the light is above 225cm and you have supplementary bonding and it's original wiring. If you have had amendments to the lighting circuit since the property was built then the wiring ought to be RCD protected. Also outside zones in a bathroom do not constitute a special location.
