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Hi, I’d just like to check the advice my parents plumber has been given about the ceiling down lights that are to be fitted in their new bathroom. The shower head is about 2.1m from floor level so well within the 2.25m of zone 1. He’s been told that the ceiling lights directly above the shower cubicle (ceiling is 2.4m from floor level) still need to be IP65 and zone 1 rated, is that correct?

The 2.25 m zone is nonsense. If above the bath / shower then common sense says they should be IP rated.

As it stands anything above 2.25 m doesn’t need to be IP rated

IP rating is simply a way to say how much protection from water or dust etc that have, so to say must be IP rated is daft, I don't have book to hand, but the dust part is X to show does not matter, so will likely be some thing like IPX4 but I know there is an X in the rating.

However common sense it must be able to stand the enviroment it is in, and non tungsten lamps have little heat so will not dry out like the old lamps, and since not a hermetically sealed glass envelope the bulb as will as fitting must be suitable for the enviroment and I have to date failed to find any bulb with an IP rating marked on the bulb.

So best option is to keep lamp away from directly above shower, I know a problem, mothers wet room the extractor was correctly right above the shower head, and in the centre was a 12 volt bulb, OK with tungsten, hot enough to stop water ingress, but not with LED.

Having opened bulbs to see how they work, I know not sealed so there are very few lamps to take spot light type bulbs where the bulb is behind glass, so all one can do is rely on the RCD to trip if water gets in.