The Conduction Company fits bathroom lights, fans, heaters, and heated towel rails in Auckland homes, and its director, Jordan Statham, is a registered electrician and a registered electrical inspector. This guide sets out the bathroom zones and IP ratings in NZ, from the New Zealand figures in AS/NZS 3000, the wiring rules.
In New Zealand, AS/NZS 3000 sets four zones around a bath or shower. Zone 1 runs 1.2 m out from the shower's plumbing connection and 2.25 m up; zone 2 adds a further 0.6 m. Electrical gear in zones 1 and 2 must be at least IPX4, says The Conduction Company.
For which heater suits your bathroom, read The Conduction Company's guide to choosing a bathroom heater. This post covers where things are allowed to go.
What are the different bathroom zones?
The Conduction Company works to the four zones AS/NZS 3000 sets for baths and showers, each measured out from the bath or shower. A basin or sink has its own, smaller zone, covered further down.
Zone 0. Inside the bath or the shower base.
Zone 1. Above zone 0, out to 1.2 m from the shower's fixed plumbing connection, from the floor to 2.25 m.
Zone 2. A further 0.6 m out from zone 1, from the floor to 2.25 m.
Zone 3. A further 2.4 m out from zone 2, from the floor to 2.25 m.
The room's walls, doors, ceiling, and floor stop the zones, so they never carry into the next room. In a New Zealand bathroom, the space above 2.25 m sits outside every zone, The Conduction Company notes, unless the shower's plumbing connection is higher than that. Then zone 1 goes up to the connection.
What is zone 0 in a bathroom?
Zone 0 is the inside of the bath or shower base, the part that holds the water. The Conduction Company notes that only equipment made for use in a bath or shower may go there, rated IPX7 and run on extra-low voltage (no more than 12 V AC or 30 V ripple-free DC) from a supply outside zone 0.
Where is zone 1 in a bathroom?
Zone 1 is the space above the bath or shower base, out to 1.2 m from the shower's fixed plumbing connection and up to 2.25 m from the floor. The plumbing connection is where the shower's pipe comes out of the wall or ceiling. In New Zealand the 1.2 m applies to a wall or a ceiling shower alike, says The Conduction Company. Over a bath with no shower, zone 1 is the space straight above the bath.
A shower door, screen, or curtain can cut the 1.2 m down. It must be at least 1.8 m tall, and on a wall shower at least as high as the shower connection, if that is higher.
Many pages online use Australia's numbers: zone 1 up to 2.5 m, and only 0.6 m out from a ceiling shower. Those are not New Zealand's figures, so The Conduction Company checks against the New Zealand clauses.
Where is zone 2 in a bathroom?
Zone 2 is a 0.6 m band all round zone 1, from the floor to 2.25 m, says The Conduction Company. So together, zones 1 and 2 reach 1.8 m out from a shower's plumbing connection.
What is zone 3 in a bathroom?
Zone 3 is a further 2.4 m beyond zone 2, from the floor to 2.25 m. The Conduction Company notes that AS/NZS 3000 sets no IP rating for zone 3. A power point there needs 30 mA RCD protection, or a separated or extra-low voltage supply.
What IP rating do you need for a bathroom?
The Conduction Company works to the AS/NZS 3000 minimums for bathrooms. Zone 0 needs IPX7. Zones 1 and 2 need IPX4. Zone 3 has no set IP rating. The same ratings apply to showers and baths.
An IP rating has two digits. The first is for dust and solid objects, the second for water. The luminaire standard, AS/NZS 60598.1, tests a light rated 4 for water by spraying it from every direction, a 5 with a water jet, a 7 by holding it under water for 30 minutes, and an 8 under pressure set by the maker's rated depth. An X in place of a digit means the product has not been assessed for that, according to Consumer NZ.
The Conduction Company's IP ratings chart sets out every digit. It also appears in its guide to what an electrician charges to fit a light, for outdoor lights.
Is IP65 enough for a shower?
Yes, in zones 1 and 2, says The Conduction Company: IP65's water digit, 5, is above the IPX4 minimum. It is not enough inside the shower base, zone 0. That needs IPX7, extra-low voltage, and equipment made for use in a shower.
Is IP44 ok above a shower?
Yes, in zones 1 and 2, The Conduction Company notes, because IP44 meets the IPX4 minimum. So IP44 suits zones 1, 2, and 3, but not zone 0. A fitting above 2.25 m, over a shower whose plumbing connection sits lower, is outside the zones altogether.
Is IP44 waterproof for bathrooms?
No. IP44 is splash-proof, rated against water sprayed from every direction, says The Conduction Company. That meets the minimum for zones 1 and 2, but it is not rated for being under water, so it never goes in zone 0.
What is the difference between IP44 and IPX4 ratings for bathrooms?
For the bathroom rule, there is none. AS/NZS 3000 sets the minimum as IPX4, which looks only at water, The Conduction Company notes. IP44 has the same water rating, plus a 4 for solid objects. Both pass in zones 1 and 2.
Is IP44 or IP65 better for bathrooms?
Both meet the rule for zones 1 and 2, and neither is allowed in zone 0, says The Conduction Company. On which is better, IP65 or IP44: IP65 is the tougher rating on both digits. Its 6 is dust-tight, and its 5 is rated against a water jet. In bathroom downlights, The Conduction Company fits IPX4 or better, so either rating suits.
What IP rating do bathroom lights need to be?
In zones 1 and 2, bathroom lights need to be at least IPX4, says The Conduction Company. Zone 0 takes only a light made for use in a bath or shower, at IPX7 and extra-low voltage. In zone 3, and outside the zones, a bathroom light does not need to be IP rated under the zone rules.
Zone 2 allows two exceptions. A Class II light (double insulated) that needs a cover taken off to reach the lamp can go there without the rating. So can a light run on extra-low voltage from a supply outside zone 2. A batten holder, the plain bulb holder fixed to a ceiling, is not Class II.
When The Conduction Company adds a bathroom light or power point through its power and lighting installation service, these zones set where each one can go.
What IP rating for bathroom downlights?
A downlight recessed into the ceiling, with all its live parts above the ceiling's lower surface, counts as outside the zone below it, The Conduction Company notes. The same goes for any ceiling light fitted that way. A ceiling light or spotlight that hangs below the ceiling inside zone 1 or 2 needs IPX4, or one of the zone 2 exceptions above. A ceiling higher than 2.25 m is outside the zones anyway, unless the shower's plumbing connection is up there too.
Even so, The Conduction Company fits bathroom downlights rated IPX4 or better. The 4 is the water digit, and IPX4 means the light can take a splash of water from any direction, including from below. A downlight is unlikely to get soaked in normal use, so for steam on the ceiling from a shower, IPX4 is "absolutely fine," says Jordan Statham, director of The Conduction Company. The downlights it fits are typically plastic, so they do not corrode the way aluminium or steel downlights can over time in a damp room.
What IP rating for bathroom wall lights?
A wall light inside zone 1 or 2 needs IPX4, or one of the zone 2 exceptions above, says The Conduction Company. A lit or backlit mirror is a light too, so the same rule applies. Beside a basin, the basin's own zone 2 counts as well.
What IP rating for a bathroom heater?
A bathroom heater, heated towel rail, or fan in zone 1 or 2 needs at least IPX4, The Conduction Company notes, the same as a light. In zone 0, only equipment made for a bath or shower, at IPX7 and extra-low voltage, is allowed. Zone 3 sets no rating.
A heat lamp or a 3-in-1 heat, light, and fan unit above a shower follows the same zone rules. The Conduction Company notes that AS/NZS 3000 also counts a combined fan, light, and heater unit, and an extractor fan, as lighting points. A new lighting circuit in New Zealand needs 30 mA RCD protection.
Heating cables embedded in the floor are allowed under the bathroom rules. The Conduction Company installs electric underfloor heating in bathrooms, and puts every underfloor heating circuit on a 30 mA RCBO at the switchboard.
What IP rating for a bathroom fan?
An extractor fan in zone 1 or 2 needs IPX4, says The Conduction Company. Fitted into the ceiling with all its live parts above the ceiling's lower surface, it counts as outside the zone below it, the same as a downlight.
"In a bathroom, you need an extraction fan to get rid of moisture and pull any moist air from the bathroom that's created when it's in use, either when you're having a bath or a shower, and extract that steam to the exterior before it gets into your home environment," says Jordan Statham, director of The Conduction Company.
What can be installed in zone 2 of a bathroom?
Here is what can go in zone 2, item by item, under the AS/NZS 3000 rules The Conduction Company works to.
Lights. IPX4 or better, a Class II light that needs a cover off to reach the lamp, or a light on extra-low voltage from outside zone 2.
Heaters, towel rails, and fans. IPX4 or better.
Switches. IPX4 or better, and never within 0.3 m of a floor likely to get wet.
Power points. Only a shaver socket, or a normal socket on a 30 mA RCD inside a cupboard that keeps it enclosed while in use.
Switchboards. Never. A switchboard cannot go in any zone.
How close can a power point be to a sink in NZ?
Around a basin or sink, AS/NZS 3000 sets a zone 2 that reaches 0.15 m out from the inside rim and 0.4 m above it, The Conduction Company notes. That is for a basin of 40 L or less with fixed taps. A bigger sink, or one with a hose outlet such as a vegetable sprayer, gets 0.5 m out and 1.0 m up. A basin has no zone 1 or 3.
Inside that zone, a power point must be a shaver socket, or a socket on a 30 mA RCD inside a cupboard. Outside it, the basin sets no further limit. Every bathroom power point still stays at least 0.3 m above a floor likely to get wet, and a shower's zones still apply if the basin sits near one.
That settles a common forum argument. One answer says 150 mm from the sink, another says 600 mm from the tap. Both numbers are real: 150 mm is the basin's zone 2, and 600 mm is the width of a shower's zone 2.
What is a shaver socket?
A shaver socket is a small power point made for electric shavers. The Conduction Company notes it is the one power point AS/NZS 3000 allows in zone 2 without a cupboard, as a shaver supply unit built to AS/NZS 3194. That is why shaver sockets are allowed in bathrooms where a normal power point is not.
A shaver socket has a small transformer behind the plate, which isolates what you plug in from the mains supply, The Conduction Company explains. If a faulty appliance with a live casing is plugged in and you touch it, there is no return path through earth for a shock to travel through your body. AS/NZS 3000 says protection by electrical separation is intended to prevent shock current through contact with parts that an insulation fault might make live (clause 7.4.1).
Shaver sockets are very low current. They are made for electric shavers and other appliances that draw little power. A shaver socket will not run a hair dryer, or anything else that makes heat, because those draw far more.
Why does a shaver socket buzz?
A buzzing or humming shaver socket can mean a fault in its transformer, says The Conduction Company. Stop using it straight away and have an electrician check it, because blown transformer windings can be a fire risk. That is also how to stop shaver socket buzzing: do not keep using it, and get it looked at.
Shaver socket vs normal socket: what is the difference?
The Conduction Company compares the two on three points.
What it powers. Shaver socket: shavers, through a small transformer. Normal socket: standard appliances, such as a hairdryer.
Where it can go. Shaver socket: allowed in zone 2, never zones 0 or 1. Normal socket: in zone 2 only on a 30 mA RCD inside a cupboard, and in zone 3 on a 30 mA RCD or a separated or extra-low voltage supply.
Plug shapes. Shaver socket: allowed to take more than one plug shape. Normal socket: one set of New Zealand pins.
Need a hair dryer in the bathroom? The Conduction Company replaces old shaver sockets with a normal power point. The new power point cannot go in zone 0 or 1, or too close to a basin, bath, or shower, and The Conduction Company puts it on RCD or RCBO protection at the switchboard. AS/NZS 3000 requires RCD protection for a new circuit supplying socket-outlets in a home, fitted at the switchboard (clause 2.6.3.3.1).
The cable to an old shaver socket is usually 1 mm or 1.5 mm solid-core, and The Conduction Company normally puts the new power point on a 10 amp circuit breaker. That runs a hair dryer or any other standard 10 amp appliance, but two at once may overload it. A regular power circuit has 16 or 20 amps of capacity, The Conduction Company notes, and this one has about 10.
Shaver socket vs European plug: what fits where?
AS/NZS 3000 bans a single socket that takes several plug shapes, and makes an exception for shaver sockets built to AS/NZS 3194, The Conduction Company notes. A European-style 230 V socket is a different thing: in New Zealand it is allowed only at international airports and in non-domestic accommodation for international guests, on a 10 mA RCD and an arc fault detection device. So a shaver socket is not a European socket, and the rules leave no place for a European socket in a home.
In short
A New Zealand bathroom has four zones around the bath or shower, which stop at 2.25 m unless the shower outlet sits higher, and a smaller zone 2 around the basin. Most electrical gear within 1.8 m of the shower's plumbing connection needs at least IPX4, and the bath or shower base itself takes only IPX7 equipment on extra-low voltage. The Conduction Company checks bathroom work against the New Zealand clauses of AS/NZS 3000, not the Australian figures many pages repeat. Power points stay out of zones 0 and 1, and in zone 2 only a shaver socket or a cupboard socket on a 30 mA RCD is allowed.
Frequently asked questions
How many zones are there in a bathroom?
Four around a bath or shower, zones 0 to 3, and two around a basin, zones 0 and 2. The Conduction Company works to these zones from AS/NZS 3000.
What zone can a shaver socket go in?
It is allowed in zone 2, and never in zone 0 or 1. The Conduction Company notes it is the one power point AS/NZS 3000 allows in zone 2 without a cupboard.
How far should a shaver socket be from a sink?
AS/NZS 3000 sets no minimum, The Conduction Company notes, because a shaver socket is allowed in a basin's zone 2. It still cannot go in a shower's zone 1, or within 0.3 m of a wet floor.
Is IP22 ok for a bathroom?
Not in zones 1 or 2, says The Conduction Company, because its water digit, 2, is below the IPX4 minimum. It is fine in zone 3 and outside the zones.
Is IP68 100% waterproof?
No. An 8 is tested only to the depth the maker rates, and Consumer NZ notes no IP rating is truly waterproof. The Conduction Company notes zone 0 needs IPX7 and extra-low voltage.
What is the most waterproof IP rating?
The water digit goes as high as 9, and 8 is the highest immersion rating, according to Consumer NZ. For a bathroom, The Conduction Company works to IPX7 in zone 0 and IPX4 in zones 1 and 2.
Can an electric toothbrush charger go in a shaver socket?
Yes, for the most part, says The Conduction Company. Electric toothbrush chargers are fairly low draw, so they normally work very well on a shaver socket.
