ᐅ Safety concern?? Electricity over bathtub

Hello,

I’m fairly new here... We are currently buying a single-family house, and during the viewing I noticed the following (see picture):
The control for the electric roller shutters is installed directly above the bathtub??!!

Among other questions, I’m wondering if this might be a safety concern? Children will be playing in the bathtub, and there will certainly be splashing water...
I’m not a professional, so please excuse my “layman’s terms.” They might move a relay higher up, so that there is no voltage in the box below anymore, but the function would still work.

What do you think about this??

I'm also an amateur, but standard alternating current at 240 V is almost certainly not allowed in that area of the electrical box. Search for the term "installation zone" on Wikipedia or similar sources, and you will find more detailed information. Low voltages might be permitted (for example, to control a relay located outside the protective zone around the bathtub). However, the switch should still probably meet at least an IPX4 rating (protection against water splashes from all directions).

Hello,

I’m also not a professional, but during our electrical installation planning, we were told that a minimum distance of 60 cm (24 inches) must be maintained from bathtubs.

Around the bathtub, there are installation zones 0 (inside the tub itself), zone 1 (zone 0 plus vertically up to a height of 2.25 m (7.4 feet)) and zone 2 (a 60 cm (24 inches) radius around zone 1).

In zone 0, only equipment intended for the bathtub itself is allowed (e.g., lighting for a whirlpool). In zone 1, only permanently installed exhaust systems and water heaters are permitted.

In zone 2, in addition to exhaust systems and water heaters, lamps are also allowed. Cables, switches, and sockets are not permitted in any of the three zones unless they are switches for devices permanently installed in zones 1 and 2.

Since the roller shutter box is likely located in zone 2, the switch at that location might be allowed.

Maybe an electrician will chime in to give you a definitive answer.

Best regards,

Dirk

Sue the electrician. 😉 Functionally, the switch shouldn’t be there at all—it belongs next to the light switch by the door or at least on the left side of the window. This way, you have to lean over the bathtub every morning and evening just to reach the roller shutter switch, which is pretty inconvenient on its own. Especially since you have concealed installation access points on both sides of the bathtub or even a fully extended wall where the cable including the switch could have been routed with little effort. If a fixed glass panel is going to be installed for the shower in the bathtub, it gets even more complicated:

On the left, the window won’t open anymore; on the right, the hose is too short and the roller shutter switch will be blocked…

So, relocate the switch—it’s completely out of place where it is.

Hello and thank you very much for your replies.
Fortunately, the bathtub is not used for showering...
Besides the safety aspect, the purpose clearly needs to be clarified. I would have expected it to be at the light switch. As someone who spends a lot of time working at a desk, it wouldn’t even occur to me to put a switch there.
I’m curious to see how they will explain this.
Any tips on what I can insist on? If the electrician now manages to remove the power and everything is safe from a technical perspective, I assume they won’t take any further action, right?

It depends on the situation... You write that you are currently buying the house; to me, this sounds like an older building that is being renovated or remodeled. Then the question is, who is responsible for the renovation? You? The seller?