Bathroom spotlights. loft condensation

[dan1967]

HI we have six spotlights in our bathroom, I went up in the loft today and noticed a lot of condensation on the roof felt i also lifted a couple of the floor boards ( chip board type ) to find them soaked with condensation which appears to be going up into the loft through the spotlights, are there any sealed type units we could install to stop the steam entering the loft space, as I expect you can tell I haven't a clue but would like some advice before I employ an electrician to do the job.
Regards Dan

 

[brianmoooore]

I would say there's a good chance that your existing spotlights (assume you mean downlights) are unsuitable for where they are used, and fall foul of the regulations.
Are they LED or old type tungsten halogen lamps? Is the glass front of the lamp accessible from underneath the lamp, or is there an additional sheet of glass there?

P.S. I've just spent the morning in the loft of an empty, unheated house, and everything in there is dripping with condensation. That's the current weather, and nothing to do with any sources of condensation in the house.

 

[telectrix]

ventilation is the answer. in this cold weather we all tend to keep allwindows and doors tightly shut to keep the scandalously priced heat indoors. this aggrvates tthe condensation as every time we breathe, we realease moisture into the air. same with cooking.simple answer is one of the following.

1.stop breathing.
2. stop cooking.
3. open a window or 3.

 

[dan1967]

I would say there's a good chance that your existing spotlights (assume you mean downlights) are unsuitable for where they are used, and fall foul of the regulations.
Are they LED or old type tungsten halogen lamps? Is the glass front of the lamp accessible from underneath the lamp, or is there an additional sheet of glass there?

P.S. I've just spent the morning in the loft of an empty, unheated house, and everything in there is dripping with condensation. That's the current weather, and nothing to do with any sources of condensation in the house.

Hi Brian the lamps can be changed by removing a spring clip and there is no extra glass in front of the lamp, regards to the condensation the front of the roof facing south is damp where as the north facing side is covered in water drops, it looks as though the felt is not breathable and there are four large vents in the roof.
regards Dan

 

[brianmoooore]

These lights are not "IP rated", and although are legal as long as all parts of them are 2.25m from the floor, they are considered bad practice.

 

[littlespark]

The best idea is to get IP rated LED downlights. These seal against the ceiling and don’t let any steam through.

Some may come that need the same diameter hole in the ceiling that your open downlights use, so no need to cut holes bigger.

If your existing lights are halogen, ie very very hot... then be prepared for the plasterboard around them to be brittle.
LEDs dont

 

[Wilko]

Hi - if the lamps are LED and you really need to keep the 2 areas separate then you might try these covers.

 

[telectrix]

Hi - if the lamps are LED and you really need to keep the 2 areas separate then you might try these covers.
View attachment 63698

Darth Vader's grandson?

 

[Pretty Mouth]

HI we have six spotlights in our bathroom, I went up in the loft today and noticed a lot of condensation on the roof felt i also lifted a couple of the floor boards ( chip board type ) to find them soaked with condensation which appears to be going up into the loft through the spotlights, are there any sealed type units we could install to stop the steam entering the loft space, as I expect you can tell I haven't a clue but would like some advice before I employ an electrician to do the job.
Regards Dan

Hi Dan. Your condensation problem is most likely due to lack of ventilation in the loft. Is the underfelt the old bitumen impregnated stuff? Really, you need eaves-to-ridge, or at least eaves-to-eaves ventilation. Breather membrane can help too. Talk to a roofer, they probably won't need to replace the roof, it may be possible to fix by installing vents in the soffits.

 

[Pepe]

I currently have the same issue with condensation, albeit I don't have downlights.
I've reinsulated the loft with 270mm of insulation, cut 5 sofitt vents both front and back,1 metre apart. Installed a new inline fan and insulated the ducting. It has slightly improved the situation but not by much. Next step is to add more sofitt vents and if that doesn't work then I'll be calling a roofer to install ridge or tile vents.

 

[brianmoooore]

P.S. I've just spent the morning in the loft of an empty, unheated house, and everything in there is dripping with condensation. That's the current weather, and nothing to do with any sources of condensation in the house.

This house has vented eaves, a brand new roof with breathable felt, and, importantly, no ceilings. It's just the miserable current weather.

 

[Mike Johnson]

The answer is heat exchange ventilation, in this hermitically sealed world we need to re-introduce ventilation that has now gone due to no open fires or chimneys anymore, google two stage VMC.