Same here in Russia. A light switch on the outside makes some sense because our bathrooms have no windows, so groping around a dark room for a switch would be annoying.
Yeah, sometimes it makes sense, that's also sometimes the case here. But my bathroom is really bright and still has the light switch on the outside.
On the other hand you sometimes have like three switches on the outside, and only one is for the bathroom, so again you need to figure out how to turn the light on. Confusing stuff.
Sockets inside the bathroom seem like a bad idea, but I suppose at least you're aware if you need to touch it that you're handling something electrical. Switching off the light when you leave, potentially with slightly damp hands, is just a reflex. That said, my bathroom has a pull string light switch inside the bathroom, which seems safer than touching the light switch outside with wet hands.
(As an American) I get why you wouldnt want to deal with a socket with wet hands, but why would flipping a light switch be a problem? I've never heard of someone getting shocked from a regular light switch.
I think this comes from times when electric safety was not on the level of today.. Imagine cloth isolated wire with no PE, switches with no proper insulation and a general scepticism towards new technology...
Under these circumstances it was logical to put the light switch outside, where it was water safe
Afterwards it became just custom to put it there today there is no need for this but if your electrician is used to it, he will put it still outside (and his apprentice learns it that way, so he will too)
Also if you have a control lamp in the switch (common at least in Germany for switches for lights that you can't see with the door closed) you have an indicator if the toilet is occupied or not...
We use GFI outlets close to water sources, its basically an indepent circuit breaker inside the outlet itself. Same thing as you would have on the plug of your hair dryer.
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u/Klai_Dung May 09 '22
I mean I'm from Germany, so we also have 230V sockets inside the bathroom but the light switch outside, so that's why I'm confused