Purchased a place and we are re-wiring the bathroom and putting in a standing shower. The bathroom is quite small so there is just enough room for this. There is a dedicated circuit, a round box above the medicine cabinet for a bar light, and a shower fan+light above the shower rough-in. They are both fed from a box near the sink which contains a double switch and a GFI outlet. The top of the double switch will control the vanity light, and the bottom will control the fan+light.
I was told that it is illegal [in PA] to wire the shower fan+light using power tapped from the GFI outlet. Is this true? Essentially, if the bath fan+light were to short [water] it would trip the GFI found near the sink….or vice versa if the GFI outlet is tripped from water [hair dryer]. Since the vanity light would not be behind the GFI, it would stay on if a trip occurred….or i could wire that GFI too if needed.
If this is illegal, is there an alternate way to protect the fan with GFI without running ~30 feet more wire to a GFI breaker? This seems extremely overkill to run all that for just a bath fan that is already designed to function in a steamy environment tapped from a GFI that is already there. Thanks.
Best Answer
The real answer is "it depends on what else that circuit does". According to the NEC, if your outlet circuit goes to more than one bathroom, powering the fan/light from it is a violation. If it's only in that bathroom, you may be able to do this without violating code, but I'd recommend consulting a licensed electrician for advice, if nothing else.