Outdoor lighting is ideal for your home's security and its appearance. You can use outdoor lighting to simply help you see in the dark when you take the bins out, or create a relaxing ambience for those long summer evenings. The average cost for installing one low-voltage outdoor light is £160, but what factors affect this cost?

How much does it cost to install outdoor lights?

How much it costs to install outdoor lights depends on the type of lights you want, how many you want and where you are located in the country. Take a look at our location-based prices for hourly and daily rates for electricians, but these are the average costs for installing outdoor lights:

Type of outdoor light	Average cost
Low voltage outdoor light	£160
230V outdoor light	£125
10 LED soffit lights	£400
Floodlights	£130
Landscape lights	£590
Spotlights	£290

 If you're looking for more information about security lights, take a look at our security light installation cost guide. Here, we'll focus on outdoor lights that improve the look of your garden rather than security.

Types of garden lighting

The type of outdoor lighting you choose will depend on the area you want to light and what you want the lighting to achieve.

There are a few different options for garden lighting depending on what you want them for:

Wall lights

Wall lights are – obviously – fixed to a wall! They can provide soft or bright light and are good for both security and improving your garden’s atmosphere.

Decking or soffit lights

Decking lights, often called soffit lights, are fitted into your decking. They are the perfect lights for garden parties and will mark the way around your decking too. These types of lights can add value to your home since they make such an impact on your garden.

Floodlights

Floodlights ‘flood’ a space with light, so are ideal if you want to light up your entire garden. They can produce wider beams of light, often up to 120 degrees, so make sure you put them in an appropriate place to ensure you don’t disturb neighbours. Your neighbours can make a complaint about excessive light, so ensure that you take this into consideration.

Landscape lights

Landscape lights, sometimes called post lights, are fixed to the ground and are usually used to mark out paths and driveways. They can look very pretty and can create a peaceful ambience in your garden in the evening.

Premium outdoor lighting brands

While there are plenty of great outdoor lights on the market that will do the job just fine, if you want a premium look to show off your garden to your guests, there are some top brands that offer a range of different types of garden lighting to give you the look you’re searching for:

Outdoor lighting brand	Price range
Nordlux	£10-£250
Linea Light	£60-£380
Roger Pradier	£160-£2,000
Bover	£300-£5,000

Extra Low Voltage (ELV) power

These days, most garden lighting uses Extra Low Voltage, or ELV, power. This is because it’s a safe and secure way of lighting your garden and you don’t need to report the installation to building control.

Usually, an electrician will take power from the nearest existing source of power in your house to power your outdoor lighting. You can also have a 230V socket installed if you would prefer, but it’s less hassle to have your lights wired.

Do you need planning permission for outside lights?

In most cases, you don’t need planning permission for outside lights, especially if you use ELV-powered lights. However, the Planning Portal recommends that you ensure that the intensity and direction of light doesn’t disturb others, so bear this in mind when you're installing your garden lights.

Do outdoor lights need to be on their own circuit in the UK?

Ideally, your outdoor lights should be on their own circuit. It means that if something goes wrong with your lighting, they won’t trip all your electrics indoors too.

It’s not always easy to install garden lighting on a separate circuit, but your electrician will be able to go through options with you. If it’s not possible, the electrician will have to make sure the circuit is protected from the weather and the circuit will need to be protected with an RCD (residual current device), which will switch off the electricity automatically if there is a fault.

Do I need an electrician to fit an outside light?

We would always recommend that you use an electrician to fit an outside light. Working with electrics is a specialist job, and when fitting outdoor lighting, there’s the added concern about making sure all the fixtures and fittings are waterproof.

If you try to install garden lighting yourself and you don’t know what you’re doing, you could pose a fire or shock risk. It’s much safer to get in touch with a local electrician that can help you.

Is it illegal to wire your own lights?

It's not illegal to wire your own garden lights, but the work does need to comply with Part P of the Building Regulations. That means that you need to inform Building Control once the work is complete. If you don't do this, and the work is find out to be unsafe, you could be faced with a large fine.

That's why we always recommend that you use an electrician that is registered with a competent persons scheme such as NAPIT or NICEIC, as they can self-certify that their work is compliant with Part P.

Post a job on HaMuch and we'll put you in touch with local qualified electricians who will be able to help you install outdoor lighting.

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