Outdoor fixtures fail more often than indoor ones, and when they do, the cause is almost always the same: the fixture was rated for less water than the position actually received. A light under a deep porch and a light on an exposed garden wall are doing completely different jobs, and the number on the box is what tells them apart.
This is the one area of lighting where we would rather you over-specify than take a chance.
What the IP number actually tells you
IP stands for Ingress Protection, and it is two digits. The first covers solid objects and dust, running 0 to 6. The second covers water, running 0 to 9. Outdoors, the second digit is what you should be reading.
- IP44 — splashing water from any direction. Fine under a deep covered porch. Not fine on an open wall.
- IP54 — dust-protected plus splashing. A reasonable minimum for a sheltered exterior wall.
- IP65 — low-pressure water jets from any direction. This is the sensible default for most exterior wall lights, and what we would specify for anything facing weather.
- IP66 — powerful water jets. Coastal locations, exposed sites, anywhere driving rain hits horizontally.
- IP67 — temporary immersion up to one metre. Ground-level and path lights that may sit in a puddle, or lights near a pool surround.
- IP68 — continuous immersion. Submersible pond and pool fixtures only.
The rule of thumb we give people: if rain can land on it, IP65. If it can sit in standing water, IP67. If it goes under water, IP68 and no substitutions.
One thing worth knowing — the ratings are not strictly cumulative. A fixture rated IP67 for immersion is not automatically certified against high-pressure jets, which is IP66 territory. In practice this rarely matters for domestic installations, but it explains why you occasionally see a fixture listed as IP66/IP68.
Mounting heights for exterior walls
Front door and entrance. Mount the centre of the fixture at roughly 66 to 72 inches (168–183 cm) from the ground, which is a little above eye level. If you are flanking the door with a pair, keep both at the same height and centre them on the door frame rather than the wall.
Garage doors. Higher, around 72 to 78 inches, and set them out from the door edges rather than directly above, so light falls across the driveway instead of straight down the door face.
Along a garden wall or fence. Lower than people expect — 48 to 60 inches works well, because the point is to light the path and the planting, not the sky. Space them 8 to 12 ft apart for continuous coverage, or further apart if you want pools of light with darkness between, which honestly looks better.
Steps and level changes. These want dedicated attention. Any change in level should be lit from the side or from below at low level, so the tread edge casts a visible shadow. A step lit from directly above is harder to see, not easier.
Up-and-down fixtures wash the wall in both directions, which gives texture to brick and stone rather than flattening it.
Sizing exterior fixtures — go bigger than feels right
This is the mistake we see most. Fixtures that look substantial on a screen look tiny on a house facade, because there is no scale reference outdoors the way there is in a room.
The working rule for a front door: the fixture height should be roughly one-quarter to one-third the height of the door. A standard 80 inch door wants a fixture around 20 to 26 inches tall if it is a single light beside the door, or 13 to 16 inches each if you are using a pair.
Almost everybody buys smaller than that, then finds the entrance still looks unlit. If you are between two sizes outdoors, take the larger one.
Warm light, and less of it
Outdoor lighting has a strong tendency to overshoot. A garden lit to the brightness of a supermarket car park is unpleasant to be in, annoying for neighbours, and bad for insects and nocturnal wildlife.
Stay at 2700K or warmer. Cool white outdoors reads as institutional and it makes planting look grey. Warm light on brick, stone and greenery is far more attractive and considerably kinder to anything living in the garden.
On quantity, aim for contrast rather than coverage. A garden with four or five well-placed light sources and darkness in between has depth. A garden lit evenly everywhere is flat and slightly hostile. Light the things worth looking at — a tree, a wall texture, a doorway, the edge of a path — and leave the rest dark.
Downward-facing and shielded fixtures are worth choosing on principle. They put light where you want it, reduce glare for anyone walking past, and cut the amount of light escaping upward.
A shielded linear fixture such as the Luma IP65 wall light directs output where it is useful and keeps glare out of sightlines.
Sensors, timers and switching
Motion sensors are excellent for security positions and irritating everywhere else. A sensor on a side gate or a driveway is genuinely useful. A sensor on a patio light that switches off while you are sitting still having dinner is not.
Our preferred setup is to split the circuits: security and access lighting on sensors, and decorative or ambient lighting on a manual switch or a timer. If a fixture has a sensor override or a manual mode, check for it before you buy — some do not.
Photocell sensors, which switch on at dusk, are the low-effort option for entrance lights and work well. Just be aware that a photocell mounted where another light shines on it will behave unpredictably.
Materials and what happens after three winters
Aluminium with a powder-coated finish is the workhorse of outdoor lighting: light, corrosion-resistant, and available in every colour. Stainless steel handles coastal salt better than most things, but grade matters — 316 stainless is the marine grade, 304 is fine inland and will spot near the sea.
Brass and copper are the long-term choices. They will patina, and after a few years they look better than when they arrived, which is not true of much else.
What we would avoid outdoors: painted mild steel that has not been galvanised, and any fixture where the gasket around the glass is not clearly visible. That gasket is the entire reason the IP rating holds, and it is also the part that perishes first. On a fixture you plan to keep for a decade, ask whether replacement seals are available.
Installation notes
Outdoor electrical work is regulated more tightly than indoor work in most countries, and in several it must be certified. Use a qualified electrician for anything permanently wired outdoors. Cable buried in the ground has minimum depth and armouring requirements that vary by jurisdiction, and getting it wrong is both a safety issue and a problem when you sell the house.
Mount fixtures onto solid substrate, not render alone. Seal the cable entry properly — more outdoor fixtures fail through water tracking down the cable into the back box than through the fixture body itself. And angle the fixture so water runs off rather than pooling in the shade.
Our outdoor range runs on universal-voltage drivers and works on mains supply in the countries we ship to. If your electrician wants the IP rating, driver specification, or ingress details for a specific model before installation, send us the product link and we will confirm it in writing before you order.
The full outdoor lighting collection is the place to start, and there are additional exterior-rated sconces within the broader wall lights range.