What does IP Rating mean for Outside Lights?

What is an IP rating, what does this actually mean and why do I care when looking for an outside light?

IP is Ingress Protection, this classifies the degree of protection against solids and liquids in electrical enclosures. An IP rating basically tells customers how well protected the light fitting is against moisture and other foreign bodies such as dirt. You can filter our Outside lights by IP rating here

When buying light for your garden the minimum IP rating you should look for is IPX3 (IP43) this will protect your light against rain or spraying water. However in Ireland and across Britain to protect your light against heavy rain we would recommend a minimum of IP44 rating for a standard outside wall lantern. IP44 would typically be considered splash proof.  If you are looking for Patio or decking lights we’d recommend IP55 or above.

At the Online Lighting Shop we have a number of IP44 / IP55 rated outside lights from different reputable suppliers for less than £35. We only sell outside lights from reputable European brands such as Fumagalli, Firstlight, Forum, Searchlight and more. We have listed below some IP44 / IP55 rated wall lights for less than £35!

Forum Lighting Neso Up & Down IP44 For only £13.65 

Firstlight Oslo Wall Lantern IP 44 for Only £19

Forum Lighting Ceres Lantern IP44 £20

Fumagalli Iesse Half Wal Lantern (Black or White) IP55 For only £26

Fumagalli Bisso Anna Wall Light (Black or White) IP55 Only  £31.20 

The table below shows the IP Rating and what it means.

 1. IEC 60529, “degrees of Protection Provided by Enclosures (IP Codes),” Ed. 2.1 (Geneva: International Electrotechnical Commision, 2011)