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Internal lighting specialists - what you need to know

Installing new interior lighting can be a really bright idea – transforming your home instantly and for a relatively small outlay. Whether you’re looking to add or move ceiling lights, replace an existing fitting with a series of spotlights or install new wall lights, there are a wide variety of lighting design possibilities, to suit every style of home.

Ceiling lights range from more traditional examples – like your regular ceiling rose and lampshade – through to more modern styles, with metallic lampshades, extended corded flexes, and multi-light chandeliers.

Modern spotlights are available in variety of options too – with different bulbs offering a sliding scale of brightness, wattages and energy efficiency ratings. Meanwhile, wall lights were once a dated option, but modern units are chic and can provide a striking feature for your living or dining room.

Whatever lighting solution you’re looking to install, seek the help of a qualified expert electrician. They’ll ensure your circuits are able to take the lights you want to fit, and ensure any new switch or wiring is installed safely.

How much do electricians charge to install lights?

Your lighting engineer will usually charge you a daily or hourly rate, depending on the amount of work required. Fees for typical interior lighting jobs are:

• Installation of a single lightweight ceiling light: £60–£100
• Fit spotlights with new wiring: £80–£100
• Connect a dimmable wall light: £100–£125

How to fit a new ceiling light

Your electrician will start with some essential safety steps. They’ll switch off the power to the circuit they plan to work on by removing the necessary fuse or turning the circuit off at your consumer unit. They should then check the circuit is definitely turned off with a socket or voltage tester.

Next, they’ll consider how best to attach your new light fitting. A standard ceiling rose or pendant will only be capable of supporting a lightweight bulb and shade. If you’ve opted for something chunkier or heavier (over 2 kg), it’ll need to be supported by a chain.

When they’ve decided how to attach your light to the ceiling, your lighting engineer can begin to remove the existing fitting. After doublechecking the circuit is turned off, they’ll unscrew the rose cover and look at the type of wiring that’s in place.

Most modern light fittings will have junction box wiring – where a single cable enters the rose base. Your electrician will unscrew the old rose base from the ceiling and disconnect the wires. If they’re replacing the light fitting in the same location, they can then simply screw the new base into the ceiling with the necessary fittings and reconnect the wires to your rose.

If you want to move the light, after drilling a new hole in the desired location, your tradesperson will need to push the wires back through the old hole. Provided the cable is long enough to reach the newly drilled hole (and they have access to the ceiling void), your pro can then pull the cable through and reconnect the light in that location. Otherwise they may need to fix a three-terminal junction box to run an additional two-core-and-earth cable up to the new light rose. 

Then they’ll just need to reconnect the new light to the extended cable. The brown core will be connected to the live terminal on the rose base, and the blue wire to the neutral terminal. The yellow and green earth wire must be connected to the earth terminal.

How to fit a new spotlight

Installing spotlights is a trickier task than fitting a pendant ceiling light. Your lighting design expert will begin by following the same safety-first process as they would for any electrical work – by isolating and turning off the circuit they’re working on. And then ensuring there’s no power running through it with a circuit or voltage tester.

Once you’ve decided where your spotlights are going to be positioned, your electrician will need to cut holes in your ceiling, either with a plasterboard saw or a special drill attachment. Before they begin cutting, make sure they check under the floorboards in the room above so they know what’s hidden behind the ceiling.

After they remove the disc of plasterboard cut from the ceiling – sized precisely according to the instructions provided with the light unit – the spotlight should slot into place, held up by spring clips. But before pushing it into position, the light needs to be connected to your circuit.

Your lighting engineer should make sure there's enough ventilation around the light and the transformer, as both can get extremely hot. Provided a single cable is already in place from an existing ceiling rose, your electrician can connect it to the new cable for the spotlights using a three-terminal junction box.

To connect the spotlights, they’ll expose the ends of the core wires and attach them to the light. The spotlight can then be pushed into its hole. And, once they’ve checked the clips are holding it up, you’re all set.

The qualifications your interior lighting design specialist needs

As with all electrical work, any tradesperson working on interior lighting should hold NICEIC (National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting) accreditation. This means they’ll be able to sign-off their work as building regulation compliant. And it gives you peace of mind that they’ll be following stringent best practices.

Alongside that, any vocational qualification like a City & Guilds, NVQ or a diploma is a bonus. But undoubtedly one of the most important criteria you should look for is experience (and evidence of that in action) in the form of customer references.

The insurance your tradesperson needs

A competent and reliable tradesperson should arrive with a copy of their public liability insurance ready to show you. That covers both your property and the tradesperson in the case of any mishaps or damage.

Questions you should ask your tradesperson

• Do they hold NICEIC accreditation?
• How many lights is it safe to install on one circuit?
• Are they able to “make good” or redecorate after drilling holes in your ceiling or wall?
• Will they ensure your spotlights are sufficiently ventilated to prevent overheating?