Install new lighting.

Lighting work in a UK home — installing new fittings, replacing pendants with downlights, adding circuits to a kitchen island, or wiring smart switches — typically costs £60–£250 per light point, depending on whether it's a like-for-like swap, a new tap-off the existing circuit, or a new circuit run from the consumer unit.

Like-for-like replacements (changing a pendant to a different pendant) are the cheapest. Adding a new light position to an existing room means chasing cables, channelling plaster and patching back — that's where the cost climbs.

Typical UK costs

Common lighting projects

• Replace pendants with downlights — typical 4-pendant living room becomes 6–8 downlights. Allow £600–£1,200 fitted, plus making good and decoration.
• Kitchen island lights — usually a single new circuit on a 3-pendant cluster. £300–£600 if cabling can be run in the ceiling; more if walls or floors need to be lifted.
• Under-cabinet kitchen lighting — LED strips or pucks under wall units. £200–£500 fitted including transformer and switch.
• Outdoor / garden lighting — wall-mounted floods, post lights or in-ground spotlights. From £140 each; a typical garden lighting scheme is £500–£1,500.
• Smart lighting — Hue, Lutron, Loxone, etc. Mix of smart bulbs (DIY) and wired smart switches (professional). A whole-house Lutron retrofit is £1,500–£5,000.

Choosing LED downlights — the key spec

Most lighting work in 2026 specifies LED fittings. Things to get right:

• Colour temperature — 2700K (warm) for living rooms and bedrooms; 3000K for kitchens and bathrooms; 4000K (neutral) for utilities and offices. Stick with one colour temp throughout a room.
• CRI (Colour Rendering Index) — 90+ for living and dining areas (food and skin look right); 80+ for utility spaces. Cheap LEDs at 70 CRI make everything look washed out.
• IP rating — IP65 for bathroom zone 1/2, IP44 minimum elsewhere in bathrooms, IP44+ for outdoor / soffit fittings.
• Dimming compatibility — LEDs need dimmers designed for them (trailing-edge or 0–10V). Old leading-edge dimmers cause flicker and buzzing.
• Fire-rated — downlights cut into a ceiling that forms a fire compartment (ceiling above habitable rooms in flats, or under loft conversion floors) must be fire-rated to maintain compartmentation.

Things people often miss

• Joist locations — ceiling joists run perpendicular to floorboards above; downlights must fit between them. Always survey first; some plans become "we can fit 4 here, not 6".
• Acoustic and fire compartmentation — cutting too many downlights into a ceiling can compromise fire and noise performance, particularly in flats and HMOs. Use IC-rated, fire-rated fittings or intumescent hoods.
• Two-way and three-way switching — controlling a light from two or three positions (top of stairs and bottom, or three bedroom doors) needs the right cabling and switching topology. Easier to plan than retrofit.
• Switch height and position — Building Regs M (Access) requires switches at 900–1200 mm above floor in dwellings; many older houses have switches at 1400 mm+. Worth correcting during a refurb.
• Smart-home pre-wiring — if you might want smart lighting later, run extra neutrals to switch positions during first-fix. Adding neutrals retrospectively is much harder.

Frequently asked questions

Want a local pro to handle this? A Part P registered electrician will plan the layout, choose the right fittings for each location, and certify the work. Don't skimp on lighting design — it's the single biggest determinant of how a finished room feels.