Outdoor Lighting Installation for Your Garden in Andover

Published October 2026 | Outdoor Lighting Installation

Why Garden Lighting Makes Such a Difference

Outdoor lighting does three things well: it extends the usable hours of your garden, it deters opportunistic intruders, and it makes your property look welcoming after dark. For homeowners in Andover and across Hampshire, that last point matters more than people often expect. A well-lit garden is one of the first things prospective buyers notice when browsing property listings, and it signals that a home has been looked after.

The shift towards outdoor living has driven strong demand for permanent, wired garden lighting. Plugin solar lights and battery-powered fittings have their place, but they tend to underperform in autumn and winter - exactly when you need lighting the most. A permanent low-voltage or mains-wired system gives you reliable, consistent output year-round without the hassle of recharging or repositioning.

Security is the other major driver. Lighting that triggers on movement makes it harder for anyone to approach your property undetected. Combined with a camera, it creates a visible deterrent. Many Andover homeowners ask our engineers about combining decorative feature lighting with sensor-activated floodlights along side gates, driveways, and rear garden boundaries - and the two work very well together when planned properly from the start.

How to Plan Your Outdoor Lighting Installation

Planning is where most garden lighting projects go wrong. Walking around your garden at night with a torch is the best starting point - it reveals where light is absent and where it would make the biggest difference. Work through these steps before calling an electrician.

1. Identify your zones. Think about the garden in sections: the driveway, the path to the front door, the patio or decking area, planted borders, fencing, and any outbuildings. Each zone has different requirements in terms of light levels and fitting types.
2. Choose your fitting types. Spike lights work well for highlighting plants, shrubs, and trees. Bollard lights suit paths and driveways. Wall-mounted lanterns are the standard choice for front doors and garage walls. Recessed ground lights look clean in patios and decking. PIR floodlights provide security coverage at vulnerable points like rear access gates.
3. Decide on control. Do you want everything on a timer, a dusk-to-dawn sensor, or smart controls via an app? This decision affects the wiring spec and any smart switch gear needed inside the house. It is much easier to plan this upfront than to retrofit it later.
4. Map your cable routes. The further the run from your consumer unit, the more it costs. If your garden is long or the lights are at the far end of the property, your electrician will factor cable length into the quote. Knowing the rough route in advance saves time on site.
5. Check planning requirements. Most garden lighting does not require planning permission. The exception is if your property is listed or sits within a conservation area, where additional restrictions may apply. Check with Test Valley Borough Council before starting work if you are unsure.

If you want to get a clearer picture of what your job involves before requesting quotes, the Voltrade GoFIX diagnostic tool helps you describe the work accurately so electricians can give you a precise price first time rather than a vague ballpark.

DIY vs Professional - When Each Is Appropriate

What you can do yourself: Low-voltage garden lighting systems - typically 12V transformers that plug into an existing outdoor socket - are legal to install without professional help. These cover many spike lights, path lights, and deck lights sold in DIY stores and garden centres. If you already have a weatherproof outdoor socket, you can add a low-voltage transformer system yourself without any further electrical work. Brands like Garden Lights and SLV offer good quality 12V systems that are designed with self-installation in mind.

What needs a qualified electrician: Any work involving mains voltage (230V) circuits must be carried out by a Part P-qualified electrician. This covers installing new circuits from the consumer unit, adding outdoor sockets, fitting mains-powered floodlights, and burying armoured cable in the ground. In England and Wales, this falls under Part P of the Building Regulations. Your electrician must notify the work to building control through their self-certification scheme - this is not optional, and skipping it creates problems when you come to sell the property.

Our engineers cover outdoor electrical installations across Andover on a regular basis. The most common call we receive is from homeowners who have bought a set of decorative lights and then discovered there is no suitable outdoor socket near where they want to use them. Adding a properly rated, RCD-protected outdoor socket typically costs between £150 and £300 and forms the foundation on which everything else can be built.

What a Qualified Electrician Will Do

Understanding the process helps you know what to expect and ask the right questions when comparing quotes.

First, a qualified electrician will assess your existing consumer unit. If it is full or outdated, additional work may be needed before any new circuits can be added. This is not unusual in older Hampshire properties, particularly those where the consumer unit has not been updated in 20 or 30 years. It is better to find this out at the planning stage than mid-installation.

Next, they will plan the cable route. For most Andover garden jobs, this means either surface-mounting conduit along a wall or fence, or burying armoured SWA cable in the ground. Buried cable must be at a minimum depth of 450mm under soft ground such as lawns and borders, or 600mm under driveways and paved areas. It should be protected with cable tiles and covered with yellow warning tape. Any competent electrician follows these requirements as standard.

The electrician then installs the fittings - bollard lights along a path, adjustable spike lights in planted borders, a PIR floodlight above a garage, or whatever combination you have chosen. All outdoor fittings must carry an appropriate IP rating for the environment. For most garden applications, IP44 or higher is the standard minimum. Anything installed near a water feature or pond should be rated IP65 or above.

Once the work is complete, they test the circuit, confirm RCD protection is functioning correctly, and issue an Electrical Installation Certificate. Keep this document with your property paperwork. If you ever sell the house, buyers' solicitors will ask for it, and not having it causes delays and can affect your sale.

Costs and What Affects the Price

Pricing for outdoor lighting installations in Andover varies more than most homeowners expect, because the gap between a simple job and a complex one can be considerable.

For individual fittings, budget approximately £120 to £200 per light when you include supply and installation. This covers typical decorative bollard lights, spike lights, and wall-mounted accent lighting. The variation comes down to cable run length, the complexity of routing cable from the consumer unit, and the specification of the fitting itself.

Here is a rough guide to common job types:

• Single outdoor socket installation - typically £150 to £300, depending on the distance from the consumer unit and whether any chasing is required through walls.
• Pathway lighting (4-6 bollard or spike lights) - typically £600 to £1,200 all in, including a new circuit if one is needed.
• Full garden lighting scheme - 8 to 12 fittings with a dedicated circuit and smart controls - commonly £1,500 to £2,500 or above for a larger Andover property.
• PIR floodlight installation - typically £150 to £250 per light if there is an existing nearby circuit to spur from.
• Low-voltage transformer system (professionally installed) - transformers for larger 12V systems from brands such as Hunza or Focus SL can range from £80 to £400 for the transformer alone, before fittings are added.

Labour in Hampshire typically runs at £45 to £65 per hour for a Part P-qualified electrician. Most garden lighting jobs take between half a day and two full days depending on scope. Get at least three quotes and make sure each one specifies exactly what is included - particularly whether the Electrical Installation Certificate and the building regulations notification are covered in the price, or whether these are extras.

Smart controls add cost but are worth considering upfront. A basic smart switch allowing timer and remote control typically adds £50 to £150 to the overall job. Full integration with smart outdoor ecosystems will cost more, particularly if you want to link lighting scenes to triggers or sunrise and sunset times automatically.

How to Get the Best from Your Outdoor Lights Long-Term

Garden lighting needs less maintenance than most people expect, but a few habits will keep everything working well for years.

Check IP ratings when replacing fittings. Outdoor fittings degrade over time, particularly the seals around lamp access points. If you notice a fitting fogging internally after rain, the IP seal has failed. Replace the fitting rather than trying to dry it out - water ingress into a mains fitting is a safety concern, not just a performance issue.

Trim plants around spike lights and uplighters each season. This is the most common reason lights stop performing well. Shrubs and perennials grow quickly, and fittings that were carefully positioned to highlight a feature can end up buried or aimed at dense foliage within a season or two. A quick check in spring and again in late summer takes very little time.

Maintain cable entry points. Where armoured cable enters a wall or fitting, ensure the entry point remains properly sealed. Silicone can shrink or crack over several years. If you notice discolouration near a cable entry, get an electrician to inspect it - re-sealing a cable entry is far cheaper than dealing with a corroded fitting or a tripped circuit.

Update timer settings seasonally. Dusk-to-dawn sensors adjust automatically, but fixed timers need updating as the seasons change. In Andover, the difference between midsummer and midwinter sunset times is around five hours. A timer set in July will have your lights coming on well after dark by October if you do not revisit the settings.

Book a periodic inspection. If your outdoor lighting is more than ten years old, it is worth having a qualified electrician check the circuit. Armoured cable and outdoor fittings have a finite lifespan, and it is better to find problems proactively than to deal with a failed circuit on a dark winter evening.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need planning permission to install garden lighting in Andover?

In most cases, no. Standard domestic garden lighting in Andover does not require planning permission. The exception is if your property is listed or sits within a conservation area, where restrictions may apply - check with Test Valley Borough Council if you are unsure. Mains-voltage electrical work does require compliance with Part P of the Building Regulations, but your qualified electrician handles this through their self-certification scheme as part of the job.

How deep does buried garden lighting cable need to be?

Steel-wire armoured cable buried under soft ground such as lawns and borders should be at least 450mm deep. Under driveways and paved areas, the minimum increases to 600mm. The cable should also be protected with cable tiles and covered with yellow warning tape directly above it. These depths protect against damage from garden tools and ground movement, and any qualified electrician will follow these requirements without needing to be asked.

Can outdoor lighting be added to an existing circuit, or does it need its own?

It depends on the existing circuit's spare capacity and what is already connected to it. Many smaller outdoor installations spur from an existing ring main or radial circuit inside the house, provided there is adequate headroom. For larger schemes with multiple fittings, smart controls, or high-wattage floodlights, a dedicated circuit from the consumer unit is the better approach. Your electrician will assess this during the initial visit and recommend the right solution for your setup.

What is the difference between low-voltage and mains garden lighting?

Low-voltage garden lighting runs on 12V DC, supplied via a transformer that plugs into an existing outdoor socket. It is safe to handle and legal to self-install if you already have a socket. Mains garden lighting runs on 230V AC directly from your consumer unit and must be installed by a Part P-qualified electrician. Mains systems are generally more powerful and more suitable for larger installations, security lighting, and situations where consistent output through winter conditions matters.

How long does a garden lighting installation typically take?

Most residential garden lighting installations in Andover take between half a day and two full days. A simple job - one or two lights on an existing outdoor circuit - can often be completed in two to three hours. A full garden scheme with multiple zones, buried cable runs, smart controls, and a dedicated new circuit will typically take a full day, sometimes two. Ask your electrician for a time estimate alongside the quote so you can make practical arrangements for site access.