IP rating for outdoor lights: the right protection for each zone

Read the second digit of the IP rating: that is the one that decides outdoors. Aim for IP44 under a canopy or a covered terrace, IP65 in full exposure to rain, IP67 in direct contact with water, on a pontoon or at the edge of a pond. The first digit only covers solids, fingers and dust.

What is the IP rating of an outdoor light?

The IP rating is a two-digit code that grades the sealing of a light: the first measures protection against solid bodies, the second resistance to water. An IP44 withstands splashes, an IP65 water jets. Outdoors, the second digit decides how long it lasts.

Before falling for a shape, check that it was born for outdoors. Take a wall-mounted outdoor light: it comes with its gasket, its cable gland and its marking. An indoor piece mounted on a facade is only waiting for the first rain.

What does the first digit protect, what does the second protect?

• First digit: solids. A 2 blocks fingers, a 5 stops dust, a 6 prevents it entirely from entering.
• Second digit: water. A 4 stops splashes, a 5 water jets, a 7 brief immersion, an 8 prolonged immersion.
• The letter X: an IPX4 means an untested first digit. The light is not bad, it is simply not rated for solids.

The two digits are read together. A well-sealed IP65 gets through winters; the same IP65 with a pinched gasket takes in water in one season. Installation matters as much as the rating.

Why does an IP20 remain an indoor light?

An IP20 protects against fingers, not water. It dominates the decorative range: out of a sample of 250 references from our catalogue on 12 October 2026, 94% are rated IP20, against 3% in IP65 and 2% in IP44.

Outdoors, another setting awaits the reader: calculating the lumens for an outdoor space before setting the power.

Outdoor LED power is then set as precisely as possible, enough to light a passage, not enough to dazzle from the terrace.

Which IP for outdoor lighting, zone by zone?

Under a canopy, IP44 is enough. On a facade swept by rain, go to IP65. At the edge of a pond and on the seafront, aim for IP65 at minimum, IP67 in contact with water. The closer the zone gets to water, the higher the second digit goes.

A house does not have a single IP, it has zones. The light that enhances a terrace and a garden is composed zone by zone, never in a single move.

Under a canopy or a covered terrace

A roof overhang cuts vertical rain, not spray. IP44 holds up there, and it is the zone that accepts the most shapes. To light a terrace in the evening, it is better to layer two sources than to push a single one.

The mood is set by colour temperature: 2700 K for a warm halo near seating, 3000 K for circulation areas. Creating a warm outdoor mood often comes down to that single difference.

Along a path and on a facade

An exposed facade receives slanting rain and run-off. Allow for IP65, not IP44. To light a garden path, the rating matters less than the height: the lower the source, the less it dazzles.

• Bollards: one every 2 to 3 metres, grazing light on the ground
• Posts: at corners, steps and changes of level
• Wall lights: on the facade, in indirect light to avoid a bright spot

Watertight outdoor posts are installed near the ground, where splashes are strongest, and keep the path readable without turning it into a runway.

Around a pool and on the seafront

Around a pool, water does not fall, it sprays. Aim for IP65, and IP67 for anything that may be submerged. Lighting the pool and its surroundings is prepared by separating the swimming area from the deck.

On the seafront, salt attacks finishes as much as water: aluminium and stainless steel hold up better than painted metal. A well-rated outdoor pool light saves you from redoing the deck every two years.

These three zones rarely coexist alone. When they mix, the simplest approach is to entrust the lighting of a terrace to someone who starts from the plan rather than the catalogue.

What is the difference between IP44 and IP65?

The second digit changes everything: IP44 stops splashes and spray, IP65 withstands jets and blocks dust. Between the two, it is not a nuance of quality but a use: IP44 under shelter, IP65 exposed. IP55 sits between them, IP66 hardens the jet.

IP44 and rain: what gets through, what does not

Fine vertical rain does not get past an IP44. What defeats it is run-off and wind driving water at an angle.

• Vertical rain: absorbed without getting past the gasket
• Run-off: puts it under strain, especially from above
• Pressure washer: to be avoided, even on an IP44 light

IP55 and IP66: what they add

IP55 adds resistance to jets and partial protection against dust. IP66 goes further: powerful jets and total dust-tightness. In exposed outdoor settings, IP65 and IP66 are equivalent day to day.

A watertight spotlight is chosen on the same logic: the zone first, the rating next, the shape last.

If your outdoor space mixes a covered terrace, a path and a pond, the most exposed zone dictates the choice: describe your outdoor space before ordering, that is where a coherent outdoor lighting project begins.

Can an IP44 fixture go outside?

Yes, under shelter. An IP44 placed under a canopy, a roof overhang or a closed pergola holds up without a problem. In full exposure, no: rain driven by wind and run-off eventually get in. The limit is not the rating, it is the shelter.

Under shelter, yes

The roof overhang does the job that IP44 does not. As long as water does not fall directly on the light, splashes stay within what it can withstand. Covered terrace, porch, loggia: all zones where IP44 opens up the choice of shapes.

In full exposure, the limit to know

An IP44 on an exposed facade takes in water from above, where the gasket works least well. The light still comes on, but the contact oxidises and failure arrives within one or two seasons, often in winter.

Two reference points when validating: out of a sample of 250 references on 12 October 2026, 89% state a 2-year warranty and 100% carry the CE marking. The catalogue also counts 35,326 references on the same date, and IP65 outdoor lighting is well represented there.

Where to read the IP and what to check on the gasket

The rating is moulded on the body or printed on the label, near the cable entry. The rest comes down to four details.

• Marking: IP legible without dismantling the light
• Gasket: supple, whole, properly seated in its groove
• Cable gland: pointing downwards, never towards the sky
• Screws and fixings: stainless steel, so they do not rust in water

On an IP65 wall light, the gasket is checked at installation, not at unboxing.

Wiring matters as much as the rating. To install outdoor lighting step by step, the weak point is almost always the cable entry, not the light.

One last reflex when doubt persists: check the company's Google listing and its reviews updated continuously, rather than a rating frozen in an article.