Soffit Lighting Installation Cost

Looking to find out how much it costs to install soffit lighting in your home?

Investing in exterior lighting can really enhance the appearance and enjoyment of your property. In addition to providing atmospheric light for evening enjoyment, it can also provide intense light that improves security.

On average, the cost of soffit lighting installation will be around £180 for 1 or 2 lights, assuming the access and wiring are relatively straightforward. For multiple lights or more complicated installations, costs may rise to £300 to £500. While most jobs will take 1 or 2 hours, the more lighting you're having done or if your home requires additional wiring, then ask for a timeframe to be included within the quote.

Are you ready for a quote?

If so, we have a wide range of electricians near you ready to offer you a free quote!

Want to find out more first?

Keep reading below!

How Much Does Soffit Lighting Installation Cost?

Your home's soffits are blank canvases on which you can add beautiful accents with the addition of lighting. Soffit lighting installation is simple and inexpensive.

The total cost of lighting installation will be determined by several factors, including the light source fixture you select, the number of lighting elements installed, and their location. This comprehensive guide discusses the average cost of installing exterior lights, such as soffit lights.

So, what is the soffit lighting installation cost?

A low-voltage exterior light installation costs around £165 to £200. Soffit lighting prices can be influenced by various factors, including the number of light fixtures desired, their location, and the cost of the fixings.

Soffit Light Installation Prices

Take a look at the table below for the cost to install soffit lighting. Prices are based on a basic job for each fixture and not the cost of a larger project with multiple lighting involved. The final cost will depend on the number of lights installed and amount of labour required.

Supply Cost of Soffit Light Installations

Compared to standard overhead lamps and bulbs, the installation configuration combined with the style of bulbs used provides a much softer light.

LED bulbs used in soffit layouts are significantly less expensive. In addition, compared to halogen bulbs, LEDs can provide the same amount of light using around 80% less electricity. We'll go over the supply-only costs here so you know what you'll need when installing soffit lighting in your home.

To install soffit lighting, you will need downlights, which cost £7 to £25. Cable connectors will cost £4 to £7. A wire stripper costs £7 to £21, and a wire cutter will cost £7 to £21. You will also need a screwdriver, which will set you back by £5 to £10, and floodlights can cost £20 to £70.

Find Tradespeople, compare up to 3 quotes!

It's FREE and there are no obligations

Get started

Labour Cost to Install Soffit Lighting & Timescales

You will only need one electrician to complete the work because they can install soffit lighting on their own. Most soffit lighting installation jobs can be completed in 1 day. So, how much does soffit lighting cost to install?

The cost of hiring an electrician is around £150 to £200 per day for labour. However, most electricians will charge a minimum of half a day's work, so you can expect the labour cost to be between £75 and £100 for installing soffit lighting.

The labour costs will be determined primarily by the amount of work required and your location in the United Kingdom. Those living in or near London should expect to pay more for labour.

Soffit lighting installation takes about 30 minutes to an hour. Depending on how many are installed, the total installation time will most likely be between 2 and 4 hours. This covers the installation only, not any time spent planning or gathering materials and supplies.

A lot goes into ensuring that the soffit lighting is installed correctly and safely. However, once you've gathered all the necessary materials and tools, you'll only need an afternoon to complete this project.

Many factors can influence how long the process takes. For example, if you're doing it yourself for the first time, the installation will take longer but you won't have any labour fees. However, a registered electrician who does this job regularly should complete the work in the time specified and to a higher and professional standard.

Ask a Trade

Got a question that only a tradesperson can answer? We have thousands of trades ready to answer any question you may have.

Ask your question

Factors That Impact Soffit Lighting Installation Costs

There are numerous reasons why the cost of installing soffit lighting varies. In this section, we will discuss the various cost factors and how they affect the overall cost.

Whether You Have an Intelligent Lighting System

Smart lighting allows you to control your lighting via an app on your phone or a voice-activated device with Wi-Fi, such as Google Home and Amazon Echo.

It will allow you to turn the lights on and off while on holiday or when you return home at the end of the day. Some innovative bulb models allow you to dim the lights, change the colour, or adjust the temperature.

For example, if you return from work with a headache, you could change the colour from white to blue to create a more relaxing atmosphere. Smart white ambience bulbs cost between £15 and £45, while coloured bulbs cost between £35 and £50.

Wi-Fi light switches that work with remote voice-controlled devices range in price from £18 to £76.

If you want to convert your soffit lighting into a smart home to control lighting, heating, and security, you can buy plug-and-play products, or if you recently purchased a home that you are renovating, an electrician can install an embedded digital wiring system.

How Much Electrical Work Is Needed?

The job will take less time if the wiring is already in place than if the electrician would have to wire through to the location of your fitting.

Your Location

You'll pay more for an electrician if you live in London or the southeast of England than in the Midlands and the north of England. This is because wages are higher in the south, so products and services are more expensive.

What's Involved in Installing Soffit Lighting?

Before installing soffit lights, it is important to plan their placement carefully. Finding that balance of illuminated areas and shadows is essential for getting the look you are after.

This section will go over the 6 steps involved in installing soffit lighting correctly:

Step 1: Determine the Right Light Locations

First and foremost, you must identify the soffit areas where the lights will be installed. Next, check that the installation area is large enough by referring to the installation instructions.

Trace the template of the downlight fittings onto the soffit and cut the holes with a keyhole saw.

Step 2: Connect the Cable

Turn off the breaker at the consumer unit to turn off the electricity to that circuit and remove the possibility of an electric shock. Next, run a suitable lighting cable from the switch to the nearest soffit hole.

Remember to leave an additional 25cm or so of wire hanging out of each hole for the additional light wiring and installation. Continue running the cable to each of the remaining openings until they are all connected.

Step 3: Connect the Downlights

Feed the cable from the switch, and the cable running on to the next light, into the junction box at the first opening, then fix the light fitting into the eaves. Repeat for the remaining downlights.

Step 4: Prepare the Cables

All the cables are now prepared so the electrician will be able to make the connections between the lights and the consumer unit.

Step 5: Join the Wires

The electrician completes the connection for the first light, and then repeats the procedure for each soffit light fixture you would like to install until they are all connected.

Step 6: Install the Soffit Lights

Insert the light fixtures into the soffit holes you created. Then, with a flathead screwdriver, press the black clips upwards until you hear them click down into the slot in the soffit light fixture itself. Make sure that all the black clips are securely fastened to the soffit light fixture.

When you finish installing the soffit lighting and turn on the light, you should see the light coming from above. It will resemble a large floodlight or a small spotlight.

Can I Install Soffit Lighting Myself?

We would always suggest getting a professional to install soffit lighting. Although you may save on labour fees, dealing with anything electrical is very dangerous if you are not a registered electrician.

On top of that there are many factors to consider when trying to achieve a specific look with your lights.

Exterior soffit lighting fixtures prevent break-ins and light up your back garden and driveways.

Let us take you through 3 things to avoid if considering installing soffit lighting yourself.

1. Choosing the Best Soffit Lights

We want to accomplish soft and toned light levels when installing soffit lights for enhancement. Unfortunately, many soffit lights are overly bright, resulting in glare and a harsh appearance.

Fortunately, LED bulbs with varying light output are readily available, allowing you to achieve the exact look you desire, depending on the placement of the lights, distance from the side of the property, and angle of illumination.

A professional would know what type of brightness your house needs and install the correct brightness straight away without any hassle.

2. Light Location

Have you ever seen a house with soffit lights that appear like an alien spaceship about to take off? It may appear amusing, but it is a common mistake among homeowners.

Soffit lights that are too vibrant and installed all along the roofline can make your house appear to be a floating object in space, which is unappealing. If you don't want your house to look like a spaceship at night, consider combining other lighting styles to counteract the spaceship effect.

If the lights are too bright, there are too many of them, or they only point downwards, they can give this appearance. Illumination around your home's foundation can also make it appear more natural. Therefore, unless you know the positioning, it could be challenging and make your home look silly!

3. Light Positioning

If you're only concerned with lighting up your landscape and not illuminating your home, it may appear empty and strange at night. Or, more accurately, a dark island with no one on board. Aside from decorative purposes, installing soffit lights on your home can help increase security, particularly against burglars at night.

Building Regulations & Planning Permission for Soffit Lighting Installations

If you are doing electrical work or installing lighting outside your home in England or Wales, you must follow current building regulations, although this mainly relates to adding new or altering existing wiring, or as part of a larger project such as building an extension or rewiring a house.

You should use a competent person scheme-registered installer. If you choose to carry out the work yourself, notify your local authority's building control department if required. Alternatively, a registered building control approver in England and an approved inspector in Wales can certify the work.

The goal is now to make our structures as energy-efficient as possible and when new lights are fitted you must install efficient electric lighting in your home.

An example of efficient lighting is when reasonable provisions are made to allow effective control and use of efficient lamps so that:

The lighting automatically switches off if there is enough daylight and when the area is unoccupied at night, and the lighting fittings have sockets which can only be used with lamps that have an efficacy greater than 75 light-source lumens per circuit watt.

External Illumination

If you are installing an external light that is powered by your electrical system and is fixed to the outside of your home, you should make reasonable provisions for effective control and the use of energy-efficient lamps.

Installing a lamp with an energy efficiency of more than 75 light-source lumens per circuit watt requires the lighting to turn off automatically if there is enough daylight, and a manual switch can be used to turn it off when unoccupied at night. Lighting under 75 light-source lumens per circuit watt requires an automatic control.

These are the current requirements in England and Wales, but Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own requirements.

Types of Soffit Lighting

Soffit lighting is the most popular lighting method for a home's exterior. These lights can be installed in a variety of different places, including:

• Soffits
• Roofs
• Eaves
• Porch overhangs

Installing lights in these areas can create a pleasant downlighting effect, improving the appearance of your home.

Soffit lighting can also be installed inside your home, where it can be used as accent lighting or under-cabinet lighting. However, while offering the same principle, the equivalent internal lighting is usually referred to as "cove lighting" or "recessed lighting".

Let's go over the various types of soffit lighting available.

Floodlighting

Soffit floodlights are excellent for adding security and accessibility to your outdoor lighting scheme. This type of lighting typically provides a broad spread so that they can illuminate a large area of your home or garden.

These lights are ideal for brightening the front exterior of a house, allowing visitors to see your home from the street and allowing you to monitor the areas of the driveway and garden nearest to your home. At night, soffit floodlights add ambience to your garden.

Spotlights

Soffit spotlights are similar to soffit floodlights and are usually around the same size and appearance, and operate in the same way. However, spotlights provide a narrower beam angle than floodlights (normally around 20 to 30 degrees). This means a narrow band of light is illuminating your landscape, house exterior, etc.

This also means that these exterior soffit lights are bright white lights that can illuminate dark corners or make a clear focal point outside your home. You can also use them to add security to your driveway or the region outside your garage.

Recessed Soffit Lights

Recessed lighting is a popular soffit lighting for both indoor and outdoor use. These lights are ideal for under porch ceilings, deck lighting (especially if your deck has an overhang), under railings, and other applications.

While still strong, these ceiling lights are not as precise as the spotlight, so they add warm white artificial light, ideal for outdoor spaces where people are likely to congregate socially at night.

Soffit Lights in Different Colours

Soffit lights are available in white and other colours. If you're replacing your lights, why not choose colours that will create a pattern or draw attention with visual interest? These coloured LEDs have the same capacity to light your home's exterior as other soffit lights, but they also add character to your outdoor light design.

Deck Soffit Lighting

Is there an overhang or a ceiling on your deck? Is there a pergola in your garden? These are both ideal options for soffit lighting, mainly outdoor recessed lighting. For example, perhaps you have a deck on the first floor with a seating area below. Soffit lights attached to the ceiling provide subtle, built-in lighting for your seating area.

Checklist: Hiring Contractors for Installing Soffit Lighting

With so many tradesmen and contractors to choose from, knowing how to find someone suitable for the job can be a difficult task.

That's why we've included the following checklist, to help you decide and give you the right questions to ask.

• Do they have public liability insurance? Although not a legal requirement, it is considered standard practice for a reputable tradesman as it provides cover in the event of accidental damage to your property or injury.
• Are they listed on a trade association register? Check the Registered Competent Person register or the TrustMark register, as electricians on these registers have already been vetted for quality and reliability.
• Do they have examples of similar work? Ask family, friends, and neighbours for their personal recommendations, especially if they've had similar work carried out that you can take a look at. Alternatively, search for before and after photos on their MyJobQuote profile.
• Have you compared multiple quotes? Compare estimates for your project by comparing more than one electrician before committing. With the help of MyJobQuote it's recommended to receive at least 3 separate quotes before deciding who's right for the job.
• Do they have positive reviews? As well as feedback from people you know, you can also find someone to install your soffit lighting by checking any reviews they've received from other homeowners via MyJobQuote.

FAQs