Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

How to install recessed ground lights

Updated: 22 October 2026

You already have a flush fitting and you need the hole, where the water goes, and the point where the electrical work stops being a householder job. This is how to install recessed ground lights without turning the page into a wiring diagram. The nine amazon.co.uk listings in our [recessed ground light comparison](/hub/garden-decor/recessed-ground-light) do not share one cut-out, and several publish none. Fixed garden lighting sits inside Approved Document P in England and Wales. Measure first. If the listing does not give a diameter, stop before anyone cuts the deck. Peter F. compared those listings. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You already have a flush fitting and you need the hole, where the water goes, and the point where the electrical work stops being a householder job.

Our top picks

ledscom.de ledscom.de six-pack GU10 wells

Best overall

ledscom.de ledscom.de six-pack GU10 wells
6.4/10about £95.25
View offer
Auraglow Auraglow four-pack GU10 holders

Rank 2

Auraglow Auraglow four-pack GU10 holders
7.0/10about £59.99
View offer
EBION EBION four-pack GU10 holders

Best value

EBION EBION four-pack GU10 holders
6.3/10about £37.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What you can measure before anyone digs
  2. 2.Water has to leave the hole
  3. 3.Cable, RCD, and who does the electrical work
  4. 4.After it is in, can you still reach the lamp?

What you can measure before anyone digs

Only ledscom.de states a cut-out of 98 mm and a depth of 106 mm. EBION states about 7 cm and no depth. The CNBRIGHTER bodies are about 20 × 38 mm, 35 × 54 mm, and 5 × 5 × 4.8 cm, and the honeycomb's concrete sleeve is a different listing. YOVGQOLV quotes 14 × 10 × 10 cm overall and does not answer the recess depth. Auraglow quotes a GU10 length of 30–75 mm and a 1 m flex, and no body size. A photograph is not a diameter. Do not copy 98 mm onto a brand whose page leaves the hole blank.

Water has to leave the hole

IP67 on these cartons is temporary immersion, not a sleeve that may stay full. Electrical Safety First tells householders not to submerge a fitting unless it is designed for that duty. A sand-and-gravel layer under another maker's sleeve is an example, not a depth you can copy, and none of these nine prints a gravel depth. If the pocket cannot empty, the IP line has already been left behind. A tyre is a different limit, on recessed ground lights for a driveway.
ledscom.de ledscom.de six-pack GU10 wells

Testsieger

ledscom.de ledscom.de six-pack GU10 wells
6.4/10about £95.25
View offer

Cable, RCD, and who does the electrical work

Approved Document P, 2013, puts fixed garden lighting in scope in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland do not use that document. The IET expects 30 mA RCD additional protection on AC final circuits that supply luminaires when the circuit is new or significantly altered. Electrical Safety First puts mains outdoor lighting with a registered electrician. A long buried mains run, a new circuit, or water inside a live fitting is the stop. Matching DC and AC is on 12V vs mains recessed ground lights. The mains side of a transformer is still a mains connection.

After it is in, can you still reach the lamp?

UK reviews of the Auraglow four-pack say the lid screws cannot be reached once the body is buried. Fit the lamp before the body disappears. The sealed CNBRIGHTER and HIBOITEC lamps have no bulb to change. The recessed ground light buying guide is where supply, ingress, lamp, hole, and load sit before you buy. A missing cut-out is an earlier stop than a trench.

Common questions

Who should install a mains recessed ground light?
Electrical Safety First points mains outdoor lighting to a registered electrician. That covers the Auraglow, EBION, YOVGQOLV, and ledscom.de holders, which are 230 V-class fittings with no transformer in the box. A householder can still measure a published cut-out and plan a drain. The connection, the RCD protection, and any new circuit are not a weekend wiring project described here. Low-voltage wells still need a supply the carton does not include.
Is garden lighting notifiable under Part P?
Fixed garden lighting is in scope of Approved Document P in England and Wales. Notification in that document is the narrower list: a new circuit, a consumer-unit replacement, or work in a bath, shower, pool, or sauna zone. Adding a point on an existing circuit is the example of work that is not notifiable. The job is not outside the Building Regulations just because it is not notified. Scotland and Northern Ireland use different rules.
How deep should a mains garden cable sit?
Electrical Safety First's guide for electricians uses about 0.5 m where the ground is disturbed by ordinary gardening, with warning tape and a record of the route. That is not a depth printed on these fittings. A shallow nick with a fork is the failure the depth is meant to avoid. A long buried mains run is one of the points where you stop and use a registered electrician rather than extending the cable yourself.
Does IP67 remove the need for a drain?
No. Digit 7 is temporary immersion, and a UK comment on Auraglow treats that as about 30 minutes, not a flooded sleeve through a British winter. Other reviews on that listing describe water and condensation after rain. A gravel bed under a different manufacturer's light is an illustration, not a specification of the nine fittings here. If a test pour does not leave the hole, the pocket is wrong before you energise anything.
What cut-out do the captured fittings actually state?
ledscom.de states 98 mm across and 106 mm deep. EBION states about 7 cm across and no depth. The small CNBRIGHTER bodies are about 20 × 38 mm and 35 × 54 mm. YOVGQOLV and Auraglow do not state a cut-out. Do not borrow 98 mm for a fitting whose page leaves the hole blank. Stop and check the live listing, or choose a row that already prints the bore.
Can you relamp Auraglow after the body is buried?
UK reviews say no, not without digging it out. The four lid screws sit where the surrounding deck or soil covers them once the body is in. If you buy that £59.99 four-pack because the lamp is replaceable, fit the GU10 while the fitting is still in your hands. A sealed 1 W well avoids that lid, and it also avoids any later lamp change, because the LED is not a GU10.

Related pages

Philips Hue garden lights comparison

Recessed ground light

12V vs mains recessed ground lights: match AC or DC

Best recessed ground lights: deck, bulb, or marker

Recessed ground light buying guide: five UK checks

Recessed ground lights for a driveway: read the load

Sources

Public UK sources for garden electrics, IP ratings and buried cable. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts are the captured listings in this comparison, not a live re-scrape. Sources last checked on 22 October 2026.

  1. Approved Document P, 2013 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  2. IET Part P FAQ (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  3. IET Regulation 411.3.4 FAQ (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  4. Electrical Safety First, outdoor lighting (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  5. Electrical Safety First, buried cable depth (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  6. LEDVANCE IEC 60529 guide (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  7. Bianchi Lighting in-ground note (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  8. NICEIC garden electrics (retrieved 22 October 2026)
  9. amazon.co.uk listings in this comparison (retrieved 22 October 2026)