Weatherproof or waterproof?

Whenever I deal with comments about water getting into garden light fittings, people often say, isn't this waterproof? The answer is often no, simply because there are degrees of resistance to ingress of water, dust and objects (such as children's fingers) according to a scale of ingress protection. IP68 means it is fully waterproof, usually to a specified depth which defines the pressure the fitting is designed to with stand without leaking. That is the rating for an underwater light, where the first digit, 6, means it is dust-tight and the second digit, 8, means it is watertight to continual, rather than occasional or intermittent, submersion.

Most other garden lights are weatherproof, having a lower but still satisfactory rating, usually of IP55 upwards for pathlights, and spotlights, and IP44 upwards for wall lights. They earn their category by being designed to continue working, even if a bit of water gets in, by ensuring that water drains out or doesn't touch live parts.

Usually comments about "water getting in" betray a lack of awareness that garden lights with a high IP rating will hold in condensation from the moist air around on the day they were installed or the lamp (bulb) was last changed. Condensation forms on the inside of the glass lens when the fitting cools down after use and evaporates again when the lights are switched on. Usually this is nothing to worry about and can be eliminated by running the light fitting with the top loosely fitted for half an hour to warm it up and drive out moisture before switching off and tightening down the top plate, bezel or other cover plate.

Visit http://www.lightingforgardens.com/home.php and click on view products to see a varirty of garden lighting fittings, then click on a picture to see the full specification and compare IP ratings.