How waterproof is IP65 exactly?

IP65 means completely dust-tight and resistant to water jets from any direction. Enough for a bathroom ceiling, a carport or an exterior wall. Not enough to sit under water: for that you need IP67 or higher.

The two digits read separately

IP stands for Ingress Protection. The first digit is about solid particles, the second about water. They are independent of each other — a higher second digit does not automatically mean more dust protection.

• 6 (dust) — completely dust-tight. This is the highest value there is.
• 5 (water) — resistant to a water jet from a nozzle, from any angle.

For comparison: IP44 keeps out splashing water from all directions and protects against particles from 1 mm up. IP20 does nothing against water. That last one is not a fault — it is simply the rating for a spot hanging in a dry room.

What the second rating on our product pages means

Some of our spots list not one but two IP ratings. That is deliberate, and it is the most important detail in this whole article. The Lesto states: IP65 on the front, IP20 on the back and the driver. The Lyvo, Warmo and Quaro put it slightly differently: IP65 for the spot, IP20 for the driver.

Translated: the visible underside, the part hanging in the bathroom, is dust-tight and resistant to water jets. The top side and the driver sit above the ceiling in a dry space and are not. That is exactly how a recessed spotlight is meant to work — but it does mean you must not put the driver in a damp crawl space or outdoors under the eaves.

For spots with a single rating, such as the Ferro (IP65) and the Marlo (IP65, cut-out size Ø55 mm), the rating applies to the whole fixture.

Bathroom: which zone

A bathroom is divided into zones, and each zone has a minimum IP rating. Directly above the bath or shower you are in the strictest zone. A spot with IP65 on the visible side qualifies there, provided the driver sits dry and outside the zone.

Outside those zones — above the sink, near the door — IP44 is often enough in practice. Our range holds nine fixtures with IP44 for indoor and outdoor use, and six with IP44. If you are not sure which zone you are in, choose IP65: it costs little extra and you never have to think about it again.

Outdoors is about more than water

For a carport or a facade, IP65 is more than enough against rain. Two things the IP rating does not cover that do matter outdoors:

• Material. Near the coast, salt eats into untreated metal. Most of our fixtures are aluminum, such as the Kubo wall light (IP65, G9 socket).
• Temperature. IP says nothing about frost, or about how hot a driver may get in the sun.

When IP65 is not enough

The second digit runs up to 8. IP67 means brief immersion, IP68 permanently under water. You need that for ground spots that may end up standing in a puddle, or for lighting in the rim of a pool. A spot in a ceiling or a lamp on a wall never gets there.

If you are placing spots outdoors or in the bathroom, also check the cut-out size and the recessed depth you need — those are listed per spot in the recessed spotlights collection. More about the hole in your ceiling in What cut-out size do you need for recessed spotlights?