so how much does a lighting design cost?

This is one of the most common questions we get asked, and unfortunately it is not an easy one to answer since it depends on many different factors. Below we will cover what to expect from independent lighting designers and what contributes to the price of a lighting design, but it is worth reading our article on the different people who can provide lighting design for your project, and the differences in the services.

What is involved in a lighting design?

Lighting design is a combination of creative design skills and technical expertise. There are different services that can be provided, from a simple consultation to ask questions, to a full design service.

consultations

Sometimes all you will need will be to ask some key questions or get advice on a particular area, such as lighting a piece of artwork. Consultations are generally done on an hourly rate and across the industry this can be £70-250/hour. The variation will depend on experience of the designer and location. If the lighting designer needs to travel for a long distance (generally 1 hour+) there will be a charge for the travel time as well

full lighting design

If you are having a lighting design done for an entire property or project, then it will be more involved. Pricing can vary depending on the way the designer works.

  • Fixed price

Most lighting designers offer stages of lighting design, which align roughly with the RIBA stages of work. They will price for each stage of work as a fixed fee, allowing for predictability in prices, and allows you to spread the design costs across the whole project.

A fixed price will reflect the complexity of the project, and normally has a number of factors that go into calculating it, such as number of meetings, size of the project, complexity, and the different stages. It could also be worked out by area, but be aware that smaller projects can have a higher /sqm cost than larger ones. Generally, when looking at an area price calculation, the range would be £20-50/sqm. As an example, a 150sqm 3 bedroom house would be approx £4000-6000 for a lighting design (up to start of construction). When looking at the RIBA stages the percentage breakdown of this cost is as follows:

  • Concept Design (Stage II) - 30%

  • Initial Design (Stage III) - 25%

  • Detailed Design (Stage IV) - 45%

You can find out more about what you should receive at each stage of the design process here.

  • Percentage

A project can be priced on a percentage of the lighting budget for a project. This would generally only be done for large projects where accurate budgeting is being done. The percentage would be 10-20% of the agreed lighting budget. Due to the huge variation in residential projects, this is not normally used, but is viable for commercial projects on a large scale, where experienced quantity surveyors are likely to be involved.

  • hourly rate

Some designers will work on an hourly rate. This allows the costs to be spread as the work is done, but is often a risky way to approach a design process. Accurate reporting of hours (and really fractions of hours) spent working should be agreed. Costs can often escalate during a design, so close monitoring is needed. Often this is used more on a consultant basis, rather than full design.

Beyond the design

A full lighting design should be in place ideally before tender, but at least before construction. But often you will want support of a lighting designer throughout the project, and at the end for commissioning, to ensure it is all working.

During construction

During construction it is worth having the lighting designer come in and check what has been installed, to make sure it is proceeding correctly, and catching any slip ups earlier. They would also be able to deal with the inevitable issues that arise in any building project. You can either agree to do this with a designer on an hourly fee (approx £70-250/hour like consultations) or you could negotiate a regular monthly fee for their involvement. This would entail an average of 1 site visit and 0.5-1 days work a month, at a cost of £300-1500/month depending on the designer (ours works out at £500/month for a local project). This will ensure all issues are dealt with promptly and your contractor and designers have someone to turn to when they need help.

Snagging and Commissioning

The end of the project is a very difficult time, with a rush to finish to a deadline, and fixing the inevitable problems that arise on any building project. A lighting designer will be able to come in and provide a full assessment of the lighting installation. This, often called a snagging list, provides a detailed breakdown for the contractor on any issues that need to be resolved so that the building can be handed over to the client. This would be included in the monthly construction monitoring charges above, but if you have not engaged the lighting designer for this then it would be an extra, and is normally 0.5-2 days work (it will depend on the size of the project).

Commissioning is setting up the lighting itself, pointing lights in the right direction, and working with the lighting controls supplier and engineer to ensure all the systems and dimmers are working correctly. It ensures you have the correct lighting in all the spaces and it is working as intended.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT IF HAVING A SMART HOME SYSTEM

We have emphasized this since we often see projects fall apart at this stage. Commissioning engineers from AV companies often have no idea about lighting or interior design, and will not set the controls up to give you that magic that you want. Having a lighting designer there at this stage, to ensure all the light levels are set for the different scenes is essential, and I would always recommend it to clients. It is the number one reason why smart controls don’t work in homes and cause frustration.