Are Philips Hue Downlights Fire Rated, and Can You Fit Them in a London Flat?

• Centura recessed spotlight: 70 mm cut-out, 100 mm recess depth, Class II, IP20, GU10 bulb included
• Milliskin recessed spotlight: 7.0 cm cut-out, 100 mm recess depth, Class II, IP20, GU10 bulb included
• Adore bathroom recessed downlight and Xamento recessed spotlight: IP44, Class II, GU10 bulb included, 70 mm cut-out
• None of the four pages gives a fire rating, or says whether loft insulation may cover the fitting

• Every floor between flats is a compartment floor (paragraph 7.1), which should form a complete barrier to fire (paragraph 7.5)
• Every opening for services through a fire-separating element should be fire-stopped so its fire resistance is not impaired (paragraph 9.1)
• Regulation 4(3) of the Building Regulations says building work must not leave a building less compliant than before, so a new hole cannot weaken the ceiling
• Many flat leases keep the structure between flats with the freeholder, or control alterations to it, so ceiling work can need written consent as well

• No new downlight holes in a ceiling that has another flat above it
• No swapping an existing fire-rated downlight for a Hue recessed fitting whose page states no fire rating
• Instead, the pro fits Hue GU10 bulbs into your existing fire-rated downlights: no ceiling work, and you still get the app, scenes and colour
• Before you buy, the pro checks the bulb will fit: Hue gives its GU10 smart spotlight as 57.8 mm long and 50 mm across

• The floor of the upper storey in a two-storey house, which is the ground-floor ceiling: Approved Document B asks for R 30 and EI 15, and the IET's 2005 guidance cites research finding that downlights in plasterboard ceilings on conventional joists had little significant effect on fire resistance up to 30 minutes
• Three-storey houses and loft conversions: floors need REI 30, and on the escape route JACK fits fire hoods tested for the fitting, as its own rule
• Houses of four storeys or more, and a garage ceiling with rooms above it: JACK uses fire-rated fittings or hoods only
• Under a loft, insulation is kept off any fitting not rated for contact, with a cap or hood leaving the heat somewhere to go, as the IET advises

• What is above the ceiling: another flat, a loft, a room in your own home or a garage
• A close photo of one existing downlight, and its make if a label shows when the bulb is out
• How many downlights there are, and which switches control them
• The Hue products you have chosen

A vetted pro prices your Hue job from the products and your photos, and the JACK app shows that fixed price before you book.

Whether the job touches your wiring matters more than how many lights there are. Fitting B22 or GU10 bulbs, setting up a Bridge and plugging in lamps, Play bars or a lightstrip is set-up work. Ceiling lights, Perifo track, wall switch modules and mains outdoor lights are electrical work on your existing circuits, priced for the isolating, connecting and testing each one needs.

Then the home itself: a heavy fitting that has to go into a joist, a high or sloping ceiling, a two-way landing that needs a module at both switches, old cable with no earth, or a long garden run for low-volt lights. On a high ceiling or a long fitting, your pro can ask another pro on JACK to help through the Pro2Pro feature. Several Hue jobs, and devices from other brands, go on one booking for one fixed price.

You buy the Hue products; JACK does not sell them. Accessories the job needs, such as a deeper back box, an in-use cover for an outdoor socket or aluminium channel for a strip, are agreed and added at cost before you book, and so is parking where it has to be paid for. Prefer to pay for time? As a guide, hourly hire is typically £45–£95 per hour for smart home work and £55–£110 per hour for electrical work, and a full-day handyman booking is a flat £350–£400 for up to 8 hours on site, which suits a whole-house Hue fit.