Domus ZAC-PRO 5 RND REC IP65 5W TRIO 240V

The Domus ZAC-PRO-5 is a recessed LED wall and step light — 5 W, 305–365 lumens, CRI ≥90, IP65, 120° beam, switchable 3000/4000/5000 K, in black or white.

⭐⭐ Its record says "Indoor". It is an IP65 pathway light.

• ⭐ The product record publishes application = Indoor. ⭐ Its own description says it is “particularly useful for external pathways” and that the trim is chromate-treated “for extended wear in external environments”.
• ⭐ AND IT IS RATED IP65 — sealed against dust and against water jets from any direction. ⭐⭐ NOTHING INDOORS REQUIRES THAT.
• ⭐ WE MEASURED HOW WIDESPREAD IT IS, AND THE MEASUREMENT MATTERED. ⭐ A loose test — products that look outdoor by type or title — returned 122. ⚠ But that set wrongly includes IP20 step lights, which genuinely ARE indoor products.
• ⭐⭐ NARROWED TO THE FIRM TEST — products rated IP65 or better whose application field says Indoor — THE ANSWER IS 78. ⭐ That set includes flood lights, decklights, marine-rated floods and an IP67 driver.
• ⭐ THE FIELD IS A TEMPLATE DEFAULT rather than a claim, and this programme has found the same pattern on brackets, plates, rod kits, panel frames and optics. ⚠ Harmless on a page someone reads; ⛔ misleading in a filter, where an outdoor search would exclude an IP66 flood light.

⭐ CRI ≥90 on a step light — unusual, and worth having

• ⭐ Most exterior step and path lights run CRI 70 to 80, because the assumption is that nobody is judging colour on a garden path at night.
• ⭐⭐ THAT ASSUMPTION IS WRONG FOR THE SURFACES A STEP LIGHT ACTUALLY WASHES. ⭐ Sandstone, brick, timber decking and rendered walls are exactly the materials that look flat and grey under low-CRI light, and they are what a low-level fitting lights from 300 mm away.
• ⭐ AT CRI ≥90 THE MATERIAL KEEPS ITS COLOUR — ⭐ which on a sandstone stair or a timber deck is the whole reason for lighting it at low level rather than from above.
• ⭐ It is one of the few specifications on an exterior fitting that is visible rather than technical.

⭐ The chromate process — a detail that predicts service life

⭐ The description notes the aluminium trim gets “a special chromate process before a polyester powder coated finish is applied”. ⭐⭐ THAT IS A CONVERSION COATING APPLIED TO THE BARE METAL BEFORE PAINT, AND IT IS WHAT DETERMINES WHETHER THE POWDER COAT STAYS ATTACHED. ⭐ Powder coat on untreated aluminium lifts at any edge or chip and then corrosion runs underneath it; chromate-treated aluminium holds the coating far longer.

• ⭐ ON A STEP LIGHT THAT MATTERS MORE THAN ON MOST FITTINGS — ⭐ it is at ground level, splashed by rain off paving, hit by mowers and edgers, and often within reach of irrigation and fertiliser.
• ⭐ It is a genuine specification rather than marketing, and it is the reason to prefer a treated fitting over a cheaper one in a coastal or irrigated position.

⭐ 305–365 lumens and a 120° beam — read as a wash, not a light

• ⭐ 305 lm at 3000 K, 348 at 4000, 365 at 5000. ⭐⭐ THAT IS DELIBERATELY MODEST AND IT SHOULD BE. ⭐ A step light is there to show where the ground changes, not to light the garden.
• ⚠ THE COMMONEST MISTAKE IS OVER-SPECIFYING. ⭐ A bright step light at 300 mm above a path is directly in the eye-line of anyone walking toward it, and a glare source at that height destroys night vision rather than aiding it.
• ⭐ THE 120° BEAM SPREADS THE OUTPUT DOWNWARD across roughly a metre of path from a 300 mm mounting — ⭐ so on a run of steps, one every second or third tread is usually enough.
• ⭐ Set the colour to 3000 K outdoors unless there is a reason not to — ⭐ it flatters stone, brick and planting where 5000 K reads as institutional.

⛔ Not dimmable, and a TPS cable gland

⭐ The sheet says dimmable = No. ⚠ Do not put it on a dimmer circuit — a non-dimmable driver on a dimmer will flicker, buzz or fail. ⭐ For step lighting that is rarely a loss: it is either on or off. ⭐ The TPS cable gland is worth noting though — ⭐ it accepts standard building cable directly rather than requiring a flex tail and a junction, which on a recessed exterior fitting removes a joint and therefore removes a place for water to get in.

✅ What is published

Where it works

• ⭐ External steps and pathways — ⭐ one every second or third tread.
• ⭐ Sandstone, brick and timber — ⭐ CRI ≥90 keeps their colour.
• ⭐ Coastal and irrigated positions — ⭐ the chromate treatment.
• ⚠ Not over-specified — ⭐ a bright step light destroys night vision.
• ⛔ Not on a dimmer circuit.

Specifying it

Recessed LED wall and step light. 5 W at 240 V AC. 305/348/365 lm at 3000/4000/5000 K switchable. CRI ≥90, 120° beam. IP65. Cast aluminium body, chromate-treated trim with polyester powder coat. TPS cable gland. Not dimmable. 50,000 hrs. ⛔ ITS RECORD SAYS "application = Indoor" ON AN IP65 EXTERIOR PATHWAY LIGHT whose own description calls it useful for external pathways. Measuring that mattered: a loose test on type and title returned 122 products, but wrongly included IP20 step lights that genuinely are indoor. NARROWED TO PRODUCTS RATED IP65 OR BETTER, THE ANSWER IS 78 — and nothing indoors requires sealing against water jets. ⭐ CRI ≥90 IS THE SPECIFICATION WORTH HAVING HERE: sandstone, brick and timber are exactly what looks flat and grey under low-CRI light, and they are what a step light washes from 300 mm away.

Supplied and supported by Lights For You.

Download Datasheet (PDF)