Accord Up & Down LED Wall Light

The Accord is a compact square up-and-down wall light in black or white, and the thing worth knowing before you buy it is that the light comes out of two replaceable GU10 globes rather than a sealed LED module. Both globes are in the box, both are tri-colour, and in ten years you re-lamp the fitting for the price of two globes instead of replacing it. The trade-off sits in the IP rating: at IP54 the Accord is built for splashing, not for standing weather, so where you put it matters more than it would with a sealed fitting rated for direct weather.

Sheltered positions only

IP54 covers splashing water from any direction. It does not cover rain landing on the fitting, and it does not cover a hose. In practice the Accord belongs under an eave, in a covered porch, along a roofed alfresco wall or in a carport — anywhere the roofline keeps water off it. On an exposed facade water eventually finds the globe cavity, and that is not a warranty claim. If the wall is open to the sky, choose a fitting rated for direct weather instead.

Where it works

• Under a deep eave beside a front door, washing the wall up and down.
• Covered porches and verandahs, spaced along a wall to graze the render or brick.
• Roofed alfresco and outdoor-kitchen walls, where the up-wash lifts a dark ceiling.
• Carports, breezeways and covered side paths on an internal wall line.

Specifying it

The Accord runs on 240 V AC, so it wires straight to mains and needs no driver. It is a Class 1 fitting: the earth is connected first, and an electrician is not optional. Two 5 W GU10 globes are supplied, which is 10 W and 540 lm at 3000K, 570 lm at 4000K or 600 lm at 5500K for the fitting as a whole — Havit's own figures are per head, 270, 285 and 300 lm, and the fitting has two of them. Colour temperature is set on the globe, not on the fitting: you take the cover off, slide the switch on the side of each globe, and put it back. Set both to the same temperature. The socket accepts up to 35 W per globe, and a GU10 is a twist-lock two-pin base that nothing else adapts into.

Installing it so the warranty survives

Havit is specific about three things. Aluminium fittings must not be installed within 5 km of salt water. Every o-ring and seal has to be seated correctly to keep the warranty, and silicone goes around the edge of the fitting where it meets the wall so water cannot track behind it. Exceeding the globe wattage on the label is the third — it is a fire risk and it voids the cover. None of that is unusual for an outdoor fitting; all of it is easy to skip.

Lights For You stocks the Accord in both finishes with the globes already in the box, so the fitting works the day it is wired.