Who Can Design a Lighting Plan for a New Build in Lagos?

Last updated: 15 October 2026. Written by the LAGE Lightings team. Rules, fees and prices change, so confirm requirements with your architect and the Lagos planning authority before you build.

In this guide

• How we wrote this guide
• Who can design a lighting plan: six roles compared
• What Lagos permitting says, and what it does not
• Which team fits which project
• When to bring each person in
• What a good lighting plan contains
• Planning around Nigerian power
• What it costs
• 9 checks before you hire anyone
• How LAGE Lightings fits in
• Questions homeowners ask

How we wrote this guide

LAGE Lightings (also known as Lights Architect) sells lighting, so we have an interest in this topic and you should know it. We are a lighting supplier, not an architecture or engineering practice, and nothing here replaces advice from the registered professionals who sign your drawings. Registration rules come from the regulators' own pages, fees come from the sources linked beside them, and prices for our own range come from the Nigeria Lighting Price Index. Where we could not find a Nigerian figure or rule, we say so instead of guessing.

Who can design a lighting plan: six roles compared

No single licence in Nigeria is called "lighting plan designer". The work is shared between professions that each have a different job, and the table shows where each one fits.

A lighting designer is not the same as an interior designer. Homebuilding notes that interior designers often choose decorative lighting but are less often involved in architectural lighting, and that lighting designers rely on the interior design being in place first. Treat them as complementary rather than interchangeable.

If you want names to start from, the Finelib directory of Lagos lighting consultancies lists Fothlog Imaginations (VGC, Lekki, lighting designs and consultancy), Homelight Installation Ltd (Oshodi, residential lighting and consultancy) and iFLUX Nigeria (GRA Ikeja, LED lighting with consulting). We have not vetted any of them, so run the checks further down before you pay a deposit.

What Lagos permitting says, and what it does not

Lagos building permits go through the Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA), and the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) monitors construction and enforces building control rules. According to Mondaq's guide to pre-construction approvals in Lagos, architectural drawings must carry an ARCON-endorsed stamp, and structural drawings must be signed, sealed and dated by a COREN-registered engineer. Ownkey adds that a complete application set includes architectural plans, structural drawings, a site plan and services drawings, which cover electrical and plumbing.

Neither source says who must sign the electrical sheet, so we will not claim a rule that we could not verify. The practical advice is to ask your architect and LASPPPA which sign-off applies to your project, and to have the electrical design done by a COREN-registered engineer or firm either way. Ownkey also warns that drawings produced by draughtsmen who are not registered professionals are often rejected during the permit process.

Which team fits which project

This is our suggestion based on the sources above, not a legal requirement. Adjust it with your architect.

When to bring each person in

Timing matters more than who you pick. Homebuilding advises involving a lighting designer early, in the design brief for a self-build and before rewiring in a renovation, because waiting until first fix leaves little room to plan. The same logic applies in Lagos, where conduits and boxes are cast or chased into concrete and walls long before finishing.

Our broader guide to the complete lighting plan for a Nigerian home covers the three-layer method (ambient, task and accent) room by room.

What a good lighting plan contains

Ask for these deliverables in writing before you agree a fee. If a designer cannot list them, you are buying fixtures, not a plan.

1. A lighting layout (a reflected ceiling plan) showing every fixture point, with dimensions.
2. A layer plan for each room showing which fittings give ambient, task and accent light.
3. A fixture schedule listing model, size, weight, lumens, colour temperature, IP rating and driver voltage for each fitting.
4. A circuit and switching plan showing dimming zones and what each switch controls.
5. An essential-lighting circuit that stays on when the grid drops and you are running on an inverter or solar.
6. Load and anchoring notes for heavy fixtures, so the slab or ceiling grid is prepared before the fitting arrives.
7. Outdoor and security lighting, with cable exits left in place, since hard landscaping limits options later. Homebuilding recommends a phased approach on new builds.
8. A handover pack with as-built drawings, so the next electrician knows what is behind the wall.

Light levels are part of the brief. The table gives commonly cited guideline ranges based on Illuminating Engineering Society figures, as reported by Super Bright LEDs. Ask your designer which standard they work to, and treat these as starting points rather than rules.

Planning around Nigerian power

A plan drawn for a stable grid will disappoint in Lagos. Alternatio Navitas CEO Tayo Ogidan told Sweetcrude in April 2026 that Nigeria generates 4,000 to 5,000 MW despite 13,000 MW of installed capacity, and the same report says Lagos is preparing to roll out 100,000 solar home units in phases. Many new homes will run on grid, generator, inverter and solar at different times of day.

That has three consequences for the plan. Put the lights you need during an outage on a separate essential circuit. Specify fixtures with wide-voltage drivers so they ride out the swings when you change source; LAGE Lightings fixtures use drivers rated roughly 85V to 265V. And size the inverter or solar system from the real lighting load in the fixture schedule, not from a guess. Our guide to LED lights on generators and inverters in Nigeria explains what to look for.

What it costs

We could not find a published Nigerian fee schedule for lighting designers, so we will not invent one. These are the figures we can source, labelled by where they come from.

For the fittings themselves, here are median prices across the LAGE Lightings range in the October 2026 Nigeria Lighting Price Index:

Worked example. A three-bedroom flat with one living-room chandelier (₦350,000), one dining pendant (₦120,000), three bedroom ceiling lights (3 x ₦195,000 = ₦585,000) and four indoor wall lights (4 x ₦98,000 = ₦392,000) comes to ₦1,447,000 at median prices. That total excludes the kitchen, bathrooms, outdoor lighting, lamps, wiring and labour, and your own choices will move it up or down. The point is that fittings are a large line in the budget, so decide them with the plan rather than after it.

9 checks before you hire anyone

1. Get the registration number. Architects should be ARCON-registered. Engineers and engineering firms should be COREN-registered, and you can verify the number on the COREN portal.
2. Check the business. Search the company name or RC number on the CAC public search portal and confirm the status is active.
3. Ask who signs the electrical drawings. A lighting designer who cannot name the registered engineer behind the drawings is giving you a concept, not a build document.
4. See two finished projects in person or through recent client references, ideally homes of a similar size.
5. Get the scope in writing. List the deliverables from the section above, the number of revisions and the number of site visits.
6. Ask about commissions. If the designer earns a margin on fixtures, that is not wrong, but you should know, and you should be free to compare prices.
7. Ask how they plan for power. You want to hear about an essential circuit, wide-voltage drivers and load calculations.
8. Agree the timing. The plan must be complete before first fix, with a checkpoint before ceilings close.
9. Ask about handover. You should receive as-built drawings and the fixture schedule at the end.

If you are an architect or developer vetting lighting vendors rather than designers, our list of 10 shortlist vetting questions for commercial lighting vendors covers that side.

How LAGE Lightings fits in

We supply the fixtures, and we work with homeowners and developers while construction is still underway, helping plan fixture points against floor plans and ceiling heights before electrical work is closed up. You can bring your drawings to our showroom at 15C Chief Waheed Eletu Street, Osapa London, Lekki, Lagos, open Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm, and see chandeliers, pendants and wall lights lit at full scale. We can also connect Lagos customers with vetted electricians for heavy or multi-point fittings, and many chandeliers and pendants can be adapted on drop length, finish or bulb count to suit your ceiling height. For Abuja projects, see our guide to lighting stores in Abuja for interior designers and architects.

The designs, the sign-off and the wiring still belong with your registered professionals. We keep to what we know: sizes, weights, drivers, finishes and lead times.

Questions homeowners ask

Who can design a lighting plan for a new build in Lagos?

Usually a team. An ARCON-registered architect lays out the building, a COREN-registered electrical or MEP engineer designs the electrical services, and a specialist lighting designer sets light levels, positions and controls on larger or more complex homes. Interior designers and lighting suppliers help choose the fittings, and an electrician installs to the drawings.

Do I need a lighting designer for my new house?

Not always. Homebuilding says smaller rooms and standard renovations often do not need one, while large, open-plan or double-height spaces and big self-builds can benefit. For a typical flat or three-bedroom house, a registered architect and electrical engineer are usually enough if fixtures are chosen before ceilings close.

Can my architect do the lighting plan?

Architects normally provide a basic lighting layout in the planning drawings, but that layout is often drawn separately from the interior design and is less tuned to how you will use each room. If the home is simple, that may be enough. If it is large or detailed, ask whether a lighting designer should refine it.

Can an electrician design the lighting plan?

An electrician installs what the drawings show and may offer sensible advice, but a design that goes into a permit set should come from a registered professional. Ask your architect which sign-off applies, and use an electrician to build to the engineer's drawing.

Do I need a COREN-registered engineer?

COREN regulates engineering practice and registers practitioners and firms, and structural drawings in a Lagos permit application must be signed by a COREN-registered engineer. The sources we checked do not say who must sign the electrical sheet, so ask your architect and the planning authority. Hiring a COREN-registered electrical engineer or firm is the safe route either way.

Is there a licence for lighting designers in Nigeria?

We could not find a Nigerian statutory licence specific to lighting designers. Architects register with ARCON and engineers with COREN, while interior designers have a licensing scheme announced under the Institute of Professional Interior Designers and Product Inventors. For lighting designers, judge portfolio, references and the registered professional who signs the drawings.

How much does a lighting designer cost in Lagos?

We could not find a published Nigerian fee schedule, so we will not quote one. Full architect services are typically about 5 to 10% of construction cost according to Ownkey, and a UK publication puts residential lighting design at £500 to £5,000 depending on project size. Treat the UK figure as a reference point and ask for a written quote with a defined scope.

When should I plan the lighting in a new build?

Before the electrical first fix and well before ceilings close. Fixture points, circuits and anchoring for heavy chandeliers are far cheaper to settle on paper than to change after the slab, walls or POP ceiling are finished.

How do I plan lighting for inverter or solar power?

Put the lights you need during an outage on a separate essential circuit, choose fixtures with wide-voltage drivers, and size the inverter or solar system from the real lighting load in the fixture schedule. LAGE Lightings fixtures use drivers rated roughly 85V to 265V for mains, inverter and generator supply.

Does LAGE Lightings help plan lighting for a new build?

Yes, within the limits of a lighting supplier. We help plan fixture points against floor plans and ceiling heights while construction is underway and specify fixtures to suit, but the approved design and wiring sit with your architect and registered engineer.