Lighting has always been an essential factor in any interior design project and, thanks to the advent of smart lighting, it’s a consideration which is now more customisable than ever. Capable of providing not only a fantastic environment to live, work and play in, smart lighting is also environmentally friendly. If you want to achieve the very best with your lighting then you need to work with the best brands, both in terms of lighting control and light fittings. Let’s take a look at who the market leaders are in each area.
Lighting Control
Lighting controllers are an essential part of the system, as they dictate the ways in which you can coordinate and control your lighting solutions. They also allow your lights to seamlessly integrate with other systems around your home. The leading players include:
- Rako: Trading since 2002, Rako are a British company that specialise in wired and wireless control solutions for all your lighting needs. Their amazing RTC Bridge interface allows users to access the Rako system with a set of smart controls that permit timed events and advance programming from a remote location. Rako’s RCM-100 control panel is another signature product and allows wireless access for users to select seven different lighting scenes and full scene programming to ensure that all your lighting needs can be carefully tailored.
- Lutron: Founded over 50 years ago in the US, Lutron have consistently set the benchmark for innovative lighting solutions. With a range of smart lighting that takes in whole building solutions, dimmers and even stairwell LED fixtures, Lutron are a smart choice. Lutron’s RA2 Select home system is one of their standout products as it’s highly accessible, allowing you to control the lighting in your home from your smartphone or tablet no matter where in the world you are. Their LED Recessed Lighting range is equally impressive as it gives you the freedom to dim lighting for virtually any interior task required.
- Control 4 Lighting – Control 4 are well known for their smart home controllers, and their lighting solutions are of an equally high standard. The Control 4 range caters to all needs, whether you want ease of use via a voice control, or lighting that integrates with your security system. They also offer wireless and Wi-Fi enabled systems, allowing you to retrofit smart lighting to an existing property and control it from your smartphone.
Smart Light Fittings
There is currently plenty of choice on the market for LED light fittings however, there are multiple different types, and the quality varies massively from brand to brand. These factors can make it a challenge trying to understand and specify what type to go for and why. Transformer or driver based fittings from Orluna and Delta light offer the greatest light output in lumens and the greatest choice when it comes to beam angles, colour temperature and CRI, however these fittings generally sit at the mid to high level of the market.
- Orluna: The LED lighting specialists, Orluna are a UK based company who have been creating lighting solutions since 1973. A particular speciality of Orluna is their Luminaires range which includes a series of downlights, uplights and spotlights which are available in both defined and multiple beams to suit a wide variety of projects. Colour rendering for the Luminaires range is also impressive with a colour rending index (CRI) of 90 – 98. Orluna also specialise in dimming solutions that allow their lighting to be dimmed to an amazing 0.1% of the light’s initial output.
- Delta Light: Based in Belgium, Delta Light have been in business since 1989 and have continually grown their brand and enhanced their products. Specialising in architectural lighting, Delta Light design and manufacture ceiling, wall and floor lighting for both interiors and exteriors. Their spotlights, such as the Hedra Clip, marry minimalist aesthetics which remain eye-catching and are capable of a CRI of 80 – 90. Delta Light’s track lighting, meanwhile, manages to solve multiple lighting problems with products such as the Midispy which is able to rotate 350° and achieve a CRI of 80 – 90.
An alternative option to the LED driver based fitting and more commonly known by the general public is the mains powered 230v GU10 bulb. Companies such as Lumanor and ALL LED provide these bulbs and they are typically available in a range of colour temperatures from warm white to cool white. However overall brightness, beam angles and CRI options are more limited. That being said, this technology is being constantly developed and it wold be of little surprise if these bulb get closer to the features offer by driver based fittings in the not so distance future.
The main difference to the led driver based fitting is that the GU10 bulb must be fitted into a GU10 housing. These are available from many different manufacturers but one of the most complete and aesthetically minded ranges is provided by Levello:
- Levello: With a vast amount of electrical experience between its employees, Levello is a UK manufacturer of smart lighting solutions. Levello’s Deep Plus Downlight is specially designed to provide lighting designers with lighting effects that are more precise and effective. Meanwhile, when it comes to highly focussed lighting, Levello’s Directional Downlight allows a 360° rotation and a 35° upwards tilt whilst remaining flush with the ceiling. This ensures that the Directional Downlight can provide focussed lighting to pictures and displays with minimum intrusion.
- ALL LED: ALL LED’s corporate strategy is to “to provide a brighter choice of solid state lighting technologies” and they do this by pushing the boundaries of what is possible when it comes to lighting solutions. They offer an extensive range of lights covering commercial and retail settings, indoor and outdoor and even emergency lighting. Their dimmable GU10 LEDs are available in several different colours, from “very warm white” through to “daylight” and “cool white”, with a variety of Wattages.
- Lumanor: Seeking to be a pioneer in the use of LED lamps, Lumanor aim to promote the benefits of these types of lights in industry and in the home. Lumanor LEDs lights offer smooth dimming, and excellent thermal management, while still providing high quality brightness. Beside their GU10 lamps they also offer an extensive range of specialist commercial lighting.
For further smart lighting advice:
There are many so called smart lighting systems that have emerged onto the market recently making it difficult for consumers to understand which system is most suitable for their requirements. Wired, Wifi, Zigbee, Z wave – the list goes on. There are then different types of wiring, back box sizes for keypads, styles of keypads and lighting loads and fittings themselves to consider.
Understanding the features of differing systems can be hard for the consumer so that’s where we come in. We can assist and advise during the decision making process helping the customer to decide on what type of system suits them and their property best. We can then help them to gain the understanding of the benefits, limitations or pitfalls of a system allowing them to make an informed decision.
Cabling for a smart lighting system can be very specific often utilizing specialist cabling. This is why its key to gain an understanding of a system early in a project to ensure the correct cabling is installed before the plasterers start!
After years of working on and being exposed to different types of systems we have settled on working with a few manufacturers that we feel offer the consumer the highest level of reliability, flexibility and value for money please see more details please get in touch.