One press instead of six switches
Cooking, dining, evening and away scenes recall instantly from a keypad by the door. The room is right immediately.
Derby · Lighting design and control
Lighting Control In DerbyThat Sets The RoomWith One Press
Scene lighting, dimming and automated garden and façade circuits, designed by the same contractor who splits the circuits and programmes the keypads. You get the light levels right without ever needing to open an app.
Official Loxone Partner, also designing on Lutron, Rako and DALI · 6-year NAPIT-backed workmanship guarantee on qualifying installations
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16+ years
Domestic, commercial and industrial experience
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Full Scope
NAPIT registered for all aspects of electrical work
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6-year
NAPIT-backed workmanship guarantee on qualifying installs
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£10m
Public and employers' liability cover
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Free
Initial consultation, no obligation
The service
Lighting that changes with the room, the task and the hour
Lighting control splits the light in a room into layers. General, task, feature and accent light each go on their own dimmable circuit, then get grouped into scenes that a keypad, sensor, schedule or app can recall in an instant. A kitchen can go from bright working light at eight in the morning to low warm perimeter light at nine at night without anyone touching six switches.
None of that works unless the decisions at first fix are right. Circuits need splitting by function, drivers need matching to the fittings, and switch positions need a neutral conductor. Dimming protocols get chosen for the load they're driving. Bolt a dimmer onto a circuit that was wired for a single on-off switch and you'll get flicker, buzzing and a dead bottom-end.
We design and install on Loxone as an official partner, and we work on Lutron, Rako, ClickSmart and DALI where the keypad range or the spec calls for it. One team splits the circuits, fits the dimmers, sets the trims and programmes the scenes.
Who this is for
- Kitchen, extension and whole-house renovations with the ceilings already coming down
- Homeowners frustrated by banks of switches and inconsistent dimming
- New builds where lighting layout and circuit splits can be designed properly
- Gardens, driveways and façades needing reliable astronomical timing all year
- Offices, retail and hospitality needing zoned, scheduled, daylight-linked lighting
- Anyone whose existing dimmers flicker, buzz, or won't dim smoothly to zero
What it costs to leave it
Bad lighting costs you twice, once to fit and again every evening you live with it
A grid of identical downlights on one switch is what you get when lighting is an afterthought at first fix. You get one light level for cooking, homework, dinner and late evening, so the room only feels right by accident. Fixing it later means new circuits, new drivers and usually a re-skim of the ceiling you just decorated.
Mismatched dimming brings its own set of problems. LEDs flicker at low level, drivers buzz in a quiet room, a dimmer cuts to black at thirty per cent, fittings sit at different brightness on the same scene. These are compatibility and trim issues. Getting the spec right first avoids all of them.
Outside, the usual failure is timing. Timeclocks drift. Photocells fail and leave the garden lit all night. Manual switching means the front of the house is dark exactly when you arrive home. Every one of these wastes energy or leaves the property looking empty, and astronomical timing tied to your location solves the lot.
Mistakes we get called out to fix
- One switch and one circuit for an entire open-plan kitchen and dining space
- Choosing dimmers after the lamps are bought, instead of matching driver to load first
- No neutral at switch positions, ruling out most control modules at second fix
- Fittings from three suppliers on the same scene, each dimming to a different curve
- External lighting on a mechanical timeclock nobody remembers to adjust
- Keypads fitted somewhere convenient for the electrician instead of on the route people actually walk
How the job runs
A fixed sequence, so nothing
gets decided on the fly
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01
Free consultation
We walk each room, look at how you actually use it through the day, and point out where layered light would genuinely change something.
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02
Lighting design
Circuit splits, fitting schedule, driver and dimming protocol selection, keypad positions and a written scene list for each room, all agreed before anyone cuts a cable.
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03
First fix wiring
Dimmable circuits run and separated by function, neutrals delivered to switch positions, drivers positioned where they can be reached, external circuits installed and protected.
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04
Second fix and scene setting
Fittings, keypads and dimmer modules go in, trims are set fitting by fitting, and each scene gets tuned on site at the right time of day.
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05
Test, certify and hand over
Electrical testing and certification, every scene demonstrated and adjusted with you, keypads engraved or labelled so the controls actually make sense.
What you actually get
Measurable outcomes, not adjectives
Flicker-free dimming to zero
Drivers and dimming protocols matched to each fitting and trimmed on site take out the buzz, flicker and dead bottom-end you get from a mismatched retrofit.
Lower lighting energy use
Scenes rarely run at full output, sensors switch off empty rooms, and external circuits only run between real dusk and real dawn.
Garden lighting correct to the minute
Astronomical timing tracks sunset and sunrise for your location every day, so the front of the house is lit by the time you pull up.
Fewer failures, less access work
Drivers that are correctly loaded, ventilated and in an accessible spot last longer, and get replaced without a scaffold tower or lifted flooring.
Guaranteed workmanship
Qualifying installation work carries a 6-year NAPIT-backed guarantee. Other work carries a minimum of one year.
In detail
Protocols, fittings and how residential and commercial lighting differ
The right control protocol comes down to the load, how many fittings you're driving, and who has to maintain the space afterwards. Here's what we specify across homes, offices, retail and hospitality projects in Derby and the East Midlands.
Control platforms and dimming protocols
We pick the protocol to suit the fittings and the building, not the other way round. Trailing-edge dimming suits most domestic LED loads. DALI earns its place where dozens of addressable fittings need individual control and fault reporting.
- Loxone dimmer extensions and tree devices for whole-property scene control
- Lutron and Rako where a specific keypad range or aesthetic is specified
- DALI and DALI-2 addressable control for large fitting counts and commercial estates
- 0–10V and mains trailing-edge dimming for straightforward domestic circuits
- ClickSmart for cost-sensitive retrofit lighting and blind control
- Tunable white and RGBW circuits where colour temperature should follow the time of day
Layers, scenes and keypads
A scene is only as good as the layers feeding it. We plan general, task, feature and accent light room by room, then build scenes from those layers so each one has a clear job to do.
- General light for cleaning and daytime working levels
- Task light over worktops, islands, desks and reading positions
- Feature and accent light on joinery, artwork, alcoves and stairs
- Circadian evening scenes that warm and lower automatically after sunset
- Engraved or labelled keypads on the natural walking route
- Away, night and morning scenes tied to occupancy, alarm state or schedule
External, garden and façade lighting
Outdoor lighting usually fails for environmental reasons, not electrical ones. Correct IP ratings, gland selection, cable depth and drainage matter just as much as the control strategy on top.
- Astronomical timing per location, with curfew times for late-night circuits
- Correctly rated IP fittings, glands and junctions for buried and exposed positions
- SWA and armoured runs to outbuildings, garden zones and gate positions
- Path, step, tree and façade uplighting zoned separately from security lighting
- Driveway and entrance lighting linked to gate, camera or presence events
Residential versus commercial
Homes are about atmosphere and simplicity. Commercial spaces care more about compliance, energy reporting, and letting a facilities team make changes themselves without calling an engineer out.
- Residential: scene-led, keypad-driven, tuned for evening comfort and family use
- Commercial: zoned, daylight-linked and occupancy-controlled to cut running hours
- Retail and hospitality: timed trading scenes with a simple override for staff
- Emergency lighting kept separate, tested and certified to its own schedule
- Facilities-level access so schedules and levels change without a call-out
Before you enquire
Lighting control questions,
answered straight
What does a lighting control system cost?
It depends on the number of circuits, the fittings, and whether the ceilings are already open. We don't publish prices because a headline figure would tell you nothing useful. The initial consultation is free, and you get a written quotation before you commit to anything.
How long does installation take?
A single room retrofit is usually one to three days. A whole-house scheme runs alongside the build programme, first fix before plaster, second fix and scene setting near completion. Scene tuning generally takes half a day per floor.
Can lighting control be retrofitted without replastering?
Often, yes. Loft, floor void or riser routes can carry the cable, or wireless-capable modules can sit behind existing switch plates that already have a neutral. We'll tell you at consultation which rooms are realistic and which aren't.
Why do my current LED lights flicker when dimmed?
Nine times out of ten it's a mismatch between the dimmer and the driver, or a load sitting below the dimmer's minimum. We fix it by selecting the right dimming protocol and setting a minimum trim per circuit during commissioning.
Will the lights still work if the system fails?
Yes. Keypads and local control keep the lighting working, and the logic runs on the controller inside the property rather than somewhere in the cloud.
How long do LED fittings and drivers last?
Quality drivers, correctly loaded and ventilated, typically run for years. Heat and overloading shorten that considerably. We position drivers somewhere accessible so a replacement is a short visit rather than a big job.
Can you change scenes after handover?
Yes, and most clients do once they've lived with them for a few weeks. We usually make those adjustments remotely under a maintenance package.
Do you cover emergency lighting for commercial premises?
Yes. We design, install, test and certify emergency lighting separately from the controlled lighting, so it stays compliant and easy to verify.
What guarantee applies to lighting installations?
Qualifying installation work carries a 6-year workmanship guarantee backed by NAPIT. Other work carries a minimum one-year guarantee. We hold £10m public liability and £10m employers' liability cover.
Which areas do you cover?
Derby, Duffield, Belper, Ilkeston, Long Eaton, Ripley, Ashbourne, Matlock, Burton upon Trent, Nottingham, Chesterfield, Sheffield and the surrounding East Midlands.
Related services
Where we work
Derby · Nottingham · Duffield · Belper · Burton upon Trent · Sheffield · Ilkeston · Long Eaton and the wider East Midlands. See areas covered, read more about the company or return to the homepage.
Get the light levels right
before the ceilings close
Design it early and lighting is cheap. Fix it late and it isn't. Book a free consultation and we'll tell you which circuits need splitting.
NAPIT Full Scope · Official Loxone Partner · 6-year workmanship guarantee on qualifying installations · £10m public liability