why choose us
We are lighting specialists and we love what we do – which is solving lighting problems for our clients. If you’ve met us, you’ll know we light up with excitement and will talk about lighting to anyone who’ll listen. Listening and taking time to understand the issues our clients have is critical as often they don’t like what they have but don’t know what they want or what to do about it.
In essence, we are creative people who want to use our expertise to help others to realise the potential of their living space. Our knowledge of established and innovative lighting products is unparalleled and we work closely with trusted suppliers and search thousands of products to find options and solutions for homeowners, property owners and developers around Salisbury and South Wiltshire. We believe ‘there is more to light’ and we have been providing lighting design, advice and installations for clients and their unique spaces since 2007.
We are a local independent business and we are not retailers or limited to sourcing lighting from any maker, outlet or supplier. There is no other local business or trade that can match our depth of technical knowledge of lighting design and understanding of Bluetooth mesh controls and automation. James is regularly consulted by the makers and distributors of this technology to provide practical advice and insight for UK installations.
Working with us is a personalised and collaborative experience. Whatever your project size and complexity, we understand that you are busy and have many demands on your time. Our clients often have to balance family time with demanding jobs so, where required, we can arrange both virtual and physical meetings for early mornings, late evenings or weekends. We are more than a Mon-Fri, 9-5 company.
Our decades of project experience means that we know how important our client’s requirements are and that you want a great result with good communication and minimal inconvenience. We can provide project support, coordinate the installation and collaborate with and give guidance to building trades. Our clients can be involved as little or as much as they want to be.
As a principle, we will source high-quality lighting fixtures from reputable manufacturers known for their durability and energy efficiency. LED lighting will be the primary choice due to its long lifespan, low energy consumption, and versatility in colour temperature options. We prioritize energy efficiency in our designs to reduce environmental impact and lower your utility costs. By employing LED technology, implementing automated controls, and using timers and motion sensors, we can maximize energy savings without compromising on the quality of illumination.
We will consider any existing lighting you own and wish to reuse as part of the overall design, such as favourite statement pieces, floor lights or table lamps.
home lighting design and planning
We believe that lighting is the body language of your home. Lighting is very personal and is also the most significant factor that influences how we think about a room, a house and how we feel being there. Great lighting can improve every aspect of your home; it will lift your mood, make you more productive and help you relax.
Modern living demands multi-functionality so that you can make the most of your space and switch easily from work or daytime activity to a calm evening setting. Thoughtful selection of colour temperatures, positions of luminaires and controllable lighting scenes make your spaces work flexibly and effectively while enhancing the interior design, accenting architectural features and increasing the attractiveness of your property.
In every lighting design project, we consider multiple aspects of lighting far beyond those of style and colour. A key aspect of getting lighting right is measuring the defined light level against industry standards to ensure that the options we share are appropriate for tasks, social activities and relaxation. We will share what you need to know to make the most of your lighting design collaboration and get set up for a successful lighting outcome for your home.
The single biggest mistake people make when planning lighting is leaving it too late in the home improvement process. Don’t wait till you’re on top of first fix to think about lighting. Plan early and you won’t have closed off any interesting options as a result of leaving things too late.
A good lighting designer needs to be able to visualise the space you want to create and interpret ideas and technology that may be difficult to articulate. Good communication and empathy is a must – with you and with your on-site project team.
We’ll walk you through how you’re planning to use the space and the type of lighting you’ll need for each activity. As well as statement lighting pieces lighting, your designer should be able to provide you with ideas for shadow-free task lighting on your work surfaces, ambient lighting that’s welcoming and relaxing, and discreet or concealed accent lighting to pick out focal points and architectural features.
Fittings, bulbs, systems, cabling and controls are varied, complex and expert knowledge is needed to avoid any nasty surprises. Ask your lighting designer to show you lumières and controls and ask that they discuss colour temperatures and other available options (e.g. glare reduction and light for the light sources you’ve selected to make sure you’re happy with the quality of light and the effect it will create for your space.
Lighting can make or break a room, so hiring an expert can be a good investment. Be clear with your lighting designer on how much you have to spend. A good designer will be able to work at different budget levels, find good value and tell you if what you’d like to achieve is realistic or not.
intelligent controls and automation
During the design process we can personalise your home and home-working environment by utilising an intelligent control system to provide even smarter flexibility in adjusting light levels, colour temperature and creating multiple lighting scenes throughout the day.
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) has several compelling advantages, not shared by other, more traditional networks making it an attractive option for home lighting. It also supports ‘human-centric’ lighting (HCL) by tuning the tone and brightness of light at different times of day to keep people productive and alert or promote relaxation.
Bluetooth Low Energy, or BLE, is a specific network standard. It is scalable, meaning you can start with one room and add rooms later, and is equally well suited for open-plan solutions or large, complex building layouts.
BLE technology works with any manufacturer’s existing luminaires or already-installed wall switches. It can also be easily integrated into LED drivers, LED bulbs or LED modules, creating an optimal solution in terms of ease of installation and functionality with minimal additional hardware and deployment costs. The Internet of Things, or IoT, is a futuristic and exciting concept – but it’s also an established and growing market, where leading manufacturers have announced long-term product plans for BLE lighting automation and control systems.
HCL is proven to boost your sense of wellbeing with lighting installations that can change for morning, afternoon and evening, and even follow each day’s sunrise and sunset making adjustments throughout the year based on your geolocation. We can also consider the options for controlling luminaires and can also incorporate blind/curtain actuators, sensors for the detection of light levels and occupancy/motion, calendar and timer functionality and GPS to give you the optimum usability.
How does BLE work?
BLE is the only low power wireless technology found in all modern smartphones, tablets and even smart watches, making it the only mainstream and future-proof low power radio technology in the world. BLE devices have inbuilt intelligence and this is replicated in each node of the mesh. The system itself is self-organising and in constant synchronisation. This also means that no gateways are required to control lighting via BLE. This saves costs compared with networks like Zigbee and Wi-Fi that require gateway modules between the control device and the network.
Is a BLE mesh reliable?
BLE is more robust, and less prone to interference than other networks. Additionally, when implemented as a mesh, it eliminates single points of failure and becomes a self-healing, more reliable network implementation. An Internet/wifi connection is not necessary for normal operation; it is only needed for user interface configurations to be sent or recalled from a cloud service. Grouping of multiple networks across an entire site can also be set up so that all the luminaires in a group can be controlled together, or luminaires can be controlled individually.
Is a BLE mesh secure?
In Bluetooth mesh, security is mandatory. The network, individual applications and devices are all highly secure and this cannot be switched off or reduced in any way. Specifically:
- All mesh messages are encrypted and authenticated.
- Network security, application security and device security are addressed independently.
- Security keys can be changed during the life of the mesh network via a Key Refresh procedure.
- Message obfuscation makes it difficult to track messages sent within the network providing a privacy
mechanism to make it difficult to track nodes. - Mesh security protects the network against replay attacks.
- The process by which devices are added to the mesh network to become nodes, is itself a
secure process. - Nodes can be removed from the network securely, in a way that prevents trashcan attacks.
Can BLE interface to other technologies/networks?
BLE modules and customisable software allows partners to develop their own user interfaces for a lighting control system and, all partner products are compatible with one another as well as with native products. BLE-controllable modules that interface to other popular networks and network devices, include DALI and KNX.
specialist advice
Clients often have a requirement for lighting to meet specific considerations that require technical expertise and specialist knowledge. These considerations may be anything from health and wellbeing issues, lack of natural light, public realm and access lighting, underwater and landscape lighting and structural constraints.
We are also happy to support our clients in their preferences, for example where products are sourced and ethical lighting makers supporting a circular economy.
We prioritize energy efficiency in our designs to reduce environmental impact and lower your utility costs. By utilising LED technology, implementing automated controls, and using timers and motion sensors, we can maximize energy savings without compromising on the quality of illumination.
Our lighting control solution (BLE) is a wireless technology and our implementations use battery-powered user interfaces and energy-harvesting light switches, to eliminate power wiring. This means that innovative building automation and smart lighting systems can be installed into protected historic buildings and hard-to-access areas without structural or cosmetic damage.
It is important that the use of an area by bats and owls is thoroughly assessed before artificial lighting is changed or added, even if you are not in an AONB (Area of Natural Beauty) or designated Dark Skies area. Lighting in the vicinity of animal nesting and foraging sites could constitute an offence, and failure to conduct or adhere to an ecological assessment could incur significant redesign costs or an instruction to remove the lighting altogether. If you need help with planning your lighting to be kind to animals – and the natural environment – James has a wealth of knowledge and experience in these types of lighting assessments and compliance with local illuminance limits.
Many activities require specific lighting requirements. We have designed lighting solutions for: horse training and riding centres with stabling; indoor sports such as badminton and indoor bowls; practice and performance spaces for musicians; visual art studios and makers spaces. If you require exceptional quality light to design, create or compete, we can tailor your lighting to meet industry or professional standards.
We will utilize high-quality lighting fixtures from reputable manufacturers known for their durability and energy efficiency. LED lighting will be the primary choice due to its long lifespan, low energy consumption, and versatility in colour temperature options. All fixtures will be selected to match the aesthetic style of your property and meet your specific preferences. We have established relationships with several British and International makers of bespoke lighting products. Aside from being hand crafted, their beautiful lighting can often be designed or changed for your specific requirement.
b2b partnering and commercial
Our specialist expertise will ensure that your end clients get the lighting to make the most of the spaces you have created. Good lighting design is about building in future needs and flexibility, and layered lighting choices for greater lighting control. We ensure that the practicalities of the lighting options and installation requirements are fully explained so that the options we share will work, and be appropriate, for your client projects.
We are always keen to work alongside property development and improvement professionals, and their businesses, to optimise their client satisfaction; providing our services through you or directly with the client.
You have multiple aspects of a project to think about and plan. Lighting and lighting technology is changing at an astonishing rate and because we keep up with the latest product innovations and control technology, you don’t have to.
Our creative approach to solving lighting issues for challenging spaces, such as open-plan living, low ceilings, angled ceilings, beams and architectural features ensures your clients have many options to select from – be that classic to contemporary to innovative.
No-one wants to chase out newly-finished walls or undertake retro-fitting of fixtures so if this is something you plan into your work schedule, evidence shows that this adds £££s to the perceived value of the project and of a property.
Electricians often tell us that they have limited choices about where to suggest their clients look for lighting fixtures and fittings and this becomes a barrier to them installing and completing work. By introducing us to your clients early in the project, we can ensure that you have a fully annotated layout diagram for first fix and an installation plan and all the products, switches/controls you need to complete your client’s lighting. We will also provide detailed, written guidance notes , and on request, arrange to be onsite during the installation.
We can work with you or directly with your client to make sure that your plans and finished implementation is presented in its best light. We are always happy to share the benefits of lighting design for the most important rooms in a home and if you would like us to come to your premises and talk to you about specialist kitchen and bathroom lighting please call us.
Where bats are suspected as being present in the area selected for development, building or landscaping, you should seek ecological advice in advance of any lighting design or fixing of any scheme layout. When dealing with applications for the addition of artificial lighting, planning officers and developers should ensure a lighting assessment is done alongside an ecological assessment. We have significant knowledge and experience in these types of lighting assessments and compliance with local illuminance limits.
A judgement on the sensitivity of the particular feature or habitat on site and the perceived need for lighting in proximity to it will need to be made. This is done through collaborative discussion between the project ecologist, lighting professional and local authority. A decision on the importance or sensitivity of features or habitats will be made and if it is appropriate to avoid, redesign or limit lighting accordingly.
