Smart lighting control in Dubai lets you set a whole room with one button, dim each light to the level you want, and run everything from wall keypads, the app or a schedule. For a new build villa we recommend wired KNX. For a finished apartment, wireless is usually the simpler route.
KNX is an international standard (ISO/IEC 14543-3) for wired home and building control. Wireless, in our homes, means Zigbee. It is an open, low-power radio standard that lets devices talk to each other without new cables.
Below we explain scenes, dimming, keypads and lighting design. We also cover what to settle before anything goes into your walls or ceilings.
What is a lighting scene?
A scene is a saved set of light levels for a room or the whole home, and one button press brings it back. You press 'Dinner' instead of adjusting five switches, and every light goes to the level you chose.
A scene can include more than lights. A 'Film' scene can dim the living room and close the curtains at the same time.
Scenes can also start on their own. We can set them to run at sunset, on a timetable, or when you open the smart lock on your front door.
- Morning: kitchen and hallway lights at full, bedroom lights low
- Dinner: dining pendants bright, living room dimmed
- Film: room lights low, curtains closed
- Goodnight: everything off except a low path light to the bathroom
- Away: all lights off, with some switching on in the evening so the home looks lived in
How does dimming work with LED lights?
Dimming works well when the LED fitting, its driver and the dimmer suit each other. The driver is the small power unit that feeds an LED fitting, and it decides how the light behaves when you turn it down.
Not every LED fitting is dimmable, and a dimmable one still needs a dimmer that matches its driver. So we choose all three together, not one after the other. We can supply the fittings and drivers, or work with your lighting contractor.
Most ordinary wall dimmers use phase dimming. They cut off part of each cycle of the mains power, so less power reaches the light.
DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) is a digital protocol made only for lighting control. Each fitting gets its own address, which is the 'addressable' in the name, so you can set every light on its own instead of a whole circuit at once.
Can your lights follow the time of day?
Yes. Tunable white lighting shifts from a cooler, bluer white to a warmer, yellower white, and we install it.
You can let it follow the day, with brighter, cooler light in the morning and warmer light in the evening. We also have a 'jet lag recovery' mode. It plans your lighting to help you adjust when you come home from another time zone.
What do keypads do, and where do they go?
A keypad is a wall panel with buttons for scenes, so one panel can replace a row of switches. Each button can run a scene, switch a single circuit or dim a group of lights.
Most homes need keypads where people arrive and settle: by the front door, in the living room and at the bedside. The exact positions depend on how you use each room.
We offer keypads and switch panels from 18 high-end suppliers, so you can pick finishes that suit your interiors.
Your lighting does not need the internet. If the internet goes down, the app still works over your home Wi-Fi, and if the home network itself fails, the keypads still control your lights.
Wired KNX or wireless: which suits your home?
It depends on whether your walls are open or finished. Wired KNX suits new builds and major renovations, because the cables go in before walls and ceilings are closed. Wireless suits finished homes where you don't want to cut into walls.
Concrete and brick walls weaken radio signals. That matters for wireless systems in larger villas, where a signal may have to pass through several thick walls.
For the detail, read our guides to KNX automation in Dubai and wireless smart homes.
- New build villa: we recommend wired KNX, three-bedroom villas included. Our team can run the cable, or we can work with your MEP team (the contractor handling mechanical, electrical and plumbing work). If they run it, we are on site during the primary wiring stage and check their work every 2 days.
- Apartment that is not KNX-ready: the best time for a wired system is during a major renovation.
- Finished apartment or villa: wireless using Zigbee, which we find the best wireless option in the UAE. Installation usually takes a couple of days.
- One or two rooms only: if you just want to dim a few lamps, smart bulbs or a plug-in kit may be all you need.
What does lighting design add?
Lighting design decides which fittings go where and how bright each area should be, before anyone chooses switches. Good control cannot fix a room with its lights in the wrong places.
We provide lighting design and work with local lighting specialists. A design usually layers light: general light for the room, task light for kitchens and desks, and accent light for art, joinery or textured walls.
The design also sets your circuits. Each group of lights you want to set separately needs its own circuit or control channel, and that has to be planned before the cables go in. When we design your lighting, you receive:
- A lighting layout drawing
- A fitting schedule listing each light
- Light level calculations for each area
How does lighting link to the rest of your home?
Lighting is usually the first thing people control, and it works best linked to everything else. In our homes this runs through Symphony, Avario's automation platform, designed to make large, complex homes easier to manage.
Scenes can move motorised curtains and blinds along with the lights, and blinds can follow sunrise and sunset times without the internet. Outside, we control Soliara pool lights from our system, including colour and dimming.
Our outdoor products are IP rated and tested in Dubai heat. An IP rating is a code that shows how well a device is protected against dust and water.
For interior designers and architects
Bring us in while the ceiling and joinery drawings are still open. Circuits, keypads and drivers can then fit your design instead of being added later. We work from your drawings.
We can produce the lighting design, or work with your lighting specialist and your client's contractor. Our own team handles all programming and commissioning (setting up and testing the system on site).
With 18 keypad suppliers to choose from, you can match most schemes. We deliver samples so you and your client can see and handle the finishes before choosing.
See our partner programme for interior designers and architects. You receive the full details when you sign a partnership agreement.
What affects the cost?
The cost depends mostly on how many lights you want to control separately and whether the system is wired or wireless. These are the main factors:
After a home visit, you usually get a written quote within 2 days.
- The size of your home and the number of lighting circuits
- Wired KNX or wireless
- New build, renovation or a finished home
- Whether fittings and LED drivers are new or existing, and how they dim
- The keypad brand and finish you choose
- How much else links to your lighting, such as curtains, AC or pool lights
What do you get at handover?
You get what you need to run, change or extend the system without depending on us.
Fittings, drivers and keypads carry their own manufacturers' warranties.
- The ETS project file and passwords (ETS is the software used to program KNX systems)
- Drawings and a wiring schedule
- Written system records
- A training session for your household
Questions people ask
If you are planning new lighting or upgrading what you have, book a home visit or engineering survey. We get in touch the next business day to arrange it, and after the visit you get a written quote.
- Do my lights still work if the internet is down? Yes. The app keeps working over your home Wi-Fi, and the keypads work even if the home network goes down.
- Can I add smart lighting to a finished apartment without rewiring? Usually, yes. A wireless Zigbee system avoids cutting into walls and typically takes a couple of days to install.
- Will my existing LED lights dim smoothly? It depends on the fitting and its driver. If they are not dimmable, or do not suit the dimmer, the fitting or driver may need changing.
- Do I keep the programming files? Yes. On wired KNX systems we hand over the ETS project file and passwords as standard, so another installer could work on the system if you ever needed one.
- Can one button set the lights, curtains and AC together? Yes. Through Symphony, a single scene can set all three.
