David Johnson of DJ Electrical talks to Zano Controls about a recent lighting refurbishment project where he paired retractive on-off toggle switches with ZBARLED300 remote dimming packs. Providing flicker-free and silent lighting control of a range of LED fixtures and fittings across the lounge and dining areas of a Private House in Surrey.
Case Study: Lighting refurbishment for a private house in Surrey
Name: David Johnson
Company: DJ Electrical
The job
Within any ongoing domestic renovation project, reviewing and refreshing the lighting is key. Having refurbished the master bedroom and bathroom of a Private House in Surrey a few years back using a great combination of dimmers and retractive switches, David Johnson of DJ Electrical was back to work on what was a successful previous project.
This time around David was tasked with rejuvenating the lighting within the lounge and dining areas. The client’s goal was simplicity. As with the upstairs, they did not want any smart switching or controls but wanted to be able to effectively control the lighting levels from multiple control points via the use of retractive on-off switches. The current lighting setup in these rooms delivered inefficient and ineffective lighting and could not be controlled from more than one switch point.
Project specification
David was working across 9 circuits in total with a mix of LED fittings and fixtures, including 3 chandeliers with 4, 4W LED lamps per chandelier, a combination of decorative LED tape and LED table lamps, as well as 6 Orlite Trimless architectural downlights at 13W each per room.
The client had a specific make and model of retractive on-off toggle switches in mind - Forbes & Lomax retractive Dolly Toggle Switches. To be able to control mixed LED loads, the lighting levels effectively and from multiple points via retractive toggle switches, required a powerful dimmer. The dimmer(s) needed to be compatible with this type of switch and would not compromise on the quality of lighting control. In addition, the lighting across both the dining room and lounge required multi-point dimming control. The client wanted to be able to control the lighting levels from 3 switch points per circuit.
Having worked with Zano Controls’ ZBARLED remote dimming packs on the previous upstairs renovation, David knew that the downstairs lighting refurbishment required the same dimming capability. To control the lighting levels across all nine circuits, David needed 9 ZBARLEDs in total that he would install out of sight in the ground floor corridor loft that ran adjacent to the lounge. No circuit had a combined total wattage of over 300W/VA, so, with potential Inrush accounted for, David went for 9 of the ZBARLED300s – the 0-300W/VA version of Zano’s ZBARLED remote dimming packs.
Pairing retractive on-off toggle switches with effective LED lighting control
retractive switches control lighting levels in a similar way to rotary controllers, both enabling the switching on and off of the lights, as well as providing LED dimming control. When the retractive toggle switch is pressed and held it dims the lighting down, in the same way another press and hold dims the lighting back up. While a momentary push switches the lighting off, and the same again will turn them on.
Twin and earth cable was used throughout both the dining room and lounge and after installing the chandeliers, downlights, LED tape and table lamps, David connected each circuit up to one ZBARLED remote dimming pack per circuit out of sight in the ground floor corridor loft. Powerful enough to cope with the hefty Inrush current produced by the LED tape’s driver and keep all fittings, lamps and fixtures working in sync, the ZBARLED is a great remote dimming pack that is ideal for controlling mixed loads on one circuit. David used a variety of 2, 4 and 5 gang retractive toggle switches to control the lighting levels from 3 switch points in the lounge and dining areas.
To guarantee a perfect finish David set each dimmer’s minimum, maximum, start and boost-level using Zano’s exclusive Smart Settings to ensure all lights per circuit came on at a consistent level, could be dimmed to the lowest point and back up to the maximum by the end-user, without any flicker or dropout.
Impressive results
The client was delighted (once again, might we add) with their upgraded downstairs lighting system. They wanted to be able to flick the toggle switches and have all the lights turn on at the same level, without having to faff about at the switch point – that with Zano’s Smart Settings was made possible. All the lamps and fittings dimmed up and down perfectly with no flickering and the homeowners were over the moon at now being able to control the lighting levels consistently across their downstairs living areas from multiple points, whether that be control of the 3 chandeliers, the LED tape, table lamps or ceiling downlights, “the ZBARLED does the job!”
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Project summary
Case Study: Lighting refurbishment for a private house in Surrey
Project summary: David Johnson of DJ Electrical talks to Zano Controls about a recent lighting refurbishment project where he paired retractive on-off toggle switches with ZBARLED300 remote dimming packs. Providing flicker-free and silent lighting control of a range of LED fixtures and fittings across the lounge and dining areas of a Private House in Surrey.
Name: David Johnson
Company: DJ Electrical
Career background: David undertook a full 5-year electrical apprenticeship before starting his own electrical company, DJ Electrical in 1988 based in Bromley. When David is not undertaking electrical work, you can find him in the skies, ballooning across the United Kingdom. Some of his other hobbies include walking, photography and F1. DJ Electrical is the proud owner and operator of the "Sparks Are Flying" Hot Air Balloon, which during the spring and summer months you can find in the skies on a Saturday and Sunday morning between Hayes, Biggin Hill and Westerham.
Wholesaler: Rexel (Bromley)
Total number of circuits: 9
Products installed:
Dimmer(s): x 9 ZBARLED300s
Switch(s): Forbes & Lomax retractive Dolly Toggle Switches – a variety of 2, 4 & 5 gang plates
Lamps: Orlite Trimless architectural downlights at 13W each
Fittings: 3 chandeliers with 4, 4W LED lamps per chandelier
Additional fittings and fixtures: A mixture of LED tape and table lamps
Total wattage per circuit: Under 300W/VA
Wiring: Twin and earth cable
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About the ZBARLED
A powerful solution to dimming LED, the ZBARLED300 can dim between 0-300W/VA LED and be paired with retractive on-off switches to provide flicker-free and silent LED lighting control. Ideal for dimming mixed LED loads, Zano’s ZBARLED remote dimming packs are their most versatile yet. With award-winning technology delivering flicker-free and silent dimming for all good quality dimmable LED, Tungsten, Low-Voltage or CFL lamps. 0-300W/VA and 1-10V versions are also available.
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