Chapter 1 · Understanding Lighting
The LOXONE Light Range
Once you know a room wants smooth, dimmable, color adjustable light, the next question is practical. Which fittings do you place, and how many?
Get this right and the room looks even, comfortable and clean. Get it wrong and you end up with dark corners, harsh circles of light on the floor, or a ceiling full of sensors and spots that the customer never asked for.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to:
- Choose the right LOXONE fitting for a given place in a room
- Estimate how many lights a room needs
- Explain the main advantages of LOXONE lights to a customer
The situation
You are planning the lights for an open kitchen and living area of about 36 m². The customer wants warm light in the living area and brighter, neutral light in the kitchen. There is a dining table that should have its own accent light, and an LED strip behind the media unit for indirect light.
The customer also mentions one more wish. They want the apartment to keep working during a power cut.
That is general light, an accent, a strip, and a backup requirement, all in one space.
What makes a LOXONE light different
LOXONE lights are dimmable, fully color adjustable and connected over the Tree bus, which makes installation quick and simple. The dimmer is built into each light, so there is no row of dimmers in the cabinet.
Because they are RGBW, the same fitting can give warm white in the living area and neutral white in the kitchen. The color temperature is a setting, not a different product. The same lights can also create a lighting scene using color.
Tree wiring also allows lighting groups that can be changed at any time. If one light in a wardrobe shines into the bedroom, you adjust the group so that light stays off while someone is sleeping. No rewiring is needed.
Lights that stay on in a power cut
There is one advantage over 230 V lights that is easy to overlook. LOXONE lights run on 24 V DC, so they can be powered from a Power Supply and Backup with a battery connected. In a power cut the essential lights keep working.
Because the lights dim, they can run at a lower level during the outage. That makes the battery last much longer. A 230 V lighting circuit cannot offer this.
The four main fittings
Four fittings cover most of what you will place in a project.
LED Spot RGBW Tree. The basic light for every room, recessed into the ceiling. A diffuser ring softens the edge of the light, so it does not create the harsh bright circles on the floor that are typical of other spotlights. Available in white, anthracite and gold.
LED Ceiling Spot RGBW Tree. The same light in a surface mounted version. Use it where you cannot recess into the ceiling, for example a concrete ceiling.
LED Ceiling Light RGBW Tree or Air. A larger fitting made to be the main central light in a room. It has a built in motion sensor and brightness sensor, so the ceiling stays clean without separate sensors. The Air version needs a 230 V AC supply at the fitting.
LED Pendulum Slim RGBW Tree. An accent light. The reflector highlights features in the room, while the diffuser gives a soft light for a lighting scene. Ideal above a dining table, a bar or a staircase.
| Fitting | Mounting | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| LED Spot | Recessed | General light in any room |
| LED Ceiling Spot | Surface | General light, no recess |
| LED Ceiling Light | Surface | Main light, sensors built in |
| LED Pendulum Slim | Hanging | Accent over table or bar |
How many lights does a room need?
Two planning numbers cover most rooms.
For spots, plan about one spot per 2.8 m². This assumes a ceiling height of 2.6 m and comfortable basic light at table height, about 300 lux in warm white.
For the large ceiling light, plan one LED Ceiling Light RGBW for up to 20 m².
So a 14 m² room needs about five spots, or one ceiling light. A 36 m² open kitchen and living area needs about 13 spots, or two ceiling lights.
Strips and the PWM range
Not every light is a LOXONE fitting with a built in dimmer. LED strips and other 24 V lights are dimmed by the RGBW 24V Dimmer, in Tree or Air. Besides the DIN rail version there is a compact version that fits into furniture or a ceiling void. This suits indirect light, where you do not want the dimmer back in the cabinet.
There is also a PWM range: the LED Spot WW PWM, the LED Ceiling Spot WW PWM and the LED Pendulum Slim PWM. These are the same fittings in warm white, without a built in dimmer. Each needs an RGBW 24V Dimmer to control it.
Choose the Tree fittings when you want the dimmer inside the light and the simplest wiring. Choose the PWM range when it makes more sense to drive several warm white lights from one central dimmer.
Two more lights worth knowing
Touch Nightlight Air. A button and a nightlight in one, with a satin glass surface like the Touch Pure switches. Its RGBW light can be part of the room's lighting moods. Besides controlling lighting, shading or audio, it can set an alarm, and its display can show the time or the temperature.
Table Lamp Air. A portable lamp with a built in battery that lasts more than ten days between charges, recharged over USB-C. It has a warm white main light, an RGB ring on top and three buttons. In a restaurant the ring can show that a guest is calling or that a table is free, so it is useful beyond the home.