Joshua King, of JK Electrical, talks to Zano Controls about the lighting design scheme for a client’s dressing room in Belgravia, pairing LED strip lighting with their ZBARLED for smooth, flicker-free lighting control.
As an NICEIC approved contractor, based in Central London, JK Electrical serves predominantly high-end residential clients across the capital, working on bespoke solutions and handmade lighting for its prestige clientele.
Director of JK Electrical, Joshua, started his electrical career as an electrical apprentice, working on a manor home for three years, followed by shop fitting works. This prompted the switch to higher-end clientele and the start of JK Electrical – which also led to one very exciting residential installation in Belgravia.
The job
Completed back in 2022, JK Electrical was approached by a client with a large-scope project – a complete electrical renovation, including unlacquered brass Forbes and Lomax plates, to meet the high-end specification. Not always common, the client also knew exactly which fixtures were dimmable across the installation.
Returning to the project, however, the client had a change of heart on one particular aspect – the dressing room. The joinery was far too bright for her needs, and a softer lighting finish was therefore required.
The problem
Thankfully, the initial solution was staring both the client and electrical company in the face – to make the lights in this space dimmable. However, the LED drivers that were installed were not specified to dim, so this would be a slightly bigger task than proposed.
Once these drivers were changed, the next task at hand was to find a product capable of dimming 500W of LED strip. JK Electrical installed Wandsworth dimming packs, but these were not able to dim such a high wattage.
They further tested another high-end dimmer with a wattage allowance large enough for the project – however this simply resulted in buzz and excessive heat, so JK Electrical made the swift decision to disconnect this.
The solution
Once the drivers were changed and a few dimming solutions were tried, JK Electrical were at a crossroads. They knew exactly what the client needed, but the solution was simply not available – or so they thought.
Seeking out product recommendations, they were approached by a lighting design engineer who knew Joshua was searching for a product that could both dim LED strip seamlessly and handle the high wattage load – Zano Controls’ ZBARLED1000.
Joshua was familiar with Zano Controls, as he had used Zano’s other dimming ranges a number of times, successfully. So, he headed to his local CEF branch and purchased the product.
After installation, the dressing room was complete, with no further issues and the LED strip lighting dimming seamlessly – and to the lighting levels required by the client.
ZBARLED1000
A powerful solution to dimming LED, the ZBARLED1000 is your ‘get out of trouble’ product. Dimming up to 1000W/VA, from up to 32 points on a single circuit, Zano’s ZBARLED remote dimming packs are our most versatile dimming solution.
With award-winning digital technology, it is a problem solver for ‘difficult-to-dim’ fixtures, such as LED panels or strip lighting, whilst also enabling multi-point dimming control.
Electricians, lighting designers and architects alike favour this product for commercial and larger scale projects, with 0-300W/VA and 1-10V versions also available.
“The Zano ZBARLED1000 for effective, non-flicker dimming.” – Rye Lane Electrical
Project summary
Brief: A dressing room for a high-end client in Belgravia, seeking a lower-level lighting adjustment for their LED strip lighting.
Wholesaler: CEF
Total number of circuits: 1
Dimming products installed: X1 ZBARLED1000
Lamps and fittings: LED strip lighting
Wiring: Wired in parallel, fed to the first joinery unit where the ZBARLED1000 was located, then linked around to each driver location – and a 2 core and earth wired to the switch.
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