Lutron and Rako lighting control in Wimbledon

Lighting control installation in Wimbledon

Wimbledon is one of the more interesting parts of south west London for lighting control work, largely because of the mix of housing. Wimbledon Village sits on the edge of the Common with substantial Victorian and Edwardian houses, many in conservation areas and a number Grade II listed. Drop down the hill towards the station and SW19 is a blend of period terraces, mansion blocks and newer apartment schemes. Further out, Raynes Park, Southfields and Cottenham Park add 1920s and 1930s family houses in quiet residential streets, alongside more recent developments and converted maisonettes.

That spread of property types changes what a sensible lighting control specification looks like. A five or six bed Village house often warrants a fully wired Lutron HomeWorks system with keypads in every principal room, scenes for entertaining and a discreet rack in a plant cupboard or basement. A Raynes Park three bed semi is usually better served by a Rako wired or wireless system that focuses on the kitchen, living room and master suite without rewiring the whole property. A Southfields garden flat near the District Line might only need a Lutron RA2 Select panel and a few keypads to get the open plan space and the bedrooms working properly.

The other thing the Village and conservation areas demand is restraint. Original cornicing, picture rails and decorative ceiling roses do not play well with grids of downlights and oversized keypad arrays. We tend to specify smaller, neutrally finished keypads, plaster in fittings where appropriate, and circuit groupings that let the architecture do the work rather than fighting it.

We are based in south west London and cover Wimbledon as a regular working area, so survey visits, snagging calls and post handover programming changes are usually straightforward to schedule. Lighting control jobs tend to run alongside a rewire, kitchen, extension or whole house refurbishment, so we are used to working with architects, interior designers and main contractors on Wimbledon projects.

What lighting control covers

A residential lighting control system replaces standard wall switches with a programmable layer that controls dimming, scenes and grouping of circuits. In practice, this typically includes:

• Dimmer modules in a central panel or local back boxes
• Keypads with engraved scene buttons in each principal room
• Scenes for cooking, dining, evening, watching TV and night
• Integration with blinds, AV, heating and door entry where required
• App control and voice control via Apple HomeKit, Google or Alexa

For a full explanation of how Lutron and Rako systems are specified, what wiring is needed, and how the design process runs, see the main lighting control page. We also have dedicated pages on Lutron HomeWorks and RA2 Select and Rako wired and wireless.

Common installs in Wimbledon properties

The specification varies a lot by neighbourhood. A few patterns we see often across SW19, SW20 and SW18:

• Wimbledon Village period homes: larger five and six bed houses, often listed or in a conservation area, typically suit a fully wired Lutron HomeWorks system with a central rack, keypads in every principal room, and integration with blinds, AV and underfloor heating. Conservation restrictions tend to shape the visible hardware, so smaller keypads and discreet finishes work well.
• Edwardian and Victorian terraces around central Wimbledon: three and four bed terraces often benefit from a hybrid approach, with wired dimming on principal floors and Rako wireless modules in lofts and side returns where pulling cable is impractical.
• Raynes Park and Cottenham Park 1920s and 1930s semis: family houses where the lighting brief is usually focused on the kitchen extension, living room and master suite rather than the whole property. Rako wired or RA2 Select with a few well placed keypads tends to give the best return without overspecifying.
• Southfields and Wimbledon Chase apartments and maisonettes: conversion flats near the District Line where wireless solutions avoid disturbing finishes. Typical scope is open plan kitchen and living, plus bedroom dimming and an entrance keypad.
• Newer Copse Hill and Wimbledon Hill developments: often already part wired for lighting control, sometimes with first generation systems that need replacing or extending. We assess what is reusable and what is more sensibly stripped out.

For larger Village houses we typically produce a full lighting design before any wiring goes in, so circuit counts, keypad positions and scene structures are fixed before first fix electrics. On smaller jobs the design process is lighter, often a single site visit and a marked up plan.

What to expect

Lighting control is one of those services where the scope can swing significantly depending on the property and the brief, so every quote is based on the survey and the agreed design. As a guide:

• Single room retrofit, Rako wireless: priced after a short scoping visit
• Three to four bed home, kitchen and principal rooms: quoted on the design and circuit count
• Whole house Lutron HomeWorks for a Village property: priced after design and survey

For most Wimbledon jobs we can book a survey within a few working days. Programming, snagging and minor scene changes after handover are usually scheduled with reasonable lead time. There is no travel charge for lighting control work anywhere in the London Borough of Merton. Contact us for a quote based on your property and the agreed scope.

Frequently asked questions