Prime Light Controls

Frequently Asked Questions

Wireless lighting controls.
We have the answers...

General
Emergency
Installation
Technical
Sustainability
Security

General:

We’re Prime Controls.  We are part of Prime Light Group (which comprises specialist lighting expertise alongside decades of emergency lighting expertise following the aquisition of Emergency Lighting Products (ELP ). We specialise in smart wireless lighting solutions for commercial & industrial buildings. 

Our 15 years’ experience in wireless and Bluetooth solutions spans all commercial sectors. Our customers include some of Britain’s biggest and best-known brands – including large-scale singular and complex multi-site operations in the retail, warehousing and university sectors.

We’re technology agnostic – which means our wireless lighting solutions are powered by wireless and Bluetooth controls technologies from a variety of world-leading providers. 

Wireless lighting controls are the perfect solution for retrofit LED projects. Together, our controls and the existing LED system can be optimised to deliver significant savings (typically 40%+). Communication is via a mesh, so no hard-wiring is required. And, unlike wired systems, they’re flexible, non-disruptive and easy to install.

  • No additional wiring
  • No head-end controls
  • No complicated wiring schematics

Prime Controls customers often benefit from 40%+ energy savings – this is on top of savings made from any existing LED installation. Savings are achieved from daylight, presence and a change in parameters based on trading / building use hours. 

Prime Controls’ wireless solutions deliver rapid savings. Our customers typically see paybacks in under 3 years – which makes sound commercial sense for almost any business.

For added peace of mind, we undertake a site survey (at no cost to you) to quantify savings before any pricing is shared to ensure the payback period can be met.

Our wireless controls work alongside existing sensors and lighting infrastructure.

We use our expertise to deliver deeper savings from PIRs, microwave sensors, or last-man-out switching. We are often able to improve what you already have and find even more savings.

Yes, Prime Controls is technology agnostic. This means our wireless lighting solutions are powered by wireless and Bluetooth controls technologies from a variety of world-leading providers. 

Yes, as part of Prime Light Group we hold certifications for ISO9001 and ISO 14001.

Emergency:

Wireless emergency lighting replaces hardwired control systems with a secure, decentralised mesh network. 

Each luminaire communicates wirelessly, allowing the entire system to operate as one coordinated platform, without additional control cabling. The result is a flexible, scalable solution that simplifies both installation and ongoing maintenance.

Prime Controls’ Bluetooth-mesh, wireless lighting control system offers a wide range of operational and cost benefits for emergency light testing. Quite simply, our solution automates testing, monitoring and the management of emergency lighting. Here’s how:

  • Simplifies compliance with automated testing & reporting
  • Cuts costs by eliminating extra wiring
  • Easily integrates with existing and new fittings (emergency packs must be DALI-2 emergency to work.) 
  • Ideal for retrofit of existing buildings

Traditional emergency lighting systems depend heavily on manual processes, requiring engineers to physically initiate tests, record results by hand, and carry out routine inspections to identify faults. This approach is not only time-consuming but also leaves room for human error, with issues potentially going unnoticed between scheduled checks.

Prime Controls’ wireless lighting control solution fundamentally simplifies this process.

Testing is carried out automatically without the need for manual intervention, and results are recorded instantly in a digital format, removing the need for paperwork. Any failures are identified and flagged in real time, enabling immediate action without delays.

The result is a more efficient and reliable system that not only saves time but also significantly reduces compliance risk by ensuring testing is consistent, traceable, and always up to date.

Our wireless lighting control solution will help you significantly reduce compliance risk by ensuring testing is consistent, traceable and up to date.

Our system carries out regular function and duration tests in line with regulations, while automatically recording results in a secure digital audit trail.

Real-time monitoring identifies faults immediately, allowing prompt corrective action. This reduces the risk of missed tests or incomplete records and improves reliability. In summary, our solution also makes compliance easier to manage, more consistent, and significantly less time-consuming for building operators and maintenance teams.

Yes! As a Prime Controls customer, you have access to industry-leading expertise from our colleagues at Emergency Lighting Products (ELP), a premier UK specialist with over 30 years of expertise in emergency lighting solutions. ELP has been part of our Group since 2025.

Installation:

We offer specialist in-house support on every project – from pre-sale advice and guidance to delivery and aftercare.

Installation and commissioning can be organised and carried out by Prime Light within the project scope. Alternatively,  training can be given so that a 3rd party installer or the end customer can commission the system themselves

Yes, we undertake a site survey (at no cost to you) at the earliest opportunity. This allows us to quantify savings before any pricing is shared and ensure the payback period can be met.

Yes! Our wireless lighting systems are easy to integrate. They help lower installation costs by minimising cabling requirements and ensure compliance with the latest standards. This offers a ‘win-win’ for you and your M&E team.

Installation time depends on how many fittings and the type of luminaire.

For example, a driver swap on a 600×600 panel will be more straightforward than opening up a highbay and replacing an integral driver.

The key thing in both examples is to keep the existing luminaire and reduce waste as much as possible. We only want to change parts which are absolutely necessary.

Prime Controls offers wireless control solutions that are non-disruptive and overlay existing infrastructure. This means the installation phase is non-disruptive with minimal impact on operations. 

Initial commissioning needs to be carried out on site.

However, further changes can be implemented remotely providing the on site kit has an internet connection – either through the on site IT infrastructure, or a 4G router.

No maintenance is required on the Prime Controls wireless lighting control solution.

Once the components are installed and the system is commissioned correctly, it will function as designed – delivering maximum energy savings within the parameters of our customers’ requirements (for example, not switching lights off within a retail environment during trading hours.)

An in-house facilities team can perform recommissioning if needed. We provide training and guidance to support this. 

Technical:

Yes. Secure integration typically uses authenticated APIs, encrypted communications, and network segmentation. Access between systems should follow the organization’s cybersecurity policies.
 

We offer an advanced, open Application Programming Interface (API) that is free of charge and simple to use.

Our API solution allows software functions to communicate with each other, thereby making it easier than ever to integrate and display data related to lighting and controls.

Our API is inherently user-friendly and is designed to allow data to be directly inputted into an end-user’s own front-end platform. This not only streamlines the way data is captured and visualised but also eliminates the need for multiple vendor dashboards. This offers significant benefits to both end customers and BMS/BEMS integrators, especially when an existing energy dashboard is already in place.

We offer a wide range of hardware including smart drivers for retrofit into luminaries; smart terminal blocks; wireless PIRs for standalone and luminaire integration; track drivers; switches; input devices; and monitoring devices including gateways.

Of course, hardware is one thing. But it’s what you do with it that makes the difference.

We have delivered hundreds of different hardware integrations that add a layer of intelligence to the existing lighting products and infrastructure.  To find out more, contact our technical team. 

Our systems are designed with multiple layers of protection to help guard against unauthorised access and data breaches.

While no system can be completely immune to all threats, features such as end-to-end encryption, unique device keys, and secure authentication protocols offer a high level of protection. These safeguards ensure that communication remains private and that only authorised devices (and users) can interact within the network.

We are technology agnostic which means we can aim to offer the best solution for our customers’ requirements.

This means your wireless system may be based on the Bluetooth protocol, or Zigbee, or perhaps something else.

For outdoor projects, the range can be as high as 150m, depending on topology and line of sight constraints.

Internally will depend on the fabric of the building. However, as most installations have luminaires within 8-10metres (warehousing) or even 2.4m (offices) we have not yet come across a site where communication was impossible.

Steel certainly reduces the range of all wireless communication. This doesn’t have to cause a problem, with planning of node positioning and utilising the repeater function of mesh nodes.

For the best outcomes, we advise that Prime Light is involved in discussions on projects from the earliest stages. This helps to ensure challenges are addressed at the outset. 

Sustainability:

Our wireless controls offer a cost-effective and simple way to accelerate cost savings and carbon reduction across your estate – ultimately, this supports your ESG commitments and Net Zero goals. Here’s how:

  • Reduced energy consumption – typically 40%+
  • Easy to retrofit to existing luminaires = no wastage & more sustainable
  • Controls & dimming can extend the life-time of components
  • Scalable & flexible to suit all environments
  • Lower lighting load = reduced heat = less energy for HVAC cooling
  • Reduced need for in-person emergency testing = lower carbon emissions associated with travel to site
We work with specialist waste Partners to ensure correct disposal and highest recycling opportunities where relevant. Wherever possible, we try to up-cycle the current luminaires to keep wastage to an absolute minimum by retaining the existing LED bodies, diffusers etc.
We are part of Prime Light Group – which holds ISO 14001. We are also working towards EcoVadis Bronze.

Security:

Modern wireless lighting control systems are designed with security in mind. Many use encryption, authentication, and secure commissioning processes to help prevent unauthorised access.

Like any connected technology, wireless lighting systems can be vulnerable if they are poorly configured or use outdated security practices. Systems that implement strong encryption, authenticated device pairing, secure firmware updates, and regular maintenance significantly reduce this risk.

Encryption is built into the protocol that the lighting control system uses. Bluetooth & Zigbee both utilise 128bit AES encryption. This helps prevent unauthorised users from intercepting or modifying lighting commands.

Secure commissioning typically requires authorisation through secure software, this validates the authentication to ensure that only allowed software, and users of that software, can commission devices. This prevents unauthorised devices from joining the network.

Many enterprise-grade systems are designed to support organisational cybersecurity policies through features such as encrypted communications, authentication, user access controls, and secure device management. The UK brought in the Product Security & Telecommunications Infrastructure (PS&TI) Act in 2022, and the regulations in 2023 to enhance the cybersecurity of connected devices.

Wireless signals can potentially be detected, but encrypted communications make the transmitted information unreadable to unauthorised parties. Properly implemented encryption helps protect both commands and system data. On top of the encryption built into the base transmission protocol, the lighting control system will have a method of secure authentication, so that only the correct devices, and users of those devices, can send commands to the lighting system.

Most systems are designed to continue operating safely. Depending on the design, lighting devices may maintain their last known state, follow predefined fallback behaviour, or allow local manual control until communication is restored.

In many cases, yes. Most professionally designed systems operate locally and do not require an internet connection for normal lighting control. Cloud services are typically used only for remote access or advanced monitoring.

Properly secured systems require authenticated users and authorized devices. Role-based permissions and secure credentials help prevent unauthorised control.

Firmware should be updated whenever manufacturers release validated updates that improve security, reliability, or functionality. Updates should follow the manufacturer’s recommended procedures.

Most professional systems support user accounts with different permission levels, allowing administrators to restrict who can configure devices, modify schedules, or control lighting.

Network segmentation separates lighting controls from other IT or operational technology systems. This limits the impact of potential security incidents and helps organizations apply appropriate access controls.