Crestron Lighting Controls & Window Coverings

Scene-Based Lighting & Motorised Shading

Crestron’s approach to lighting and shading control is the same as its approach to every other system in the home: everything managed from one interface, responding to one programme, with no separate apps or controllers to coordinate. Every dimmer, every switch and every motorised blind is written into the same Crestron scenes as the audio, video, climate and security running through the rest of the property — recalled from a keypad, a touchpanel or the Crestron app, with every light and every blind responding simultaneously. Custom Controls have been designing and installing Crestron lighting and shading systems since 1998 and are five-time Crestron Integration Award winners, including an award specifically for lighting control and design.

Crestron Native Lighting

Crestron’s own DIN-rail dimmer modules handle all lighting circuits with precision and flexibility, supporting dimming and switching of virtually any lamp type — LED, halogen, incandescent, fluorescent, colour-changing and DMX — with scene programming through the same Crestron software as every other element of the system. Since Crestron Home OS 4.6, DALI-based lighting circuits are configured directly through the platform via the new DIN-DLI hardware, bringing commercial-grade DALI precision into a residential Crestron system without a separate lighting controller or a separate app. Every rack is pre-built and pre-programmed at our workshop before arriving on site, so a Crestron lighting installation requires no additional configuration by a separate specialist once it’s fitted.

For retrofit projects where new wiring is impractical, Crestron’s wireless lighting modules replace conventional light switches with wireless-enabled dimmers that communicate with the Crestron processor. The functionality is identical to the wired DIN-rail system — scenes, schedules, occupancy response, geofencing — without requiring any new cable runs. This was the exact approach behind the first whole-home Crestron LED lighting installation we completed in the UK, an award-winning project using over 350 dimmable Crestron LED fittings across 200-plus channels.

Crestron Motorised Shading

Crestron’s own shading range covers roller shades, Roman shades, skylight shades and drapery track systems, built around Crestron’s low-voltage Quiet Motor Technology (QMT) — genuinely quiet operation that doesn’t announce itself every time a blind moves. Wired shades suit a new build or full renovation where cabling can be planned in from the start; battery-powered wireless shades, using the same Digital QMT motors, are the answer for a retrofit, a hard-to-reach window, or anywhere running a new low-voltage cable simply isn’t practical. Both integrate natively with the same Crestron processor running the rest of the property, with a wide range of fabrics, colours and fascia finishes to match the interior design rather than compromise it. We also integrate third-party shading manufacturers including Somfy and Silent Gliss where a project’s specification calls for it.

Window coverings are programmed into every scene alongside the lighting circuits. A cinema scene dims every light and closes every blind simultaneously. A morning scene opens every blind in sequence across the property. The shading system does not operate independently — it is part of the home.

Keypads and Interfaces

Lighting scenes are recalled from wherever the client is — wall-mounted keypads at every entrance and exit point, bedside keypads for bedroom and ensuite control, Crestron touchpanels for more complex room management, and the Crestron app for whole-house oversight and remote access. Keypads are engraved with scene names, ensuring the system is intuitive for guests and non-native English speakers without any instruction. Battery-powered Crestron keypads cover rooms where new wiring is impractical — the same scene functionality, no installation disruption.

Keypad finishes, button layouts and engraving are agreed with the client and interior designer before ordering, so every control point suits the room it sits in. After handover, engraving and scenes can be updated as the household’s routines change.

For cinema rooms and media spaces, Crestron HR remotes handle source selection alongside lighting scene control — a single remote managing the projector, the processor, the lighting and the blinds from the comfort of the primary viewing seat.

Designing the Scenes

Good lighting control starts with a clear plan of how each room is used through the day. We agree the scenes room by room with the client, and the interior designer where there is one, before programming begins: a bright working scene and a softer evening scene in the kitchen, a dinner scene in the dining room, a night path from bedroom to bathroom. Shading is part of the same plan, with blinds that close automatically for privacy at dusk or to limit solar gain on the most exposed glazing. Scenes are then refined after the family has lived with them, so the system settles into how the house is actually used.

Planning at First Fix

Lighting control and motorised shading have to be planned into the build. Circuit schedules, dimming types, keypad positions and the power and control cabling for every blind and curtain are agreed with the electrical contractor at first fix, along with the pockets, pelmets and recesses that let shading disappear into the architecture. Getting those details right early is what makes the finished rooms look effortless.

Five-Time Crestron Integration Award Winners

Custom Controls have won the Crestron Integration Award five consecutive times — a record unique in EMEA. One of those five wins was awarded specifically for Brilliant Lighting Control & Design, for a whole-home project that became the first installation in the UK to use Crestron’s own dimmable LED fittings end-to-end. The quality of our lighting design and scene programming is a defining element of every award-winning installation we have delivered.

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