Production of Custom Solutions

From sketch to luminaire

A custom luminaire is needed when the catalogue has no answer: a ceiling that no standard luminaire fits, permanently damp air, or a townscape that calls for a form of its own. The process is therefore more closely tied to the architects and the client than in a standard project.

1. 01
   Clarifying requirements

   Together with the client, architects and planners, we define what the luminaire has to achieve: light distribution, installation situation, environment, controls and budget. Depending on the application, we involve our specialist partners and long-standing manufacturing partners from the outset.

2. 02
   Design and variants

   Together with the architects we develop design sketches and variants and check each one with a lighting calculation before any part is made. The client decides on the basis of drawings, calculations and cost estimates which variant to develop further.

3. 03
   Engineering and prototype

   The chosen variant is turned into technical drawings and a prototype on which installation, optics and workmanship can be checked before series production. We measure the luminaire photometrically so that LDT and IES data are available for planning.

4. 04
   Manufacturing in Aarau

   We manufacture profiles and small batches at our site in Aarau, with the involvement of a work integration workshop: sheet metal processing, assembly, configuration, testing and packaging. Every luminaire leaves the factory configured exactly as it will be installed on site.

5. 05
   Installation and aiming

   For difficult installation situations we develop project-specific mounting solutions, from quick-mounting systems to fixings on existing girders. We brief the installer on site, aim the luminaires according to the lighting plan and readjust them until the light falls where it was planned.

6. 06
   Documentation and repair

   Every custom luminaire comes with installation instructions, a data sheet, 3D data and certificates, just like a series product. Because each part can be replaced individually, the luminaire remains repairable, even though it does not appear in any catalogue.

Standards apply to one-offs too

A custom luminaire must achieve the same values on site as a catalogue product. Indoors, these are the requirements of SN EN 12464-1 for illuminance, uniformity and glare, on streets and squares the lighting classes of SN EN 13201, and on sports facilities SN EN 12193. So that this can be verified, we measure our own luminaires photometrically and prepare the product verifications that planners and clients need.

For control we rely on open standards such as DALI or DALI-2, so that the custom luminaire fits into the building control system and is not tied to a single system. Indoors, we verify energy demand to SIA 387/4. Outdoors, we follow the recommendations of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) on avoiding light emissions: only as bright as necessary, precisely aimed and controlled according to demand.

Funding: what qualifies and what does not

If a custom luminaire is made for a new building, ProKilowatt provides no grant: measures directly linked to a new building or replacement building are excluded, as is public lighting of streets, parks and pedestrian zones. We say so early, so that nobody counts on funding that does not exist. We have compiled the other exclusions under ProKilowatt in an article.

Refurbishments are different: if a custom luminaire or a conversion kit replaces an existing installation, the project may qualify. For indoor lighting, the electricity demand must then be below the ProKilowatt maximum value under SIA 387/4:2023, the payback period must be at least four years and cost-effectiveness must not exceed 8 Rappen (centimes) per kilowatt hour. Smaller projects go through Lightbankplus, with up to 30% of the investment or CHF 30,000. The Lightbank funded the conversion kit for the Mandach sports hall, for example. In both cases, the order is placed and manufacturing starts only once the funding decision or admission is in hand.

From our projects

Linthal · June 2025

Limmerensee Dam

For the exhibition in the tunnel at the Limmerensee power plant, we developed a custom profile variant with Stammkraft that lights the story banners across their full width. Because the air is permanently damp, the profiles, which are up to four metres long, are potted. Thanks to a quick-mounting system with an adjustable angle, all 28 luminaires were aligned within a week.

Luminaires

28

Project duration

1 month

Installation time

1 week

Frick · August 2022

Coop Frick – Mall & Underground Car Park

There was no suitable luminaire for the perforated metal ceiling at Coop Frick, so we developed Loop, which is installed independently of the ceiling construction. Custom-made linear profiles follow the light lines of the architectural concept. The mall and underground car park were refurbished during ongoing operations: 256 luminaires in five months, all designed to be repairable.

Area

1'500 m²

Luminaires

256

Project duration

5 months

Your contact

Marco Truninger supports custom solutions from the first meeting with the architects and client through to delivery from the factory. Design, prototype and manufacturing in Aarau are handled from a single point, which keeps lines of communication short and every change to the design traceable.