FAQ's

All controls systems offered come with their own SMART phone/tablet standalone applications which allow for more flexibility in controlling the systems.

Our controls team will go through how they operate in person and cover all the features that they offer.

Yes we sell lighting controls in house and they are supported by our specialist controls and technical team. We offer controls for various scenarios in the home from Single room solutions to whole home systems.

Working alongside respected brands Lutron, Helvar, Rako and Forbes & Lomax we have a solution that will suit your requirements. For any enquiries please contact the customer service centre on 020 7371 9000 or email [email protected].

Current rated LED’s require a constant current such as 350mA or 700mA, these LED products will also require a forward voltage that is specific for the particular LED being used in the product. A current rated LED needs to be specified with these two factors taken into consideration i.e. 4 x LED’s rated at 700mA with a voltage of 3.2vDC each will require a driver that produces 700mA with a minimum voltage of 12.8v. Current LED’s also need to be wired in SERIES.

Voltage rated LED’s require a constant voltage such as 24vDC, these LED products will also consume a power (wattage) that is specific for the particular LED product being used. A voltage rated LED can be specified much the same as regular low voltage products i.e. having the required voltage (24vDC) and having a wattage output suitable to the amount of wattage consumption. Voltage rated LED’s also need to be wired in PARALLEL.

The system is used provide a guide to the degree of protection that a luminaire has against the ingress of solids and liquids.

IP Rating: Value Definitions

The First Number relates to solids and ranges from 0 –6.
The ratings offer a logical progression from larger to smaller objects, so the lowest number (zero) indicates that there is no protection against touching live parts within the equipment. The most common rating for a light fitting intended for general interior use is IP20, which tells you that nothing larger than 12.5mm diameter can reach a live part when the equipment is fully assembled.

The Second Number relates to liquids and ranges from 0 –9.
Unlike the natural progression assigned to the ingress of solids, the second number relates to styles of liquid ingress; drips, sprays, splashes, jets and immersion.

Colour rendition is the ability of a light source to accurately illuminate a colour compared to a reference source.

How is this measured?
The current method uses a reference pallet of 8 colours (R1-R8) called the Colour Rendering Index (CRI) developed by the CIE. Latterly an additional 6 (R9-R14) more saturated colours have been added but do not have to be referenced. CRI is stated in terms of a factor of 100 e.g. CRI80 or CRI 90 and is an average of colours tested (Ra).

What is the future of Colour Rendition?
The Lighting Industry has taken steps to move away from the CRI method as it is too limited and not a true representation of colour, especially with White LEDs.

What is TM-30?
The new TM-30 standard offers two metrics Colour Fidelity (Rf) and Colour Gamut (Rg). Colour fidelity is similar to CRI however references 100 swatches rather than 8.
Colour Gamut is the average level of saturation relative to a reference illuminate (measured between 60 and 140).

Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) is reference to the colour of light emitted by a reference solid object (Black Body) as it gets hotter from red through to white. It is expressed in degrees Kelvin. The sequence of colours describes a curve within a colour space. This is shown in the diagram on the right.

What do John Cullen Lighting Offer?
The standard JCL colour offering is 2400K, 2500K (Linear LEDs only), 2700K and 3000K.

Why do we offer 2700K?
Traditionally residential properties were lit with incandescent lamps which emit light with a colour of roughly 2700K.

Colour consistency in an index related to the light sources range of variation in chromaticity (colour) that can be picked up by the human eye.

Why is this an issue for LED?
During the manufacture of LED the colour, luminous flux and forward voltage can all vary. An LED is essentially grown and although accuracy of this has improved over time consistency is still an issue.

How is colour difference measured?
Colour difference is defined by a steps of MacAdamellipse. The scale is set by ANSI Chromaticity Standard. In short though the smaller the ellipse value (size) the smaller the colour difference.

As there is no method today that offers 100% replication of a set specification, so the LED manufacturer measures each LED chip and separates them in separate groups (or bins) which are defined by each manufactures own coding system. In the diagram to the right 8Cis an example bin. At John Cullen Lighting we specify LED chips with the smallest bin possible to allow for consistency among the range.

Lumens measure how much light you are getting from a bulb. More lumens means it’s a brighter light; fewer lumens means it’s a dimmer light.

Lumens let you buy the amount of light you want. So when buying your new bulbs, think lumens, not watts.

A common misconception is that LEDs do not generate heat. Although the beam emitted is cool they do, like any other light source, convert electric power in radiant heat. Lifetime of the LED Chip is directly linked to the operating temperature of the LED Chip (often expressed as Tjor Junction Temperature). Poor thermal management where the LED is operating above manufacture guidelines can also lead to colour shift.

How does John Cullen manage the operating temperature?
There are various methods of doing this, at John Cullen we use the body of the luminaire to draw heat away from the LED chip. We do this by carful material selection, considered produce development and by working alongside our subcontract partners who are able to virtually assess designs and physically test prototypes.

How does this benefit you (our clients)?
By fully testing our luminaries we are able to offer our clients information such as maximum ambient temperature the luminaire can operate in, so our clients can be assured of life time and colour consistency of their investment in our lighting.

Dimmers and control systems can contribute to a cost saving for electricity use as you only use the required amount of power required for the effect you are looking to create.

A floor plan is always required to produce a lighting design, as we mark them up with the exact position, circuit number and lamp requirements for each fitting specified. If you do not already have one produced by an architect, estate agent or yourselves, you must have a site visit so that we can measure up the space for you. Any size plan is helpful, but a minimum scale of 1:50 is required to ensure all of the information marked is clearly visible to your electrician or contractor for installation.

Our Lighting Design Team are trained on designing the best lighting scheme in your home/yacht to take full advantage of features and furniture layout.

Yes, we run a John Cullen Lighting approved contractor scheme in which contractors attend our customer service centre in Bagley’s Lane London to carry out product training and installation guidelines along with Q&A sessions.

Successful contractors are then added to our list of approved contractors that we recommend to clients. For more information contact our customer service centre on 020 7371 9000.

Yes, we can provide a site attendance form to clients which requires filling out before attendance.

The call out rates are defined in this document and the visit lead times vary from within the same week to two weeks advanced notice depending on current workloads.

Governed by the driver manufacturers’ guidelines, we suggest up to 10 meters max. Should your drivers require placement further than this, your electrical contractor will need to work out the potential voltage drop that may occur on the type and size of cable installed to ensure that it matches the parameters of the driver such as forward voltages and wattage.

In some instances, it is possible for the cable installed to be of a larger diameter to allow for a greater voltage drop within the driver parameters.

All controls systems can be integrated into 3rd party controls systems (Crestron, Control 4 etc.).

Our controls team will provide your systems integrator with the necessary information they require to make this happen.

All mains voltage and dimming control connections are to be installed by an approved electrical contractor with our controls team carrying out the setup of the system. We work closely in hand with contractors providing all necessary documentation, site visits and support.

We can also arrange in house contractor training with our Demo Panels to ensure clarity all round.

Most fittings require insulation to be removed from the drivers and fittings. Please check with the installation sheets for the specific product.

Several of our fittings, use a unique concealed ceiling ring for easy lamp changing. These ceiling rings stay permanently in place in your ceiling and there are no long coils of metal to manoeuver. When the lamp needs changing you just pull gently on the bezel of the fitting and the central lamp holding part of the fitting will move. This also enables you to change lenses very easily without damaging your ceiling. This ring works well with a more delicate lath and plaster ceiling and a description of installation is provided on a Specification Sheet.

Our LED products are designed with long lifetime in mind, allowing reliable thermal management. John Cullen Lighting currently offers a standard 5 year warranty on our downlights and 2 year warranty on the rest of our products.

Ask about our extended warranty that offers for products for both interior and exterior usage up to 5 years.

We ship using Flight Logistics.

We also deliver via Addison Lee and offset deliveries as part of their Greener Future Programme.

• Returns must be agreed prior to sending back using the online returns form.
• John Cullen uses modular componentry, supporting the circular economy.  Out of warranty product may either be repairable, or a suitable alternative will be suggested.
• Quotations will be provided for either or both option(s) once full details are submitted.

• Repairs must be agreed prior to sending back for restocking, using the online returns link, including authorised returns number.
• All claims filed for units that fail under standard warranty will be repaired or replaced at the sole discretion of John Cullen Lighting.
• The replacement part may be refurbished or substituted with similar products at our discretion. For those customers located outside of the United Kingdom, it should be noted that John Cullen Lighting repair centre is in the United Kingdom and additional time (Shipment Days) should be factored into the overall repair time for transit to and from the United Kingdom.
• Units repaired with a valid repair/returns number will receive a  warranty for the remainder of the original warranty.

• All deliveries should be checked on receipt. Any damages or incorrect items must be highlighted within 72 hours of delivery and discussed with your dedicated project coordinator.
• Units that are considered defective must be reported within the first 28 days from the shipment date. Example of such a return is a unit which will not power up after arrival. John Cullen Lighting will provide an expedited replacement of the affected unit once the original has been received an inspected. A new unit will be made available for shipment from John Cullen Lighting warehouse within 5 business days from receipt of the completed Return form including product. *Stock/parts dependant.
• Damaged/Incorrect and faulty products must be returned within 14 days from receipt of the replacement item, as the customer will be invoiced the full purchase price for the replacement unit. Non-United Kingdom customers should allow for additional transit time due to International Customs Clearance.

• Returns must be authorised with a returns number prior to sending back for restocking, using the online returns form.
• Items without a returns number, cannot be accepted and will be environmentally disposed of.
• A 25% restocking fee will be applied against the original sales value to cover re-testing, inspecting and restocking costs.
• Any products over 2 months of age from sales order delivery cannot be returned.
• Restocking goods will need to be received back in pristine, resaleable condition, in all original packaging with the original datasheets / user guides.
• Note, returned goods cannot show signs of use in any way and must not have been powered up.

If you wish to make a return, then please check that you have met the returns process criteria below, before completing and submitting the returns form.

We will email back the form including the authorised Returns Number assigned within 3-5 working days.  Ship the items (address on returned form). Please clearly label the Returns Number on each package and/or print and include a copy of the form with the items you are returning to John Cullen Lighting.

It is possible to return products for the reasons listed on the dropdowns below:

A driver is used to output the necessary constant current or voltage required for our LED product operation. Our constant current drivers operate at 350mA or 700mA depending on the product and require the luminaries to be wired in series. Our constant voltage drivers operate at 24V CV and this is used to operate our Contour LED strip light. Unlike traditional transformers used with halogen or LED retrofit lamps which convert mains 230V down to 12V, LED drivers allow for multiple dimming platforms such as Phase, 0-10V and DALI dimming which provide a smoother dimming performance with the addition of a ‘DRINT’.

A DRINT is used in conjunction with a Constant Voltage Driver to enable smooth dimming via a 1-10V or Dali control.

If you wish to request a John Cullen Lighting Engineer to attend site for Commissioning, please read, fill out, sign and return this form and email it to [email protected]

Download Commissioning Request Form

Please also ensure you have completed the following Pre-Commissioning Checklist prior to arranging an engineer to commission your project. Read, fill in and sign the following form and email it to [email protected]

Download JCL Pre-Commissioning check list 2021

If you wish to request a John Cullen Lighting Engineer to attend site for Site Support, please read, fill out, sign and return this form and email it to [email protected]

Download Site Support Request Form 2021

We take security seriously and have Cyber Essentials Certification. Our certificate number under Cyber Essentials Scheme is IASME-CE-032197.

For more information on the Cyber Essentials Scheme click here.

When installing lighting outside, there are additional procedures that need to be undertaken to ensure best installation to avoid water issues.

We have created two new guides to help you:-

IP Rated Connection Installation Guide

IP Rated Driver Installation Guide

For further advise, contact our technical team.

There is no test, standard or regulation published specifically for the fire resistance of a luminaire. Instead our luminaries are installed within a ceiling construction certified in line with BS476-21 that had known to pass the testing. The test was then run with our downlight luminaires and concluded that it passed the same test. We test our downlights in a 60-minute rated ceiling as that is the requirement for UK residential properties. The ceiling our luminaires were installed into for testing was a timber floor construction with plasterboard ceiling and chipboard flooring above the void.