Rako Wireless Lighting Control
Scene control without new cabling
The Retrofit Specialist
Rako is a British manufacturer that has been building wireless lighting control since 1999, and it has one enormous practical advantage over the other platforms: it was designed from the beginning for houses that already exist. The wired dimmer modules fit into standard 35mm back boxes behind your existing switch plates. The wireless keypads are battery-powered and surface-mounted with two screws. You can take a house with nothing but on/off switches and give it full scene control without opening a single wall.
This is why we reach for Rako so often in Notting Hill and Hampstead. A stucco-fronted villa with original cornices, listed plasterwork and a client who does not want a single chase cut is exactly the project Rako was invented for. We recently took a five-storey house where the only concession to modern wiring was surface conduit in the basement, and delivered scene control in twenty-two rooms plus the garden, with no structural work at all. That is not a compromise: it is a genuinely better outcome.
Rako also solves a problem that catches people out with Wi-Fi based control: reliability. Rako runs on a dedicated 868MHz radio network rather than your home Wi-Fi, with a mesh that reaches through solid brick, stone and steel. In a Chelsea townhouse with a lower-ground kitchen behind a nineteen-inch brick wall, we have seen RF systems fail and Rako not notice the wall was there. It also keeps working when the router reboots, which matters more than most people expect in a house full of technology.
Keypad design has improved enormously in the last few years. The Rako RK and RCM ranges now offer glass faceplates, engraved legends, brushed metal finishes and seven-button plates that can carry a full scene set without looking busy. For contemporary interiors we tend to specify the glass plates in white or black; for period rooms, the metal finishes in antique brass and bronze sit properly beside original door furniture. In Kensington we specified engraved RK keypads in a font taken from the client's own stationery, which sounds excessive until you see how much difference it makes on a wall you look at every day.
Where Rako genuinely fits is the refurbishment that is not a full rebuild. If the ceilings are staying up and the floors are staying down, Rako is usually the most sensible answer. If you are stripping a house back to brick with a plant room and a lighting panel schedule, the wired platforms come into their own, and we will say so. Our lighting control overview walks through the alternatives, and the Lutron page covers what the wired, dealer-programmed route involves.
Why We Specify It
No New Cabling
Dimmer modules drop into existing back boxes and keypads run on batteries, so retrofit needs no chasing.
Own RF Network
Runs on dedicated 868MHz radio rather than Wi-Fi, so it stays reliable through brick, stone and steel.
Period Friendly
Glass, metal and brass plates that sit alongside original door furniture instead of fighting it.
Scenes & Schedules
Four scenes per room plus timed events, occupancy logic and holiday simulation programmed in.
Integrates Widely
Talks to Control4, Crestron, KNX, Somfy shading, Alexa, Google and HomeKit through the bridge.
Sensible Cost
Typically 30% to 50% below a comparable Lutron retrofit, with the same daily experience in the room.
Rako or Lutron?
We install both, so there is no incentive to steer you either way. This is genuinely how the decision usually falls.
Where We Install Rako
Rako FAQs
What is Rako lighting control?
Rako is a British wireless lighting control system designed and made in the UK. It replaces standard wall switches with dimmers and keypads that communicate over a dedicated radio network, so you get scene control, dimming and scheduling without running new cable through the house. Because the wireless protocol is not Wi-Fi, it stays reliable in thick-walled London houses where Wi-Fi based controls struggle, and the system keeps working if your router goes down.
Is Rako cheaper than Lutron?
On a like-for-like retrofit, yes, typically by 30% to 50%. Rako hardware is less expensive than Lutron RA2 Select or RadioRA 3, and because most of it drops straight into existing back boxes, installation labour is lower too. On very large new builds with dedicated lighting panels and bespoke Palladiom keypads, Lutron HomeWorks QSX is the better tool and the price gap narrows. We install both, so we tell clients honestly which one their property actually warrants.
Can Rako be installed without rewiring a period house?
That is precisely what it is good at. Rako wired dimmers fit into standard 35mm back boxes behind your existing plates, and the RK wireless keypads are battery-powered with a five-year cell, so you can put a control point anywhere without a cable. In listed and conservation-area homes across Notting Hill, Hampstead and Chelsea, we have installed full Rako systems with nothing more than a plasterboard patch and a repaint. No chases, no new containment, no damage to historic fabric.
Does Rako work with blinds, curtains and other systems?
Yes. Rako has its own wireless shading range for roller, Roman and curtain tracks, and it integrates with third-party drivers over RS232, IP or dry contact. In practice we usually pair Rako lighting with blinds from Somfy or Lutron Sivoia, and speak to audio, HVAC and security over the network. Rako also works with Alexa, Google Home and Apple HomeKit through its bridge, and with Control4, Crestron and KNX where a larger whole-house platform is already in place.
Can I control Rako from my phone?
Yes, with the Rako bridge or the newer connected range. The app gives you every room, scene, and schedule, plus remote access when you are away. The keypads remain the primary interface, though. We programme Rako so the house works perfectly without anyone touching a phone, because a system that depends on an app is a system that feels fragile.
How much does a Rako lighting control system cost?
A single-room retrofit with four dimmer channels and one keypad typically starts around £1,200 to £2,000 installed. A whole-house Rako system in a four-bedroom home usually lands between £6,000 and £14,000 depending on channel count, keypad style, and whether shading is included. Villa and estate projects with dozens of channels, bespoke engraved keypads and full integration typically run from £20,000 upwards. We quote hardware, installation and programming separately.
Which areas do you cover for Rako installation?
We install Rako across London and the Home Counties. In London we work in Chelsea, Kensington, Notting Hill, Hampstead, Mayfair, Belgravia and Knightsbridge. In Hertfordshire we cover St Albans, Harpenden, Radlett and Rickmansworth. In Surrey we look after Guildford, Weybridge, Cobham and the Wentworth Estate. We also take on projects across Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and the Cotswolds.
Refurbishing Without Opening Walls?
Book a survey. We will tell you honestly whether Rako is the right route for your property, and what it would cost.