When Managing Director Julie Clark came to Savage Marine 20 years ago, incandescent bulbs were the norm. In fact, most of the technology available then seems downright primitive by today’s standards. “Dimming was controlled using copper coil transformers on pot coil dimmers, and lighting effects were achieved using filters to change colors,” she recalls. “Most programs were static and restrictive.” As with the residential and commercial sectors, however, the arrival of the LED bulb changed everything.

Initially, the look wasn’t great. “The color temperature and output of those first luminaires didn’t achieve the same warmth of the incandescent bulb,” says Clark. “As LED technology evolved, features like energy efficiency, CRI (Color Rendering Index), and CCT (Correlated Color Temperature) became the primary metrics we used to evaluate lighting solutions.” The potential of tunable LEDs for the marine industry became apparent. Clark explains the impact beyond the jargon: “In the early days, the objective with lighting was only lumens, but with time things changed. Lighting became application-specific, and so did the direction of Savage Marine Lighting.”

Custom Luxury Lighting

That meant that no matter the demand — from task lighting to form factors that could dramatically accent the curving hull of a superyacht — Clark’s company could handle the ask. Savage Marine had already been in the business of end-to-end solutions for the yacht industry, as Clark notes. “From the outset, it was our goal to offer a complete turnkey lighting solution,” she says. “Today that includes survey and project management, bespoke in-house engineered lighting products, control panel manufacturing, and modification, lighting design services, systems integration, installation, and commissioning.” It’s enough to handle anything a customer could want.

And those requests can be pretty extravagant, given that Clark and her team have some of the most prestigious clients in the world. “I remember creating 4,500 custom fittings for a single job within a 16-week time frame, all with a very specific level of 24k gold plating,” Clark recalls. (The job required consulting the leading experts in the field of plating with precious metals to ensure the fixtures could handle marine environments.) Another project called for a pixelated display around the entire perimeter of a vessel, complete with programmable scenes. The challenge was compounded by the fact that this was a retrofit, which meant that the solution had to be precision-engineered to the existing architecture of the yacht. “In addition to a perfect fit, it needed to be completely sealed and UV stable,” says Clark. The solution proved so successful that other clients are interested in a similar installation.

Marine Solutions Driven by DMX-C

Given the kind of jobs Clark handles, it made sense for her firm to work with Crestron. “Crestron products are at the forefront of technology, user-friendly, and beautifully designed, so the partnership fits perfectly in our portfolio of high-end lighting solutions.”

To that end, Savage Marine Lighting will ensure that all its solutions are compatible with Crestron’s control platform, built right into digital lighting gateways such as the DIN-GWDL. As the product page describes, “Built on the DMX512 standard, DMX-C offers the speed and reliability of a traditional DMX system with the seamless and consistent user experience of the Crestron Home OS. When connected to a DIN‑GWDL, DMX-C lighting fixtures are auto-discovered, auto-addressed, and treated as native Crestron devices with a consistent and intuitive interface.”

“Together, we offer a complete lighting and window treatment solution for superyachts in a way that is unique to this market,” says Dan Kerkhof, director of Crestron Marine. “With just two suppliers, you have an end-to-end solution with all the features and customization options you’d need.”

The resulting possibilities are nearly limitless. “Savage Marine Lighting has developed standard fixed and directional spots using the DMX-C, and each is available in a choice of finishes and optics to enhance the surroundings,” says Clark. “We also offer a bespoke service using the DMX-C. We can integrate this into many different luminaires, so we can ensure the look of the fixture blends perfectly into the design specifications and any other requirements.” That work extends beyond superyachts and even into outfitting cruise ships, although the former is Savage’s core business.

Simplifying Superyacht Hardware with Crestron

One of the many benefits is the simplification of the hardware that’s needed to run marine lighting. “If the client desires a variety of lighting ambiances and color changes, we no longer need lengthy cable runs and complex circuits,” says Clark. That includes automated solutions such as circadian lighting. “Each fixture is addressable in this digital control system, so we can change scenes and fixtures without the need to rewire or replace,” she adds. A solution that requires less gear is most welcome in maritime applications — space on a yacht is always at a premium.

Because everything can be controlled via the Crestron Home® OS — including lighting and shading — that simplicity extends to the user experience for guests and crew alike. “A unique feature of the Crestron Home OS is how easy it is to program the system, set up the scenes for both lighting and shades, and configure your keypad button presses,” explains Kerkhof. “These features are a game changer for the superyachting industry. Additionally, the same powerful configuration tool will be available to the crew to easily change any scene based on the guests’ request, the yacht’s location, or the current season. This drives the level of personalization the crew can perform using the systems onboard, and that is one of the new trends in this market.”

Kerkhof and his team are adding demos of the partnership to Crestron’s showrooms and making plans to take the solution to several upcoming marine events. “We think the integration of the Crestron Home platform into larger and larger vessels is really going to have a huge impact,” he adds.

According to Clark, all of this adds up to help lighting solutions achieve their real potential: “Lighting can give us so much more than the ability to see in the dark. When the right control is coupled with the perfect fixture, great lighting can enhance our mood, our bodies, and our minds.”

For more info, contact:
sales@savagelighting.co.uk | info@savagelighting.co.uk
(European office: Rens@savagelighting.co.uk)

And be sure to check out: Crestron.com/marine