A low-voltage architectural lighting system: LED fixtures fed from a central power and control enclosure rather than line voltage at each fixture. It offers tunable white and RGBW fixtures that Control4 can drive scene by scene.

What does tunable white mean?

Fixtures whose color temperature shifts from cool daylight to warm evening on a schedule. The change is gradual, so you notice how the room feels, not the light moving.

Can this go into an existing home?

Yes, in phases. Colorbeam is easiest in new construction or a remodel where low-voltage cable can be run; in an existing house, Control4 wireless dimmers and tunable retrofit fixtures cover most rooms.

Do I need a designer?

For a whole-home architectural lighting plan, yes, and we provide it. Fixture placement, beam angles and layering decide how the room looks; the control system decides how it behaves.

Control4 Lighting Control With Colorbeam Fixtures

How does Control4 lighting control with Colorbeam fixtures work?

A Control4 system holds the scenes and schedules; Colorbeam low-voltage fixtures change color temperature and color on command. Together they give a home light that shifts from bright morning to warm evening without anyone touching a switch.

Control4 holds the scenes, schedules and keypads. Colorbeam low-voltage fixtures change color temperature and color on command. A room runs cool and bright in the morning and warm and low at dinner without anyone touching a switch. Rivas Technology Group designs the fixture plan and programs the scenes across the South Sound.

By Ivan Rivas, Owner and Sales Engineer · 2025-11-07 · Updated 2026-09-17

A dark wood kitchen at dusk with warm under-cabinet light and blue light glowing beneath the island

What is lighting that adapts to your mood?

Light whose color and brightness change through the day to match how the room is used. Bright and cool for a working morning, warm and low for a dinner or a movie. Rivas Technology Group builds it from two parts. Control4 is the control layer that holds the scenes, schedules and keypads. Colorbeam is the fixture layer: low-voltage LED fixtures with tunable white and RGBW output, fed and controlled from a central enclosure. Here is what each does and how they behave together in a South Sound home.

What does Control4 lighting control do?

It turns every fixture into a device the system can set precisely, then groups them into scenes. Dimming levels, color temperature, fade times and schedules are set once per scene. The scene runs from a wall keypad, the app, a remote or Josh.ai voice control. The "Morning" scene brings the kitchen up cool and bright at 6:30. The "Dinner" scene warms the dining room and drops the level. The "Movie" scene fades the great room and brings a path light up.

Scenes run locally on the controller, so a dropped internet connection does not cancel the evening. Control4 works with 25,000+ third-party products (Control4), so the shades, the audio and the Ajax alarm join the same scenes.

What does Colorbeam add?

Fixtures built to be tuned. Colorbeam runs low-voltage DC to each fixture from a central power and control enclosure. That means small, cool-running fixtures, no line-voltage box at each location and dimming that stays smooth all the way down. Two fixture families matter:

Tunable white shifts color temperature from cool daylight to warm evening. The same downlight serves breakfast and a late dinner.
RGBW adds color for cove, toe-kick and accent lighting: a wash on a stone wall, a soft tone behind a headboard, a color for a party.

Both are driven scene by scene by Control4, so the fixture and the control speak as one system rather than two apps.

What does it look like in a real home?

Walking into a house at dusk that has already turned itself to evening. Fixtures come up warm as the sun drops, and the cove lighting in the great room holds a low level. The dinner scene on the keypad sets the table without touching a dimmer. Later, "Movie" drops the room and the shades together. Our Control4 and Colorbeam installs let a homeowner:

adjust brightness and color temperature by time of day, automatically;
set scenes for dining, entertaining, reading and relaxing on one keypad;
sync lighting with shades, audio and security. An "Away" scene turns everything off and arms the alarm.

Every fixture and keypad is placed on a plan, so the light shapes the room and the hardware stays out of sight.

How do we design, build and deliver it?

Three steps. Design: we plan fixture placement, beam angles and layering with you and the architect or builder, then the keypad layout and scene list. Build: our own team runs the low-voltage cable, mounts the enclosure and fixtures, and programs Control4. Deliver: we tune every scene and fade with you in the room, and adjust again after you have lived with it.

In new construction the cabling is straightforward, and in a remodel we phase it room by room. In an existing house Control4 wireless dimmers and tunable retrofit lamps cover rooms where new cable cannot go. See the smart lighting page for both routes.

Why does it matter?

Because light changes how a room feels and how you sleep, and most homes run one cool white at every hour. Tunable lighting that warms in the evening supports a normal wind-down; a bright cool morning scene helps a dark Pacific Northwest January. Automation and dimming also reduce the hours fixtures run at full output, which cuts energy use and extends fixture life. Circadian scheduling is covered in more depth in circadian lighting explained.

What drives the cost?

Fixture count, how many rooms get tunable or RGBW fixtures, keypad count, and whether the low-voltage cabling is new construction or retrofit. A great room, kitchen and primary suite are the usual first phase. The instant quote gives you a number in minutes; the lighting plan turns it into a fixed proposal.

Need it installed?

Rivas Technology Group designs and installs smart lighting and Control4 from Kent across south King County and Pierce County, including Bonney Lake, Tacoma and Gig Harbor. Book a lighting walk-through.