The Honest Answer: It Depends on Your Building
I've been handling facility procurement for a 280-person company across three locations since 2018. I manage roughly $180,000 annually across 12 vendors, and lighting upgrades have been one of my recurring headaches—mostly because the "right answer" changes depending on which building I'm dealing with.
When people ask me whether they should go with Legrand smart switches, or Zigbee mesh networking, or just basic dimmers, I usually say: that question is too broad to answer.
What I can do is break it into scenarios. Over the past seven years, I've noticed that lighting procurement decisions really fall into three buckets based on your situation. Here's how I think about each one.
Scenario A: You're Upgrading a Single Room or Floor (No Smart System)
This is the most common scenario for offices that aren't ready for a full IoT overhaul. Maybe it's a conference room renovation, or a floor update where the old switches finally died.
What I'd recommend: Stick with Legrand 3-way light switches and standard dimmers from their radiant or adorne series. They're straightforward, installers know them, and you don't need a networking consultant.
For under cabinet lighting—which I've ordered for three different break room kitchens—the Legrand options are solid, but pay attention to whether you're getting a plug-in or hardwired version. I made that mistake once and had to return six units.
Real cost note: Based on quotes I collected in late 2024 from three commercial electrical suppliers, a basic Legrand 3-way switch runs $18-35 per unit depending on finish and amperage. The adorne series with pop-out outlets? Closer to $45-60 each. Budget accordingly.
Who this is for: Buildings under 10,000 sq ft. Offices without dedicated IT staff for smart systems. Anyone who wants "lights that work" without a dashboard.
Scenario B: You Want Smart Lighting with Real Integration
This is where it gets more interesting—and more expensive.
If your company is already using or planning to use a Zigbee ecosystem (common in newer commercial buildings), Legrand's IoT-connected devices make a lot of sense. Their Zigbee-enabled switches and dimmers integrate fairly cleanly with other Zigbee devices, which matters more than you'd think.
Why I care about Zigbee: It's not a closed protocol. Zigbee routers from different manufacturers generally work together. That means you're not locked into one vendor for every bulb and sensor in your building.
I went back and forth between a Zigbee-based system and a proprietary wired solution for our main office for about three weeks. The wired system offered rock-solid reliability—no interference, no pairing issues. But Zigbee offered flexibility we'd need later. Ultimately chose Zigbee because we were already adding IoT sensors for HVAC, and the mesh network could serve double duty.
What about Zigbee Leuchtmittel (smart bulbs)? If you're in a German-speaking context or working with European suppliers, that's the term you'll see. Functionally, they're Zigbee-capable LED bulbs that can act as repeaters in your mesh. Helpful in buildings with dead zones, though each one adds a small amount of complexity to troubleshooting.
For occupancy and vacancy sensors—which Legrand makes in both wired and wireless Zigbee versions—I've saved roughly 15-20% on energy in low-traffic areas. I'm not going to claim exact numbers because occupancy patterns vary too much, but the sensors paid for themselves in hallways and restrooms.
Who this is for: Buildings over 15,000 sq ft. Companies with IT or facilities tech already managing some IoT. Multi-tenant buildings where you'll want per-floor control.
Scenario C: You Have a Specialty Lighting Need
This one surprised me when it came up, but I've now handled it three times in seven years: specialty lighting that doesn't fit standard office categories.
The most common is how to use grow lights for interior plantscapes. Two of our locations have living walls in the reception area—because apparently that's a thing now—and they need proper lighting.
Here's what I learned: you can't just buy any LED panel and call it a grow light. You need specific wavelength output (usually 400-700nm for photosynthesis, with different ratios depending on whether you want vegetative growth or flowering). The fixtures are also heavier and run hotter than standard office lights, so mounting matters.
If you're ordering grow lights for a commercial space:
- Check whether your electrical panel can handle the load—these draw more than standard LEDs
- Confirm ceiling mounting hardware is included (it often isn't)
- Ask about daisy-chaining capability if you're trying to cover a large area
We ended up using Legrand's standard under cabinet LED strips for supplemental lighting, and a dedicated horticultural fixture for the main growth zone. The combination worked fine, but I wouldn't recommend it for anything larger than a 6-foot plant wall.
Who this is for: Offices with green walls, corporate gardens, or biophilic design elements. Lab environments needing specific light spectra. Anyone with plant-related building features.
How to Figure Out Which Scenario You're In
Ask yourself three questions:
- Do you have IT or facilities tech support? If no, Scenario A is your friend. Zigbee networks need someone to troubleshoot pairing issues and update firmware.
- How long will you be in this building? If it's less than 3 years, the ROI on smart lighting gets shaky. Dimmers and good switches are the safer bet.
- What's already in the ceiling? If you've got Zigbee sensors for other building systems, Scenario B makes more sense. If you're starting from scratch, a simple wired solution might serve you better for now.
After managing procurement across three different office types, I've come to believe that the "best" lighting solution has almost nothing to do with specs and everything to do with context. The fanciest Zigbee mesh network won't help if nobody on your team can manage it.
And honestly? Sometimes the answer is just a good switch and a dimmer that works. That's not a failure—that's matching the solution to the actual problem.
One last note: I'm not 100% sure this framework works for every industry. A hospital or data center would have very different constraints. But for general office environments, it's held up across seven years and roughly 40 lighting-related projects.