Lighty without a SmartKnob: what your wall push buttons do

Updated 9 October 2026Lighty

Lighty also works without a SmartKnob. This applies from Lighty firmware 0.4.7.

New Lighty with Lighty Extension

There is nothing to set up. Each push button switches its own channel: push button 1 switches channel 1, push button 2 channel 2 and so on up to push button 5.

  • Short press: light on or off
  • Press and hold: dim

If you have an RGB strip, each push button switches one colour. How to connect Lighty Extension is explained in "More push buttons with Lighty Extension".

New Lighty with just one push button

Without Lighty Extension, the push button only switches channel 2, which is the G connection. That suits a single-colour strip on G.

What the SmartKnob adds

  • Mixing colours and switching the whole coloured light with one push button
  • White light: warm white and cool white become one light that you set from warm to cool
  • Scenes, dashboard and automations
  • Settings such as fuse values and voltage protection
  • The wireless push buttons from Häfele. Without the SmartKnob they do not respond.

Everything side by side: "Lighty with or without a SmartKnob".

Pairing Lighty with the SmartKnob

Start the search on the SmartKnob: Connections, then Modules, then Add device. Lighty is found after about 15 seconds. This also works if Lighty was connected to a different SmartKnob before.

After that, the push buttons only respond once you have set them up: create a light widget in the dashboard and switch on Push button in it.

If the SmartKnob fails

Your push buttons keep switching and dimming, just as you set them up. When the SmartKnob is back, Lighty reconnects by itself.

After a power cut

All lights are off. When you switch on, you get the brightness last stored via the SmartKnob. On a new Lighty, that is 100%. Lighty does not remember a brightness you only dimmed at the push button.

Related questions

What can I control with Lighty?

Lighty controls all the lighting in your camper over 5 independent channels. Everything is possible, from a single white strip to full RGBWW lighting with colour plus warm and cool white. Or you connect up to five individual lights, such as kitchen, bathroom, bed left, bed right and outdoor light, each on its own. You set colour, colour temperature, brightness and entire light scenes just as you like.

Does Lighty work on 12V and 24V?

Yes, both without any changes. Lighty works in the range from 9 to 36V, so it is just as much at home in a 12V panel van as in a 24V motorhome.

Do I need a SmartKnob for Lighty to work?

Not necessarily. From firmware 0.4.7, a new Lighty responds to its push buttons straight away, without any setup. With Lighty Extension, each of the five push buttons switches its own channel. A short press switches, press and hold dims. With just one push button and no Lighty Extension, you switch channel 2. Even if your SmartKnob ever fails, your push buttons keep switching and dimming. The SmartKnob adds colours, white light (warm white and cool white as one light), scenes, the dashboard, automations, the wireless push buttons and the double tap for all lights.

How is Lighty connected, and what is in the box?

Connection is deliberately kept simple: power and light channels go into high-quality Phoenix lever terminals, almost tool-free, safe and reusable. You wire the push button to the supplied pluggable spring terminal connector and then simply plug it in. In the box you will find Lighty, four mounting screws and the pluggable spring terminal connector for the push button.

Which LED strips work with Lighty?

Lighty controls single-colour and multi-colour LED strips with shared colour channels, meaning normal single-colour strips as well as RGB, RGBW and RGBWW strips. Addressable pixel strips (such as WS2812), where every LED is controlled individually, are deliberately not supported. Lighty is not designed for them.

How many metres of LED strip can I connect?

What counts is not the length but the current: Lighty handles 20A in total. For example, a COB strip with 14W per metre draws about 1.2A per metre at 12V. Two strips of 3m each come to roughly 7A and fit easily. Several strips may also share one channel.

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