Pro Integration Insider

Freedom Goes MINI: Helvar Components Unveil Compact Wireless Driver

Written by Mark Tilley | September 18, 2025

Helvar Components are preparing to expand their well-established Freedom product family with the launch of the new 42 W MINI-sized radio-integrated LED driver with sensor connector. Designed for wireless luminaires in space-constrained applications, this compact solution delivers all the benefits of Freedom’s luminaire-based product family in a smaller package.

With the MINI driver customers gain access to a complete radio-integrated control solution with sensor input, without the need for external control units or third-party components.

The Freedom Series was engineered to solve a growing challenge in wireless lighting: how to build wirelessly controllable luminaires that are simple to design, reliable to operate, and cost-efficient to manufacture, without being tied to a single control system. As pressure mounted for D4i-based solutions with powered DALI buses, Helvar Components took a different path in MINI series.

Freedom, the complete luminaire-based product family for wireless LED lighting, offers a modular, scalable approach to wireless lighting, supporting multiple leading protocols - including Casambi, ActiveAhead, Mymesh by Chess, and Pulse Systems - through either plug-in nodes or fully integrated drivers.

This latest product release takes that concept even further. The 42 W MINI driver (LC43MINI-FD-300-1050) includes trusted technology combined with a sensor-ready interface and built-in wireless connectivity. It simplifies the design and sourcing process, offers competitive pricing compared to traditional D4i/Powered DALI solutions and brings reliability. Thanks to Freedom, luminaire manufacturers no longer need to source sensors, nodes, or drivers from multiple suppliers, and they no longer face the compatibility issues that often follow.

For luminaire manufacturers and project stakeholders working with Casambi-specified lighting schemes, this launch offers an upgrade in lighting flexibility and integration. The MINI driver enables a cleaner, faster and more cost-effective route to producing smart luminaires, while keeping installation simple across multiple project sizes.

Whether it’s used to control individual luminaires or commissioned to manage entire spaces, the integrated sensor connector brings added intelligence without complication.

With a cost-efficient and small "plug-and-play" sensor – the Helvar Components ‘Freedom Sense’ available, you can have control of a single luminaire or commission a master-slave style, giving whole room capabilities that can be mounted independently in the ceiling with a holder bracket. The Freedom nodes also provide actual ‘freedom’ of optimal antenna positioning, especially in metallic linear solutions.

This key ‘Freedom Sense’ innovation is significantly lower in cost than traditional Casambi system sensors, yet it enables the same functionality and does so more easily. By eliminating the need for Casambi-licensed sensor components, ‘Freedom Sense’ reduces the costs of the entire project for luminaire manufacturers and end users.

Customers can achieve advanced wireless control and presence detection with fewer components and a far more competitive price point, while still retaining full compatibility with Casambi-based systems through the Freedom driver and node platform. It's a smarter way to build scalable wireless lighting, without compromising on performance or flexibility.

With Helvar Components' Freedom approach, you even retain the flexibility to address future project specifications using the same design footprint - whether that’s for Casambi, ActiveAhead or other protocols in the wireless system.

With compact size and powerful integration, it’s the next development in wireless luminaire design, and it lands in Q3 2025, with priority support and resources available for existing Freedom Series customers and Casambi-focused partners.