diff --git a/src/esp/sim/Simulator.cpp b/src/esp/sim/Simulator.cpp
index e7e94f9b8b..6b90418c85 100644
--- a/src/esp/sim/Simulator.cpp
+++ b/src/esp/sim/Simulator.cpp
@@ -680,7 +680,13 @@ void Simulator::reset() {
     agent->reset();
   }
   getActiveSceneGraph().getRootNode().computeCumulativeBB();
-  resourceManager_->setLightSetup(gfx::getDefaultLights());
+  // set the default light key to reference the scene's light setup
+  auto initSceneInstanceAttr =
+      metadataMediator_->getSceneInstanceAttributesManager()
+          ->getObjectCopyByHandle(curSceneInstanceAttributes_->getHandle());
+  auto sceneLightSetup = resourceManager_->getLightSetup(
+      initSceneInstanceAttr->getLightingHandle());
+  resourceManager_->setLightSetup(*sceneLightSetup);
 }  // Simulator::reset()
 
 metadata::attributes::SceneInstanceAttributes::ptr