DALI Networks
Basic Standalone DALI Network
A basic DALI network is simple to understand, as long as every DALI device has a connection to the network cable then it should perform as expected. At the least a system should have a power supply, a controller and a ballast.
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In this example the switch will operate in broadcast mode as it will not have been assigned in to a group and will issue the following commands (factory default) on to the network cable.
- Up button – Up / Step Up
- Down button – Down / Step Down
As the switch is sending out broadcast commands then all luminaires connected to this network cable will react according to the commands being sent.
Standalone DALI Network
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In this example, without commissioning, both switches will control both luminaires with the same functionality of the Basic Stand Alone network. After commissioning then there are a few ways it could be configured.
Example 1. This would be used when the system is being used in two separate rooms.
The top switch and the top luminaire are assigned to group 1. The bottom switch and bottom luminaire are assigned to group 2. This means that the top switch would only control the top luminaire and the bottom switch would only control the bottom luminaire. Effectively these could be two rooms working completely independently.
Example 2. This could be used when there is a store room inside an office.
The top switch and luminaire are in the main office space and the bottom switch and luminaire are in the store room. The buttons would be programmed as on / off as opposed to up and down.
The top button on the top switch would be in group 1 (Office) along with the top luminaire. The bottom button on the top switch would be left un-grouped, The bottom switch and bottom luminaire would be in group 2 (store room). When in use, a person entering the space would press the top button, turning the office luminaire on. During the course of the day, someone enters the store room and presses the top button, turning the store room luminaire on. When this person leaves the store room, the person would turn off the store room luminaire with the bottom button. At the end of the working day, the last person leaves and presses the bottom button on the top switch. This turns the office luminaire off but also, as the button is in broadcast mode, would also issue an off command to the store room luminaire, ensuring the luminaire in the store turns off if the last person has forgotten to turn it off with the switch.
Basically, the bottom button of the top switch acts as an 'all off' button.
Basic Networked DALI Solution
Using a DALI router expands the possible size of a DALI network. Each DALI router has two DALI subnets and the power supply for each subnet is incorporated in to the router, eliminating the need for extra power supply modules. Each subnet is capable of running up to 64 devices, this immediately doubles the possible size of the network.
DALI routers can be networked together via Ethernet with a standard Ethernet switch. The maximum number of routers that can be networked together is 100, giving a maximum number of DALI devices of 12,800 and a maximum number of groups of 1,600. This means that whole buildings can be run from one network.
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As can be seen in the example above, the size of the system is scalable to any size of project.
Advanced Networked DALI Solution
This solution is the same as the Basic Network Solution but instead uses the advanced router that also includes a DMX interface, allowing for control of LED drivers, it also includes RS485 communication terminals that can control up to 252 channels of extra dimming by using an external dimmer pack and extra modules depending on the type of dimmer required.