Signal Dimmers - Dynalite Technical Documentation

An early implementation of signal dimming, broadcast a variable analog voltage to control light intensity. This ‘signal’ only allowed for one way communication, from the controller to the lamp driver. Since no signal came back from the driver, there was no data to measure performance, as with digital systems. With 0-10V or 1-10V analog operation, each broadcast lighting group requires its own wiring, making installation and diagnosis difficult in large systems. Although there are many installations still using 0/1-10V control, the trend for new installations is towards digital protocols such as DALI. DALI is a widely accepted industry standard that has significant benefits over analog methods such as 0/1-10V control.

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1-10V control is more commonly used for lighting. It uses an analog DC voltage with the driver typically sinking the current. The lighting changes as the voltage is varied. At 1 Volt or less, lights dim to 0% and turn off. At 10 volts, lights are fully on at 100%. This method provides a smooth dimming curve that is especially useful for color changing LEDs.

DDBC, DBC, DMB, DDMC, DMC controllers and DGBM, DMD modules provide 1-10V control and automatically sink or source current depending on the connected driver. The DDBC controller can provide 0-10V or 1-10V dimming in sinking and sourcing mode (loads must not use a mixture of sinking and sourcing drivers).

An analog circuit can typically accommodate around 10 luminaires per controller. The maximum number of drivers allowed on an analog output depends on controller specifications such as, box loading, channel loading and circuit characteristics. Check the controller/module specification sheet for detailed information.

0/1-10V control is polarity-sensitive. Positive and negative outputs from the controller must connect to the corresponding positive and negative inputs on the driver. The circuit will not work if wires are reversed. If the control signal is not connected or a wire is broken, affected drivers automatically go to either full brightness or a preconfigured system failure level to ensure adequate illumination.

DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) is a digital protocol and standard jointly developed and specified by several manufacturers to create a common platform for lighting control. Philips Dynalite produces a range of DALI controllers that seamlessly integrate DALI with DyNet and/or Ethernet communication. This enables great flexibility so installations can benefit from the best of both systems.

DALI controllers communicate directly with compatible DALI lighting drivers. DALI drivers are digital devices that offer several advantages over earlier protocols. They can:

• Provide feedback on status.

• Be addressed individually or as part of a lighting group.

• Be reassigned to a new lighting group with no physical adjustment or rewiring.

• Be controlled by input devices on the DALI bus.

DSI and 0/1-10V drivers are not separately addressable, and are controlled based on hardwired physical circuits. DALI provides greater flexibility and functionality with simpler wiring topology and easier installation.

sd diagram 1 10v system 1-10V solution: At least one 2-way switching/dimming actuator is needed per room. sd diagram dali system DALI solution: More functions, fewer components. With just two wires at the output, the interface has the same functionality as 16 switching/dimming actuators. This means that a single unit can be used to form up to 16 groups which can then be easily changed using software – there is no need to do anything with the wiring.

DALI control gear may include LEDs, fluorescent HF drivers, low voltage transformers, emergency fixtures, exit signs, PE cells, sensors, motion detectors, wall switches and gateways to other protocols. Each lamp driver has a unique address with up to 64 DALI addresses on a single DALI bus, called a DALI universe. The DALI protocol does not allow for direct communication between different universes. Sites requiring more than 64 addresses are implemented by having multiple separate DALI universes linked together with controllers or gateways and a data backbone running another protocol, such as DyNet or with three-universe controllers such as the DDBC320-DALI pictured, or the DMD31X and DMD316FR-UL modules.

dyn sch ddbc320 dali

DALI specifies dimming levels using an 8-bit arc power level message that provides 256 levels of brightness between 0% and 100%. The arc power level message is translated to the driver’s arc power via a logarithmic dimming curve. This curve gives larger increments in brightness at high dim levels and smaller increments at low dim levels.

This is an attempt to have a dimming curve that appears linear to the human eye. Sometimes issues arise when different fixtures are used together, such as DALI fluorescent drivers, DALI ELV (Extra Low Voltage) incandescent transformers and phase control dimmed fixtures. When different fixtures are operated together, it is often apparent to the eye that the dimming curves do not match, especially at lower levels, due to the lower end distribution of the DALI dimming curve. When implemented with DyNet, this can be addressed with custom dimming curves.

DALI addresses are created using an enumeration process, where each driver in a universe is accessed and given a unique address by the controller. Each DALI driver can have three addresses:

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• A Short address: This is a 6-bit number, providing a maximum of 64 drivers on a DALI universe. Each DALI driver must have a unique short address.

• A Group address: This is 4-bit number that may be common to several drivers, indicating which groups they belong to. This is used in normal operation to address more than one driver at time.

• A Long Address: This is a 24-bit number that is used to assign short addresses and resolve short address conflicts at the time of commissioning (The long address is such a large number that the chance of two in a group of 64 drivers having the same long address is very small.)

The benefit of having an individual address and a group address is that a DALI driver can be controlled individually via its short address or as part of a group using the group address. For example, a room with three drivers can be changed from OFF to ON in the following two ways:

Examples

1. Short Address 1 go to 100%, Short Address 2 go to 100%, Short Address 3 go to 100%.

   This method has the advantage of not relying on the limited number of 16 scenes and 16 groups available in each driver and the fade rate of the transition can be chosen dynamically. However, it can cause an undesirable 'Mexican wave' effect when controlling a large room such as an auditorium that contains many drivers, due to the network latency of DALI’s comparatively slow bps rate. For example, a transition from All-On to All-Off may result in a visible delay between the first and last drivers switching off. This issue is normally not a problem in smaller areas with fewer drivers.

2. Group Address 1 go to 100%

   This method is immune to the 'Mexican wave' effect described above, as all devices in the specified group react at once. However, this method requires each driver to be programmed with the group number and scene information during commissioning. The fade rate (2 sec default) is sent dynamically and is written to the drivers in the group (if it changes) before recalling scene levels.

Depending on the controller capabilities, DALI controllers use one or more of the following methods to control the lighting:

DALI Broadcast

All drivers/transformers on the same circuit respond together. No individual control or reporting is possible. Refer to Topic DALI: Broadcast and 1-10 V controllers.

Each independent lighting group requires individual wiring.

DALI Addressable (enumerated)

All drivers/transformers on the same circuit are individually addressable and allow for reporting. Keypads and sensors are connected to the DyNet network with commands forwarded to the DALI network by the controller. The drivers provide information on request by the controller. Refer to DALI Addressable Controllers.

DALI bus wiring to DALI enumerated drivers. A DALI universe has up to 64 unique addresses.

DALI Addressable with DALI (multi-master) devices

All drivers/transformers on the same circuit are individually addressable and allow for reporting. The controller can also respond to messages from DALI devices (keypads and sensors) on the DALI bus. DALI devices enable easier installation with less wiring.

DALI bus wiring to DALI enumerated drivers and DALI devices.

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Dynalite DALI devices include sensors (DUS360CR-D, DUS360CS-D, DUS90AHB-D, DUS90WHB-D, DUS30LHB-D) and dry contact input devices (DPMI940-DALI). For superior stability and reliability, Dynalite DALI-2 controllers use single-master control to control DALI devices.