Feature: Lighting
Wireless lighting control standardised by DALI+
By Paul Drosihn, General Manager, DALI Alliance W
e’ve grown accustomed to the technology around us being wireless. It’s convenient
to use and easy to install, requiring no cables. For many applications, wireless standards provide fast, reliable connectivity. Wireless lighting control is an
area that would benefit from further standardisation. Until recently, there was a lack of industry-standard protocols for wireless lighting control. Te most widely used wireless protocols were not developed with lighting in mind, and lack the full range of specific capabilities required for this application. If lighting control is needed, the best
option to date has been a wired protocol, such as the Digital Addressable Lighting Interface, or DALI. Developed specifically for lighting, DALI is based on the open global
standard IEC 62386. It offers a comprehensive set of lighting-specific features, including dimming and colour control; sensing; emergency lighting; and the availability of luminaire, energy and diagnostics data. Te DALI Alliance, which manages
the DALI protocol, recently defined the new DALI+ specification. DALI+ enables existing DALI commands to be carried over wireless and IP-based networks instead of the dedicated pair of wires typically used to connect DALI devices. Tis extends the richness of DALI to wireless and IP-based networks. DALI+ is supported by a new specification called "Part 104 Changes and Additions", which provides updates to the published Part 104 of the IEC 62386 standard. Along with DALI+, a second approach
has also been developed by the DALI Alliance, where standardised wireless- to-DALI gateways enable DALI lighting products to be integrated into non-DALI wireless ecosystems based on Bluetooth
30 February 2022
www.electronicsworld.co.uk
Mesh or Zigbee. With these two different approaches available, product developers and lighting designers have more options for their applications.
DALI+ DALI+ uses the existing DALI language, with DALI commands packaged into IEC 62386 frames that are transported across wireless and IP-based carriers. Initially, DALI+ supports Tread as the carrier, which is an IP-based, low-power, wireless mesh networking protocol; see Figure 1. Te DALI Alliance will consider adding DALI+ support for other carriers in the future, such as Bluetooth Mesh, Ethernet (including Power over Ethernet, PoE) and Wi-Fi. All DALI control gear and control
devices can be implemented in DALI+, including LED drivers, colour- controllable drivers, emergency drivers, application controllers, push buttons and sensors. DALI+ systems retain the connectivity
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