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DALI stands for Digital Addressable Lighting Interface. It
is a protocol set out in an International Standard IEC 62386 (formerly IEC 60929
Annex E) for the digital communication of the luminaires and
devices. It provides a bi-directional data transmission
for all components within a DALI system, such that each device has its individual
address when communicating with others. Thus the components from
different manufacturers (like, LED drivers, fluorescent ballasts, outlets,
sunblind, relay modules, PIR sensors) can be
mixed and matched into a single control system.
The DALI Standard is overseen by the
AG-DALI, which is a working group set
up by leading manufacturers and institutions in the field of digital lamp/luminaire
control to promote DALI technology and applications.
Nowadays, DALI is getting more and more popular in Europe and Australia.
Major players (like Philips, Osram, Tridonic) are actively promoting this
technology to the lighting industry. Those 3 companies are offering full
range of driver/ballast and control devices. In
North America, DALI name is not heard quite as often, but some people have already
been using the technology but without knowing it. For instance, EcoSystem incorporates
Lutron proprietary enhancements to the DALI protocol, which was indicated in
Lutron's white paper "Controlling
LED". Leading companies (like
Crestron, Leviton,
and Cooper Industries)
are offering a comprehensive range of DALI control devices to the lighting industry.
TMS Lighting
supplies a wide variety of DALI controlled luminaires for
residential and commercial applications. Also
Acuity Brands and
Philips Lightolier are
active in supplying the North America market with their DALI
controlled luminaires. |
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