General Information On Dali And Standards - ABB i-bus KNX Product Manual

®
ABB i-bus KNX
General
1.3

General information on DALI and standards

The requirements for modern lighting technology are extremely varied. Historically, lighting was only
required for visual tasks, but nowadays there is a focus on factors such as comfort, ambience, functionality
and energy saving. Furthermore, modern lighting systems are increasingly being incorporated into building
installation facility management to monitor the status of the entire lighting system. The requirement is often
for a complex lighting management system which meets the uses of the premises. All these requirements
cannot be adequately met by traditional 1–10 V electrical installations, or only at considerable effort and
cost. The DALI standard (EN 62386, formerly EN 60929) has emerged against this background in
conjunction with leading manufacturers of lamp ballasts. It describes and defines the DALI (Digital
Addressable Lighting Interface) digital interface for lighting technology equipment.
DALI has become established as an independent standard in the field of lighting technology. The range of
ballasts, transformers, dimmers and relays with DALI interfaces has decisively influenced modern lighting
technology.
Part 202 of DALI standard 62386 standardizes telegrams, which communicate with emergency lighting
units (converters) in self-contained emergency lighting with individual batteries. These standardized DALI
telegrams can be used to trigger emergency lighting tests (e.g. function or duration tests). The test results
are provided on the DALI by the DALI emergency lighting converter.
This DALI technology allows cyclically required emergency lighting tests to be triggered via a higher-level
building management control system and can also document the result.
10 2CDC507164D0201 | DG/S x.64.1.1