Lighting & Automation
DALI
Also called: Digital Addressable Lighting Interface
A digital lighting protocol where every fixture has an address on a two-wire bus, allowing individual control, grouping in software, and status reporting back to the controller.
DALI's advantage is that zoning is software, not wiring. Re-grouping fixtures after a floor is reconfigured is a commissioning change rather than an electrical one, and fixtures report faults — a failed driver or lamp identifies itself instead of waiting for someone to notice.
It costs more in commissioning discipline. Addressing, grouping, and scene programming must be documented, because an undocumented DALI floor is very hard for the next contractor to modify safely. Insist on the commissioning file at handover.
Related terms
- 0-10V Dimming
- An analog dimming method where a low-voltage control signal from 0 to 10 volts tells a driver or ballast what output level to produce, separate from the load wiring.
- Lighting Scene
- A saved combination of light levels, colour temperatures, and shade positions across a space, recalled by one button, schedule, or sensor event.
- Commissioning
- Systematically configuring, testing, tuning, and documenting an installed system so it verifiably performs as designed — the step between installed and working.
More Lighting & Automation terms
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