(Classic) DALI design - limits

To design the system, prepare a schematic diagram of connecting the Vertex with lighting luminaires and other DALI devices (sensors and panels). First, address the DALI devices - assign the devices to the individual Vertex buses (ports). The order in which the devices are connected on the bus does not matter.

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You can't get a good quotation without a good design.

E2D design guidelines:

1. DALI bus length

2. Maximum current value limit

3. Address number limit

4. Number of sensors and panels on one bus

5. DALI bus topology

DALI bus length

The maximum distance between the last device and the Vertex controller is 300 m.

Vertex has 3 DALI ports and each port has 2 inputs, so put Vertex in the middle of the device's line to double the distance between them to 600 m.

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Maximum current value limit

Up to 64 DALI devices can be connected to each port (55 per port is recommended). The permissible current value must be not exceeded.

For example, the project includes 42 luminaires and 8 sensors on one bus. The permissible current for the Vertex 3 is 230 mA* per port. The current consumption for the luminaires is 2 mA, and for the selected sensors, the maximum current consumption is 18 mA. The total power consumption of these devices is 228 mA. It is less than the permissible limit on the bus, so it’s ok.

Address number limit

Each DALI port has 64 DALI addresses. Usually, one DALI device takes up 1 DALI address. Up to 64 (55 per port is recommended) devices can be connected to one port. But there are some luminaires that take up more than one DALI address and relay units that can take up 4 or even 8 addresses. Information about the total number of DALI drivers is in the luminaire datasheet.

Number of sensors and panels on one bus

Sensors and panels have a different limit. Up to 8 of those devices can be connected per one DALI bus. This restriction does not apply to luminaires. There can be both sensors and panels on one bus, and, of course, luminaires. Remember that Vertex controller has 3 DALI ports, so a total of 24 sensors and panels per one Vertex can be connected. Do not exceed the recommended total number of devices on one bus (55).

DALI bus topology

Remember that looping of the bus is prohibited and it will cause a lack of communication. Use only the permitted DALI bus topologies described below.