Discover DALI 209 in Broadcast mode
How many old-school electricians does it take to change a lightbulb?
One, but then they need to get their hipster kid with a laptop to re-address it.
You would think that changing a lightbulb would be simple but depending on its location, it may not be that easy. The bulb may be installed on a high ceiling and the visibility may not be great as, funnily enough, the lights aren’t all working. So, after taking the necessary safety precautions, you remove the failed bulb with its driver and insert a new one. Now it should work as before, right?
Not so fast. If the driver is part of a DALI addressing network, then its replacement will not be part of the same group as the old driver, and the new driver address may cause a conflict if it has the same number as an existing driver on the network. The simplest solution is to program the new driver with the same address as the old driver, so the lighting system knows which group it belongs to and where it is located. But what was the old driver address? Who knows, as it is faulty and has been removed. How can we find out? Why is changing a lightbulb so complicated? Why did I become an electrician?
A simple solution
Relax, all is good. No need to rethink your life choices. Philips Dynalite has some great features for managing DALI lighting. Our DALI-2 certified controller remembers the addresses of all the drivers on its network and auto-enumerates a new DALI driver with the same address as the old driver when it is a one-to-one replacement. So, it is simple, just like the old days.
This process would get more complicated if you wanted to change more than one driver at a time, but Philips Dynalite has a solution for that too. Its headend software, System Manager, has a built-in lamp manager that highlights the replaced lamps on a site map, so you can flash them and update the address within the software.
These minor inconveniences are well worth the additional effort when you weigh up the advantages of a digital lighting system. DALI-2 is an industry standard, so you can source your lights from multiple manufacturers, DALI wiring is straightforward with two simple wires, and it doesn’t matter if you swap the wires around. DALI drivers can offer emergency lighting, dimming, tuneable-white, colour control and many other features.
Not long ago these lighting features were complex and expensive to install with multiple drivers needed to achieve the same effect. However, since the release of DALI 209, and the widespread adoption of the DALI-2 standard, these features are available off-the-rack.
It is a common misconception that Tuneable-White (TW) and RGBWAF (RGB) colour control can only be implemented using DALI addressing. This is not the case. For example, the Dynalite DDBC1200 load controller can control TW and RGB lighting on any of its DALI broadcast channels. It can also control 0-10V analog lighting channels, if required. The simplicity of broadcast control can be a very attractive proposition for many applications.

Advantages of DALI 209 Broadcast control
Reduced cost and simplified commissioning: DALI broadcast controllers are less expensive than DALI addressing controllers. All drivers on a circuit are controlled together, so there’s no need for individual driver addressing.
Easier maintenance: There is no need to enumerate drivers.
Simpler wiring compared to analogue methods: To perform TW and RGB using 1-10 V analogue control, you would need a dedicated figure 8 cable run and dedicated output channels for each colour element (five total for cool white, warm white, red, green, and blue). In DALI Broadcast mode, this is streamlined to just two (TW and RGB).
Fewer drivers: With DALI 207, each colour needs its own driver. This is not the case for DALI 209. While DALI209 drivers are more expensive, you need less of them.
Faster commissioning: With the old analog or DALI 207 technology it was up to the commissioning engineer to tune the output levels. This would be very time consuming and may produce inconsistent results. With DALI 209, the channel levels for the different colours are stored within the driver to be recalled as needed.
Future proof: If a project already uses DALI 207 drivers, then the same figure 8 cables can be reused for DALI 209. You can just replace the drivers and commission the lighting controls to output the required colours.
DALI control is simpler and more reliable than DMX512: Historically, DMX512 was the best method for RGB lighting but this was dependent on expensive lights, complex controllers, and specialised cabling. DMX512 can be difficult to integrate with standard lighting, making it necessary to connect the network via special gateways to perform basic day-to-day functions. If a project is looking for simple scene changes, then DALI 209 is ready to step up. As DALI 209 runs on the same network as standard lighting, a single control system, such as Philips Dynalite, can be deployed across the entire project.
DALI 209 features such as TW and RGBWAF are available in both addressing and broadcast mode: Philips Dynalite DALI 209 broadcast controllers can control any capable DALI 209 driver, physically connected to an output to adjust the lighting level, colour temperature and even full colour. This enables advanced functionality without going through the long process of addressing, identifying, and assigning the individual DALI 209 drivers first.
So, there you have it! Tuneable white and RGB colour control that is convenient and affordable to set up, and that delivers more reliable results then older methods. No need to go back to school or bother your hipster kid with a laptop.
For more insights on DALI209 broadcast control, watch the video below.