DALI, 1-10V, 0-10V or DIP switch: which control suits your project

Four ways to control light

Almost every LED luminaire can be controlled in one of four ways. With a DIP switch you set the power once on the driver. With 1-10V or 0-10V you dim analogue over two extra cores. With DALI and DALI-2 you address each luminaire digitally and individually over a two-wire bus. And with D4i a street luminaire gets a standardised driver that reports energy consumption and faults to a telemanagement system.

The choice determines which cable you pull, which sensors you can connect and what you can still change later. So settle the control method before the cable is pulled.

DIP switch: selectable power without a control cable

A DIP-switch luminaire has a row of small switches on the driver with which you select the output current. A street luminaire from the VIA range can be set from 20 to 50 W, a post-top luminaire from the POLARIS range to 30, 40 or 60 W. You set the power at installation and the lumen output is then fixed.

That is enough in many situations:

• You want one stock item that covers several light levels, for example 4 and 6 metre columns on the same site.
• The light level does not need to change during operation.
• No control cable is available, such as when replacing luminaires on existing columns with only L, N and PE.

A DIP switch does not dim during operation; for night-time reduction or a sensor, choose 1-10V, DALI or a luminaire with a built-in sensor.

1-10V and 0-10V: analogue dimming over two cores

With analogue control, a control pair (plus and minus) runs alongside L, N and PE to every driver. You therefore pull a 5-core cable, for example 5G1.5. The voltage on that pair sets the light level: 10 V is full power, 1 V is the minimum, usually around 10 per cent.

The two variants look alike but are not interchangeable:

• 1-10V: the driver itself supplies a small current on the control line and the controller or sensor pulls the voltage down. The lamp never switches off via the control line; a switch or relay is still needed for that.
• 0-10V: the controller supplies the control voltage. Many drivers switch the lamp off at 0 V, but not all of them; check the datasheet.

Also mind the polarity of the control pair and the maximum cable length stated in the driver datasheet.

All drivers on one control line dim together. If you want to control a hall in two or three zones, you pull a separate control pair per zone. The ATRIA range includes flat high bays with UGR<21 and 0-10V, and UFO high bays with 1-10V.

DALI and DALI-2: digital and addressable per luminaire

DALI uses a two-wire bus with no polarity. Each line offers 64 addresses, divided into a maximum of 16 groups and 16 scenes. The bus power supply delivers at most 250 mA and each driver draws no more than 2 mA of it. The line length is at most 300 metres at 1.5 mm², and the bus may run together with the 230 V supply in a single 5-core cable. Cabling is therefore as simple as with 1-10V, while you can control each luminaire separately.

In practice that means:

• You create zones and groups in software, not with extra cables.
• The driver reports back: lamp status and faults; D4i drivers additionally record energy consumption and operating hours.
• DALI-2 is the current, certified version of the IEC 62386 standard. Sensors and push buttons are also covered by the certification, so components from different manufacturers work together.

Choose DALI-2 for car parks, warehouses with several aisles and sports halls with varying light levels. The weatherproof battens from the TRIVO range (IP65 and IP69K) are available with DALI-2 and are through-wired, so supply and bus pass from luminaire to luminaire in one go.

D4i and AstroDIM for street lighting

In street lighting, each column usually carries only L, N and PE, and pulling a control cable is rarely feasible. Two solutions without extra cabling:

• AstroDIM: the driver calculates the middle of the night from the switching times of the previous nights and dims around that time to a preset level. No clock, no GPS, no communication.
• D4i: an extension of DALI-2 for luminaires, usually combined with a Zhaga socket on the luminaire. The driver powers a telemanagement node, stores energy consumption and faults, and can be dimmed and read out remotely per luminaire.

The street luminaires from VIA come in three versions: with selectable power via DIP switch, with a separate driver of your choice (for example AstroDIM 1-10V) and as a DALI-2 version with D4i and AstroDIM. All versions have 10 kV surge protection and tilt onto a 60 mm spigot, such as the steel columns from the TURRIS range. For municipalities that may move to a management system later, D4i is the safe choice.

Connecting sensors: what works with what

A presence or daylight sensor is the quickest way to save energy. The connection differs per control method:

• Without a control cable: a plug-in sensor on the luminaire itself. The microwave sensor raises the light on movement, falls back to a standby level after the hold time and is configured with a remote control. The ATRIA UFO high bays are sensor-ready for this, TRIVO is available with a built-in sensor.
• 1-10V or 0-10V: a sensor with an analogue output controls a whole group at once.
• DALI-2: the sensor is a bus device in its own right and controls per luminaire or per group. That way you light only the aisle someone is walking in and keep the rest at 10 to 20 per cent.

Selection guide in brief

• Replacement on existing columns or a single room with no control requirements: DIP switch, possibly with a plug-in sensor.
• Hall or sports hall in a few zones, simple and economical: 1-10V or 0-10V, cabled with 5 cores.
• Car park, warehouse with racking, office or an installation that will change later: DALI-2.
• Street and area lighting without a control cable: AstroDIM now, D4i as soon as telemanagement comes into view.

If in doubt, have a lighting calculation made: it shows per area which power and which dimming level are needed.

Frequently asked questions