The code should be easy to adapt for other DALI serial interface.
This is a work in progress and still requires a lot of work but I am hitting a wall in the sense that I only have one slave unit to check against and you really need more on the DALI bus to test. So this release is more in the hope that someone out there has a DALI background or equipment to do some low level testing.
Notes: -
Only works for UI5 currently.
Tail light guarantee.
Still requires major work.
Installation.
Download attached zip file.
Unzip
Upload to Vera
Create device as normal
Attach to serial port or ethernet in Vera and physically (Wiznet125 in my case works a lot better then the multiport serial box (in my case))
The nitty gritty of these steps is available in more detail in other posts so not going over that ground.
Restart Vera
Attached DALI devices
In settings tab on device click on “Setup”
Restart
Hopefully all lights are detected.
Currently the following states are controllable, please check DALI documentation on web for explanation: -
Adjust Fade Rate and Fade Time.
Add/Remove slave from group.
Adjust Power On level.
There are probably lots of things I have forgotten.
Hi,
I have many (5-10) dali transformers I need to control via Vera 3. I can help test out your plugin, to make sure it actually works with several units. I bet many would appreciate a Dali plugin.
However, it would be nice if you could guide me with some installation instructions.
Tridonic make something similar but from a protocol prospective would need to make changes to the driver (happy to do so just need some documention).
edit:scratch that the tridonic is a USB HID device so not sure how easy it would be to implement
Be interested in hearing how all this is going and your experiences with DALI. Is DALI the way of the future!! Assuming you have the wiring in place, it looks like it a good way to control a lot of LED lights, with high quality dimming.
@a-lurker
DALI is very big in the industrial space but not so much the domestic space, having said that equipment costs seem to be reasonable with the downside being that hardware is all HV and requires an electrician to install (Australia) this puts it out of my reach as I would have to get a lot of wiring done in one hit.
There are so many standards for lighting that I think it is a personal choice, mine are along the lines of :-
Wired.
Low voltage.
Open or easy accessed API.
DYI install.
Client notification, no polling required.
Multiple control points.
Bulb status e.g. over temp/broken (nice to have).
I looked at both DALI and DMX for my solution and my preference would be DALI over DMX.
Particularly the 350 mA version; the LCM-25DA. This (in theory) could be paired with most 10 to 12 Watt LED downlights. Just replace the supplied power supply with the “Mean Well” one. This could be done as the finances allow. ie install the LED light and change to the Mean Well PSU later as needed.
That’s about $75 (AUD) per light. Expensive but for a new house build may make sense? Just needs the DALI bus twin lead passing by all the light fittings in the house. I would imagine controlling the dimming using Vera scenes and Z-Wave scene controllers, rather than using the DALI scene controllers.
What are you using for the DALI bus power supply and bus controller; any problems with the Wiznet IP to RS232 PCB?
You also said you weren’t happy with the plugin code you’ve written. Looks pretty good to me. Has the plugin any downsides? Is most of the DALI functionality in place? Also I couldn’t find any detail on the command structure.
It just seems this sort of setup would dim LEDs lights in a much more satisfactory manner than using traditional phase dimmers. Let alone the ability to (re)group lights and to set up scenes.
That's about $75 (AUD) per light. Expensive but for a new house build may make sense? Just needs the DALI bus twin lead passing by all the light fittings in the house. I would imagine controlling the dimming using Vera scenes and Z-Wave scene controllers, rather than using the DALI scene controllers.
For a new house you could go down this track but you still have the issue of hardwired switches unless you are doing away with them all together. If you have wall switches for a perfect system you would also need to run control wires to each switch and install something like this: -
But as you say you can control everything from the Vera.
What are you using for the DALI bus power supply and bus controller; any problems with the Wiznet IP to RS232 PCB?
I am using this http://www.creativelighting.com.au/didio any DALI controller with serial interface should be controllable via a Ethernet RS232 converter for example the Wiznet.
You also said you weren't happy with the plugin code you've written. Looks pretty good to me. Has the plugin any downsides? Is most of the DALI functionality in place? Also I couldn't find any detail on the command structure.
The major drawback was the requirement for polling. Most of the basic functionality was in place but testing was very limited as I only had the one DALI device and one controller and plugin needs a multi-device and multi-controller environment to be tested correctly. I will need to dig up what I put together for command structure as it has been to long
It just seems this sort of setup would dim LEDs lights in a much more satisfactory manner than using traditional phase dimmers. Let alone the ability to (re)group lights and to set up scenes.
Yes definitely the way to go specially with the grouping and multi-master available under DALI.
I’m working on the basis that any automation added around the house can be ignored and/or removed if necessary. I think the lights would be wired as per normal mains wiring but the (normal) switches linked out if the DALI dimming was installed. Or as you suggest, you could just have another wall plate with one of these behind it, as long as the bus was behind the wall:
I hadn’t realized the gateways did anything special API wise. I thought they just converted RS232 into the DALI electrical Manchester encoded interface but it appears they wrap a few extra bytes around the DALI data to do some other minor stuff. Thus making an “Open standard” proprietary! I guess this allows them to differentiate themselves via the office management software systems they sell/license.
The gateway I was interested in, appears to have two “APIs”. The one described on the last two pages of this PDF seems to be the current preference:
Wondering if you have a link to the API info, for the gateway you are using?
With Zoot1612’s agreement I have might substantial changes to his initial plugin. Please find the updated plugin attached. Refer to PDF file. The DALI API is complex and there is still plenty of room for improvement. If any bugs are to be reported, please provide associated log file info as well.
Edit - the “DALI Planet” plugin code can be found in the AltUI app store or on GitHub here:
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