DALI VS DMX Lighting Control
With the advent of technology, intelligent lighting control systems have enabled energy savings and improved energy efficiency in offices, buildings, theaters and other places. Lighting controls like DMX and DALI are some very popular variants. They use automatic dimming control to save energy.
To compare DMX and DALI lighting controls, you must know the commands for each lighting fixture. Once you understand the work and functionality of each control, you will be able to easily identify the differences.
1. About DALI
In the DALI lighting control system, multiple luminaires are connected by using multiple control panels. It is like a decentralized system that is individually controlled to dim light through each control panel. The DALI controller uses two wires as the control line, and it can cover a maximum distance of 300 meters. Each DALI controller can be connected to a mix of 64 lighting fixtures, handling approximately 254 brightness levels from "off" to "on" mode.
2. About DMX
In contrast to DALI, DMX uses a single control panel to control all lighting fixtures. It is a centralized lighting control system compared to the decentralized DALI. The DMX has multiple tap connectors that use RS422 or RS485 to connect more luminaries in a single connection. The color of the lamp can also be controlled by using DMX, which is not possible in DALI connections.
3. The difference between DMX and DALI
1) DMX or digital multiplexing is a fast speed control system, while DALI or digital addressable lighting interface is a slow control system.
2) DMX can have up to 512 connections, while DALI can only have a maximum of 64 connections.
3) In the DMX system, automatic addressing cannot be performed while the automatic addressing is possible in the DALI system.
4) Although the cable length is 300 meters in both systems, the cable requirement is Cat-5 in DMX.
5) DMX is a centralized control panel while DALI is a decentralized control system.