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DALI tunable white

Step by step - add a DALI-DMX-Unit-02 and control tunable white DALI lights (brightness and colour temperature).

A tunable white light can change both its brightness and its colour temperature — from warm white to cool white. In iDM3 you control these lights with the DALI-DMX-Unit-02.

One DALI-DMX-Unit-02 controls two tunable white lights, called Unit I and Unit II.

Channel A and Channel B

Every tunable white light uses two channels:

Channel
In iDM3
What it does
Range

Channel A

UnitI-chanelA, UnitII-chanelA

Brightness – how bright the light is

0 – 100 %

Channel B

UnitI-chanelB, UnitII-chanelB

Colour change – from warm white to cool white

0 – 100 %

Channel A = brightness, Channel B = colour. Wire them separately: one control for brightness and one for colour.

In short: add the DALI master, give each light a DALI address in the Dali manager, add a DALI-DMX-Unit-02, type the two addresses into the unit's parameters, then wire Channel A (brightness) and Channel B (colour) with Analog functions.

What you need

You need
Why

A CU3-09M central unit

It has the built-in DALI master (Internal-DALI-Master).

A DALI bus power supply

The DALI bus is not powered from the iNELS BUS.

Tunable white DALI lights (DT8)

Ordinary DALI lights can't change colour — use the DALI unit for those.

Lights with DALI addresses

Each light needs one address (step 2).

How it looks in the project

The address is set on the unit, not on the channels. This is different from the DALI unit, where every channel has its own address.

Step 1 — Add the DALI master (only once)

The Dali manager can only talk to a DALI master that is in your project. Skip this step if Internal-DALI-Master is already there.

  1. Project ribbon tab → Device manager.

  2. Select the central unit → New unit → Internal-DALI-Master → OK.

  3. Close the Device manager and save.

Step 2 — Address the lights in the Dali manager

New DALI lights come without an address, so give them one first. This is done in the Dali manager, while connected to the central unit.

Full reference: the Dali manager is described in detail on the DALI page — see 21.2 Getting to the Dali manager, 21.3 The toolbar and 21.4 Addressing.

Open the Dali manager

  1. Connect iDM3 to the central unit.

  2. Managers ribbon tab → Dali manager.

  3. Select Internal-DALI-Master (double-click it, or select it and click ✓ OK).

Give the lights an address

Situation
Button to use
What happens

First time – no light has an address yet

New DALI

Deletes all addresses and gives every light a new one.

Adding lights to a working installation

Add new

Addresses only the new lights. Existing ones stay.

Just checking what is on the bus

Search

Reads the current addresses. Changes nothing.

Never use New DALI on a working installation. It gives every light a new, random address, so all your buttons will control the wrong lights. To add lights, use Add new.

Find out which light is which

  1. Press Search. The list on the left shows every light it found.

  2. Select a light and press TEST. The physical light blinks.

  3. Write down which address belongs to which light.

Change an address (optional)

The addresses are given in random order. To make them easier to work with (for example, all lights in one room next to each other):

  1. Select the light in the list.

  2. Click its address (DALI 0x..) and type the new one.

  3. Click Change address.

  4. Press Search again to check.

A red exclamation mark next to a light means two lights have the same address. Select it, click Delete address, then give it a new one.

Write down your address list

One tunable white light has one DALI address — Channel A and Channel B share it.

DALI address
Light
Unit in iDM3

0x04 (4)

Office light 1

Unit I

0x05 (5)

Office light 2

Unit II

You will need this list in the next steps — and the next time someone changes a light.

The Dali manager shows addresses in hexadecimal (0x0A). In iDM3 you type a normal number (10). See the hex to decimal table.

Step 3 — Add the tunable white unit

  1. In the Device manager, select Internal-DALI-Master.

  2. Click New unit → DALI-DMX-Unit-02 → OK.

  3. Give the unit a Description, for example Office tunable lights.

Step 4 — Enter the addresses

  1. Select the DALI-DMX-Unit-02 itself (not a channel).

  2. Fill in its two parameters:

Parameter
Values
What to enter

DALI/DMX address unit I

0 – 63

The DALI address of the first light.

DALI/DMX address unit II

0 – 63

The DALI address of the second light.

  1. Give the channels clear names, for example Office light 1 – brightness (Channel A) and Office light 1 – colour (Channel B).

  2. Close the Device manager and save.

Only one tunable light? Set unit I and simply don't wire the UnitII channels. Unit II still points at address 0.

Step 5 — Place the lights in the project

  1. Design workspace tab → Controls ribbon tab → drag a dimmable light icon onto the plan.

  2. Click it → Connect → double-click UnitI-chanelA (Channel A – brightness).

  3. Add a second control for UnitI-chanelB (Channel B – colour).

  4. Repeat for Unit II if you use it.

Step 6 — Wire the brightness (Channel A)

Channel A is a normal dimmer. Use the Analog functions from Tutorial 3 — dimming:

Button action
Function
Result

Short down

ANALOG_SWITCH

On / off

Long down

ANALOG_LEVEL_UP

Brighter while you hold

Long up

ANALOG_STOP_LEVEL_CHANGE

Stops when you let go

Step 7 — Wire the colour (Channel B)

Channel B also works from 0 to 100 %. 0 % and 100 % are the two ends of the light's colour range — warm white at one end, cool white at the other. Everything in between is a mix.

The easiest way to control colour is with fixed levels, using Analog set level (or Analog set level w ramp for a smooth change):

Function (example)
Set up with
Result

COLOUR_END_A

Analog set level, value 0

One end of the range

COLOUR_MIDDLE

Analog set level, value 50

Neutral white

COLOUR_END_B

Analog set level, value 100

The other end of the range

You can also let the user adjust the colour by holding a button — use ANALOG_LEVEL_UP / ANALOG_LEVEL_DOWN with ANALOG_STOP_LEVEL_CHANGE, just like brightness.

Check which end is warm. After uploading, set Channel B to 0 % and then to 100 % and see which one is warm white. Name your functions to match (for example COLOUR_WARM and COLOUR_COOL).

Step 8 — Make a scene (optional)

A scene sets brightness and colour with one press. Wire one button to both channels:

Scene
Channel A (brightness)
Channel B (colour)

Morning

100 %

cool end

Work

80 %

middle

Evening

40 %

warm end

To control several tunable lights together, put all Channel A channels into one Analog group and all Channel B channels into another — see Tutorial 4 — groups and scenes.

Step 9 — Upload and test

  1. Compile and upload the project to the central unit.

  2. Check that the brightness and the colour of each light change as expected.

Troubleshooting

Problem
What to check

The light doesn't respond

Check DALI/DMX address unit I / II on the unit. Did you type the hex value by mistake?

Brightness works, but the colour doesn't change

Check that the colour control is wired to Channel B (chanelB), not Channel A. The light may also not be a tunable white (DT8) light.

Warm and cool are the wrong way round

Swap the levels in your colour functions (0 % ↔ 100 %).

The wrong light responds

Unit I and Unit II addresses may be swapped. Check with TEST in the Dali manager.

No DALI light responds at all

Check the DALI bus power supply and the DALI wiring.

Nothing changed after editing

Compile and upload the project.

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