Led wiring

[Barryscotland]

Have 8 led strip lights I was going to use in workshop, upon opening to wire they are not strip lights as thought but lots of individual leds. The wiring is for 5 wires, presume 2 are control wires? I wired up the live n neutral and they do work at that but not very bright. Can they be brighter if control wires are used or are they just dull lights? 

[Nickfromwales]

5 hours ago, Barryscotland said:

Have 8 led strip lights I was going to use in workshop, upon opening to wire they are not strip lights as thought but lots of individual leds. The wiring is for 5 wires, presume 2 are control wires? I wired up the live n neutral and they do work at that but not very bright. Can they be brighter if control wires are used or are they just dull lights? 

Wiring diagram please!?

[Nickfromwales]

Looks like you've bought 'commercial' units. DALI stuff needs external control.

 

https://www.nvcuk.com/technical-support/view/what-is-dali-8

[Barryscotland]

Do you no what the controller does? Is it likely to make them brighter than they are with the live n neutral wired up? 

[Spinny]

So...

Quote

AI Overview

 

DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) controls LED brightness by sending digital commands over a dedicated two-wire bus to an intelligent LED driver, which then adjusts the electrical output to the LEDs. [1, 2]

How the Process Works

• Digital Commands: A controller sends a specific numerical brightness value (from 0 to 254) down the DALI bus to an individual light, a group, or all fixtures at once. [1, 2]

• The LED Driver: The DALI driver inside the fixture receives this digital message. It interprets the instruction and changes the power delivered to the LED diodes. [1]

• Logarithmic Dimming Curve: DALI uses a standardized logarithmic dimming curve rather than a linear one. Because human eyes perceive light intensity logarithmically, this curve ensures that brightness changes look smooth and natural to the human eye. [1, 2, 3]

• Internal Regulation: The driver handles the physical dimming—typically via Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) or Constant Current Reduction (CCR)—while maintaining stable mains power to the fixture itself. [1]

 

[Spinny]

And...

 

Quote

AI Overview

 

With a DALI-controlled LED light, the brightness in the absence of a DALI signal depends entirely on the pre-configured System Failure Level stored inside the LED driver (control gear). [1, 2]

DALI Fallback Behavior

• Default Setting: For most standard DALI drivers straight from the factory, the default system failure level is 100% brightness (full power). [1, 2]

• Custom Configuration: Using DALI configuration software (like DALI Cockpit), the fallback brightness can be programmed to any specific value from 0% (off) to 100%, or set to hold the last known level. [1, 2]

• Safety Purpose: This fail-safe mechanism ensures that if the control cable breaks, the DALI bus loses power, or the digital controller stops working, the building does not plunge into total darkness. [1, 2]

If you want to check or change this setting for your specific hardware, let me know:

• The manufacturer/model of your LED driver
• Whether you are experiencing an active bus failure or a fresh installation power-up

 

[Nickfromwales]

One assumes they’d come on ‘full chat’ with no control signal present. Not seen or fitted these before though. 

[Spinny]

HATO appear to make agricultural lighting. Do yours look like this...https://www.hatolightingsolutions.com/hwdk-c-led/    ?

 

And if so...

Quote

For the HATO HWDK-C LED (24W) agricultural driver, the default brightness level in the absence of a DALI signal is 100% (full brightness). [1, 2]

Because HATO specifically engineers these drivers for poultry and livestock house lighting, they strictly adhere to standard DALI emergency/fail-safe protocols: [1, 2]

 

 

• The Factory Default: If the DALI communication bus is completely disconnected or lacks power, the driver triggers its internal "System Failure Level", which defaults to 100% intensity. This design prevents an agricultural shed from plunging into complete darkness during a control system fault, ensuring animal welfare. [1, 2, 3]
• Power-On Behavior: When the fixture is turned on via the main AC power switch without an active DALI controller actively managing it, it will immediately illuminate at 100%.

 

 

 

So quite probably you are seeing the full brightness (unless perhaps they are second hand and someone might have changed the default setting.)

 

Looks like they are 60V constant current LED strips rather than the more normal constant voltage type.

 

Good for chicken sheds apparently.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Spinny

[Spinny]

They are also labelled as 3000Kelvin colour temperature which is on the warm/organgey end - not ideal for task lighting, you would be better off with 4000K+