CBUS - with all lights over DALI?

Hi all,

I’m planning a new C-Bus install and considering using DALI exclusively for all lighting — dimmable, non-dimmable, and RGB — using DALI drivers and the new SpaceLogic DALI gateway with DT8 support for RGB/TW less for colour, more fade to warmer lights as the sun goes down.

The idea is to:

• Reduce power cable runs (a circuit per area vs direct per channel)
  
  
• Use C-Bus purely for reliable logic/control and wall switches
  
  
• Rely on DALI for grouping, scenes, and driver-level dimming

• Sensors like PIR and interop with other systems for non core automations and will use HA integration.

I’ve installed C-Bus before (2010 era) and happy to handle DALI commissioning, but before committing, I’d love feedback from anyone who’s gone down this path:

1. Any real downsides to going DALI with cBus for lighting?
   
   
2. Is the new SpaceLogic gateway straightforward? I don’t mind setup pain, more concerned about inlife reliability.
   
   
3. Any C-Bus/DALI quirks or limitations I should know?
   
   
4. Would you still use C-Bus relays/dimmers for anything?
   

Appreciate any thoughts or lessons learned.

Thanks!

 

Hi Razor,

My place here has pretty much exactly what you are building.

With regards to commissioning via SpaceLogic for DALI, its not bad, but if you are used to other DALI programming approaches, its far from perfect. Not to say that it cant get the job done though.

I would stick for now with relays being on C-Bus, while I was programming my place, the software didnt support DALI relays meaning I had to take alternative methods to get them to work.

Depending on what approach you take for RGB controls, will depend on my thoughts here, if you stick with DT6 controls of RGB, its fairly straightforward, but DT8 controls could use a bit of polish IMO, albeit I only have TW lights that I try to control.

I would continue to maintain your scenes within C-Bus, this will make them easier to manage.

As for HA integration, plenty of us on the forums have solutions around this, myself included. It works well via MQTT out of the NAC/AC, but alternative options also exist too.

Cheers