Commissioning tutorial part 1: Introduction and setup

With the basic building blocks covered (if you missed them, see the earlier introductions to DALI, to the zencontrol hardware, to networked lighting controls and to the zencontrol Software), the next step is to introduce the key zencontrol concepts and tools through the step-by-step commissioning of some model site scenarios.

The zencontrol system is flexible, and customers have many different needs and preferences. Over time you'll develop a strong understanding which allows you to satisfy complex requirements as they arise, but you'll also notice that many of the situations you encounter will be familiar.

In this guide we'll try to cover the most common requirements and present the most suitable solution to each. For practical purposes we'll keep things small and easy to reason about so that you can follow along on your own hardware, and it's highly recommended that you do.

Note: If you haven't created a zencontrol account, now is a good time to do so. Visit https://login.zencontrol.com/register/zc-account and follow the prompts.

Goals

By the end of this set of tutorials we'll have covered the following tasks:

• Creating a site and adding floors and control systems
• Troubleshooting basic electrical install issues
• Updating controllers and devices
• Addressing and grouping all devices
• Configuring PIRs and switches
• Daylight dimming / daylight harvesting
• Setting up scenes
• Sequences (basic occupancy as well as some more advanced applications)
• Circadian rhythm / tuneable white
• Profiled behaviour
• Fire alarm integration
• Partition switches

Hardware

To follow along you'll need the following hardware. It's enough for two DALI lines - although many of the scenarios will only require one control system, the networked scenarios will require at least two.

• 2x zencontrol Application Controller Pro (zc-controller-pro) OR 1x zencontrol Application Controller Pro 3 (zc-controller-pro-3).
• 2x DALI power supplies (zc-psu or zc-psu-70)
• 2 or more DALI 2 compliant luminaires (the more the better). We'll also cover setting up tuneable white, and to implement that section you'll need your luminaires to support DT8 tuneable white.
• 1 or more DALI Emergency (DT1) devices.
• 2 or more DALI PIRs (zc-pir)
• 1 or more DALI switch interfaces (zc-switch)
• Optional: 1 or more DALI relays (zc-relay)
• 1x router with internet access
• 1x android phone
• 1x computer or laptop

Safety

• These products must only be installed by a licensed electrician.
• Before commencing or modifying installation, turn off and isolate the electrical supply.
• DALI is not SELV and as such should be treated as LV.
• It is your responsibility to ensure you comply to all relevant building and safety codes.

Setup

As the goal here is to simulate real-world commissioning scenarios with minimal equipment, we're going to spread the installation across two control systems. If you have more equipment than the above, distribute the extra pieces evenly across the two systems.

1. Install the components according to the instructions provided with the equipment.
2. Connect the DALI from each power supply to the DALI terminals of a controller (or, in the case of an AC3, an output of the controller), one luminaire, one PIR and 1 switch interface.
3. Add an emergency device to one of the DALI lines you've created.

The following DALI line is an example taken from the Application Controller instruction leaflet. You should end up with two lines which look like that (give or take the DALI relay, an emergency device and some additional luminaires). Note that these PIRs and switches are powered from the DALI line:

Initial checks

At this point, there are a few checks we can do to ensure that everything is functioning correctly. These are the same checks that you might suggest to an electrician on site to allow them to verify their installation.

1. Check the controller Status LEDs

The controller will display its current status via the status LEDs on its front panel. The following table is an excerpt from the instruction manual:

We can see from the above that if there is a red light then the unit is not detecting any DALI power, indicating that there is a short or that the power supply has not been connected.

Start up and commits: The controller does a lot of work to keep the DALI line functioning properly. This includes addressing newly-added devices, moving devices around logically to avoid address conflicts, asserting sane configurations and pushing changes made by the cloud out to their destination (these are commonly called "commits", eg. "The controller is currently in a commit"). It will usually indicate that these functions are running via the synchronised yellow flash of the status LEDs.

These functions can take some time, depending on the number and types of devices on the line, but if they seem to be running repeatedly or don't seem to end after a few minutes with only a few devices connected, then that can be indicative of a problematic driver on the line.  When we get to further sections we'll be able to diagnose this scenario a bit further.

2. Check luminaire functioning

If you short-press the button on the controller labeled 'On/off', the controller will broadcast Recall max and Off, and all connected ECGs should respond accordingly. If you hold the button for 5 seconds and then release, the controller will enter an "identify" routine which will toggle slowly between Recall max and off, as well as sending a command to instruct the emergency devices to identify.

If any fittings don't toggle, check their power and DALI connections.

3. Check PIR functioning

When first powered, the PIRs will blink their LED once per second for a short time while their sensors warm up. After that, they'll blink when they detect movement.

If the PIR doesn't flash, check its DALI connection.