For more than 30 years, Egoluce has been using TCI products to create lighting fixtures

 

The collaboration with TCI has played a significant role in enhancing Egoluce collections through the use of TCI’s modern technologies and yearly improvements that have led TCI products to become more technically advanced, certified and efficient.

 

The dimmability of light

Creating comfortable and aesthetically beautiful spaces requires more than fine furnishing and accessories. It is essential to pay close attention to the lighting design, which must be able to modulate the light in the environment. A dimmable lighting system can adjust the intensity of the light beam to manage each area of the project via lighting management software independently governing each project fixture. From dimmers dedicated to illuminating single spots or rooms to large spaces and installations inside museums or theatres, in Retail or Hospitality, applications where precise control of light is required are now increasingly common.

 

What is meant by “dimmer”

A dimmer is a device that allows the user to adjust light intensity by lowering or raising it at will. It is an intensity dimmer that modulates the load power of a light source, applicable to various types of lamps with great benefits concerning energy saving. The lighting changes its appearance as the intensity changes, giving intimate atmospheres as needed and improving visual comfort. The entire mood of the room transforms by changing intensity and creating fascinating plays of light and shadows that light up the walls and become a furnishing element, giving character and personality to the environment. The choice of dimmable lighting thus becomes a choice of style with simple functionality.

 

The advantages of using dimmers

The use of dimmable lighting systems has revolutionized the lighting world, bringing significant advantages over traditional devices in particular:

– High efficiency: lower energy dissipation in dimmers, and the light modulation also allows power consumption to vary, reducing it when necessary.

– Greater savings: lighting systems constantly working at full power need high energy volumes, thus increasing energy consumption. By using light dimmers, the cost-benefit ratio

increases dramatically.

– Longer Lifetime: energy-saving LED bulbs, spotlights, reflectors, or strips can run longer and more efficiently.

 

Dimming light

Light dimming can happen through two devices:

– Dimmable LED drivers: LED ballasts designed both to supply power to components and to allow control of light intensity;

– Dimmer LEDs: devices used exclusively for dimming light through the PWM modulation technique or other control systems.

Beam dimming is done through direct control (switches, knobs, panels, etc.) or remotely (from wireless remotes to smartphone apps), while the general operation of dimmers is through control systems with analogic technology or standard digital systems, additional functionality to control colour temperature, switching from warm to cold lighting and vice versa.

 

Which dimmers and drivers to use

No dimmer or driver is considered universal and suitable for every single application. According to the specific needs, the users must evaluate their choices carefully.

Among the various types of dimmers and drivers, the most widely used are:

 

DALI

Regulation using the DALI-2 (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface) digital interface denotes an evolution in analogical regulation. The most important producers of electronic drivers jointly developed this interface to create a standard regulation for the lighting engineering industry worldwide.

MAIN FEATURES OF THE DALI REGULATION

– memory function of light scenes;

– messages for the breakdown or end of life of the lamp;

– possibility to assign a unique address to each connected device

– DALI part 251 Luminaire Data: through proper programming, the producer of the luminaire can store in the driver all information concerning their luminaries (production date, CCT, CRI, name of the item, etc.

– DALI part 252 Energy Data: through the master DALI within the installation, the end user can check in real-time all consumptions and many other features on the drivers

– DALI part 253: through the DALI master within the installation, the end user can check if a fault or some anomaly occurred inside it, providing a prediction to the end user that may draw up a preventive maintenance plan to ensure no stop working and saving cost.

 

D4i

Intelligent D4i luminaires are ideal platforms for the IoT, capable of gathering information from onboard D4i sensors and providing data for performance monitoring, asset management, predictive maintenance, and many other tasks. Communication and data exchange with an external network can take place via a D4i control device with wireless communication capabilities.

D4i is an extension of the DALI-2 certification program. D4i LED drivers have mandatory set features related to power supply requirements and smart-data capabilities.

 

CASAMBI

Casambi is a wireless Bluetooth-based protocol. Developed mainly for residential use, they are increasingly popular even for professional, industrial, and outdoor systems. Thanks to the TCI driver and the user-friendly APP, the end user is open to creating:

– Lighting control of DT6 and DT8 (TW and RGBW) system;

– Schedule different scenario scenes;

– Schedule circadian cycle and many other possible solutions.

 

CLO

CLO (Constant Lumen Output) functionality guarantees into the market better handling of the led sources in terms of lifetime and performance.

Thanks to this feature, available only on dimmable LED drivers, it is possible to set a pre-programmed curve between hours/lifetime of the light sources and output power into the driver. Current values will increase by the driver itself, following the step hours before being programmed. That functionality compensates for the standard decrease in the luminous flux of an LED module over its entire lifetime.

Moreover, in specific installations like offices, schools, etc., where the flux on the works surface has to be always within a definite range – defined by the lighting consultant – this functionality becomes increasingly relevant and requested in the market.

 

DC EMERGENCY

Most TCI drivers are conceived to work in AC (Alternate Current) and DC (Direct Current). Usually, DC supply applies to specific installations where a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) covers any missing AC supply, such as in hospitals, offices, etc.