Emergency Lighting and DALI Faults starts the mandatory tests of emergency luminaires on its own and turns the results into reports that meet the regulations, brings the global KNX DALI gateway brands, fault tracking, KNX status outputs and central alarm notification together in one place, and runs locally on the automation server: an emergency lighting testing and compliance application.
A life safety test cannot be postponed
Emergency lighting is a life safety system that lights the escape routes when the power fails or a fire breaks out; that is why emergency lighting regulations require luminaires to be tested regularly and the test records to be kept. The extent and the frequency of that obligation vary by country and by building type. Testing hundreds of luminaires by hand and keeping the records is a heavy load: a test is forgotten, a battery quietly dies, the records scatter, and when an inspection comes somebody goes looking for evidence. This application takes the load on; it starts the tests itself, tracks the faults, turns the result into a report and shows the current state of every luminaire on the building's graphic screen.
Two jobs: emergency luminaires and standard DALI lighting
The application covers not only the emergency luminaires but also the standard lighting that shares the same DALI line. On emergency luminaires the battery, the converter and the test state are monitored; on standard luminaires, lamp and ballast faults are tracked address by address. The state of both groups is written to the same screen, so the health of the building's emergency and everyday lighting is visible from one place.
Global KNX DALI gateway brands
A site can have DALI-KNX gateways from different manufacturers side by side; the application manages all of them in one list. The brands supported today:
- Siemens
- ABB
- Schneider
- LEGRAND
- Jung
- Berker
- B.E.G.
- Interra
- EAE
Several models are defined for each brand; some of them also run the emergency luminaire test, and the rest are used for standard DALI fault monitoring. When you pick the model while adding a gateway, the application decides for itself which does which job. The list is not closed: new brands are added with their own drivers.
Every brand with its own driver
The principle underneath the application is this: every manufacturer runs on its own separate driver. When a manufacturer updates its device software or shows some small difference, only its own driver is affected; the other brands on the site are not. That separation is what makes it possible to run different brands together in the same building and to add new ones over time without disturbing the existing installation.
It starts the tests itself and keeps the record itself
The mandatory tests run automatically on the schedule you set. One of two channels is chosen: the gateway tests on its own calendar and the application only reads the result, or the application schedules the test. On top of that, every installation has an instant test section; the function test, the duration test and stopping are run with one button. When a test finishes, the application reads the result itself: did the test pass or fail, how many minutes did the battery last, what is the charge percentage. Which channel to use is decided site by site; if the gateway has its own automatic test system, the application collects the results without disturbing it.
The standards behind it
The test regime in the application is built around the established principles of emergency lighting maintenance: EN 50172 for the short monthly function test and the annual duration test, and IEC/EN 62386-202 for the status and test reporting of DALI emergency lighting converters. Tests and result records are produced within that framework. This is a design and conformance approach.
Two reports, a logbook that writes itself
Two separate reports come out of the results: a test report for the emergency luminaires and a fault report for the standard lamps. The reports are downloaded from the browser as PDF; they are also sent by email weekly, monthly or as soon as a test finishes. Up to five recipients can be defined. So the logbook the regulations ask for is built without anyone keeping it by hand and stays current; when an inspection comes, the record showing that the system is tested regularly is already there.
The status, on the building's graphic screen
The application writes the live state of every luminaire to the building's graphic screen over KNX. When a luminaire icon on the floor plan goes into fault it turns red; when the operator clicks the icon, a window opens showing the test, battery and fault state. The application also counts the faults across the site and writes those to the screen as well: faulty lamps, faulty luminaires, battery faults, luminaires that failed their test. Because the status is carried as a number, the visualization works the same way in every language.
Faults drop into the central alarm list
When a fault or a failed test appears, the application reports it to Alert Plus together with its priority. Emergency lighting faults then appear in the same list as every other alarm in the building; prioritization, operator acknowledgment, the email summary, mobile notification and the record that cannot be deleted all come into play by themselves. The priorities are managed in the settings: a converter fault comes first, a luminaire that failed its test next, a standard lamp fault further back, and a test in progress as information only. When these priorities are saved, the alarm classes Alert Plus needs are created automatically with a suggested color and sound; a class you defined earlier is left untouched.
How Emergency Lighting and DALI Faults works: introduction
Running the mandatory tests of emergency luminaires automatically, reporting the results, monitoring DALI faults, and dropping faults into the central alarm list.
Frequently asked questions
Which gateway brands are supported?
Siemens, ABB, Schneider, LEGRAND, Jung, Berker, B.E.G., Interra and EAE gateways are supported. Several models are defined for each brand; some of them run the emergency luminaire test, and the rest are used for standard DALI fault monitoring. The list is not closed; new brands are added with their own drivers.
Do gateways from different brands work together in the same building?
Yes. Because every brand runs on its own separate driver, the gateways are managed side by side in the same list; a change in one brand does not affect the others.
Which tests are run, and how often?
A short function test and a full duration test. Within the EN 50172 framework the typical choice is monthly for the function test and annually for the duration test; the frequency is changed in the settings. The tests run automatically at night on the planned day, and they can also be started by hand.
How are the reports obtained?
The emergency luminaire test report and the standard lamp fault report are downloaded from the browser as PDF. When email sending is switched on, the test report goes out as soon as a test finishes and the lamp fault report weekly or monthly, to up to five recipients.
Does it work without Alert Plus installed?
No. Because the application passes every fault it catches to the central alarm manager, Alert Plus has to be installed. The right order is to install Alert Plus first and this application after it.
Does it depend on the cloud?
No. The tests, the fault tracking, the reports and the KNX status outputs all run locally on the automation server; email notification is an optional channel.
Do I have to replace my existing emergency luminaires?
No. The application works over the DALI luminaires in the field and the existing KNX-DALI gateways. No luminaire has to be replaced; the gateways are introduced to the list and monitoring begins.
How many luminaires can be monitored?
The limit is the number of DALI lines and gateways on the site. One DALI line carries at most sixty-four addresses; by defining several gateways, the whole site is brought into one list.
Emergency Lighting and DALI Faults is included in the BMS license and installs from the store in Sona Application Center.
The application runs on the Sona BMS automation server. If touch panels are wanted on the site, SonaHMI panels connect to the same platform.
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