5 Core flex for Dali still ok ?

[streetlighter 1]

HI
Under the latest regs can we still wire domestic lights using 5 or 6 core flex for Dali circuits
230v and 16v Dali bus in the same flexible cable all the way back to the central controller

Thank you
Paul

 

[Deleted account]

Whats a Dali circuit?

 

[plugsandsparks]

Hope so, lol. Dali has never been Selv as far as i can remember. You need mains rated cable anyway so might as well run it in 5 core.

 

[James]

different voltages can be passed down the same multicore cable, as long as the ends are suitably identified and the voltage rating of the cable is at least as high as the highest voltage to be encountered.

 

[westward10]

Whats a Dali circuit?

Digital Addressable Lighting Interface.

 

[Deleted account]

Digital Addressable Lighting Interface.

Thanks ive heard of them, but they are a bit dated now with the introduction of kinetic switches. Ive fitted load they are=brilliant. Cheap, easy to install and no mess.

 

[loz2754]

The only recent regulation change to domestic lighting circuits is the requirement for 30mA RCD protection.

 

[streetlighter 1]

Thanks for all the advise

Im doing more and more Dali now & DMX lighting in domestic and commercial
I design and build home automation cabinets for Teletask home automation
Quite a confusion between different electricians if they can use flex's at all
Or lay 230v and bus cables within a foot of each other let alone in the same cable

Paul

 

[plugsandsparks]

Thanks for all the advise

Im doing more and more Dali now & DMX lighting in domestic and commercial
I design and build home automation cabinets for Teletask home automation
Quite a confusion between different electricians if they can use flex's at all
Or lay 230v and bus cables within a foot of each other let alone in the same cable

Paul

Have been doing Dali, DMX and KNX for a while now. Dali is by far the best system for lighting by a country mile, virtually bomb proof , lol

The main issue, which i think is not well understood, is the actual drivers and gateways and the like have the mains power 230V along side the Dali 2 wire bus, there is no electrical separation as we would expect in the actual appliance , therefore you treat the Dali bus as a 4th and 5th line wire and must be rated for that voltage. You could not use say Cat6 for the Dali bus, that would be a no-no. It would need to be either a 2 core flex rated at 230V / 500 or the 4th and 5th core of a flex. Personally i have found flex the most versatile as you can ferrule it at the control cabinet end and then wire directly into appliance that are made for flex connections.