Gateways

Another possibility is the use of so-called gateways. They transfer BMS commands to a lighting interface since a direct connection of luminaires to the BMS bus line is not possible due to the facts that

• luminaire control gear units usually do not feature BMS interfaces, and

• direct operation of luminaires at the BMS bus would unnecessarily burden the bus.

Gateways in work place lighting are usually DALI gateways (see figure), but DMX gateways and gateways to other interfaces are also commercially available. In this context, they do not merely assume the task of translating BMS commands to the lighting interface one-to-one. They also execute automated processes optimised for the functioning principles of the respective lighting interface. For instance, light scenes can be defined at the lighting interface level or monitoring functions can be executed without BMS involvement.