IEC 62386-304:2017

Overview

IEC 62386-304:2017 (Edition 1.1 consolidated with Amendment 1, 2024) is part of the Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) series. It defines particular requirements for input devices - light sensors that deliver illuminance-level information to a DALI lighting control system. The standard specifies a digital bus system compatible with IEC 61347 requirements and includes support for DC supplies. IEC 62386-304 is intended to be used in conjunction with IEC 62386-101 and IEC 62386-103.

Key topics and technical requirements

The standard covers the functional and protocol-level details required for interoperable light-sensor input devices:

• Electrical specification and interface power supply - requirements for bus powering and device electrical behaviour.
• Transmission protocol structure and timing - message formats, timing constraints and event encoding for reporting illuminance values.
• Method of operation - instance types, input values, event generation and priority handling for illuminance events.
• Event and reporting controls - configuration of report timers, deadtime timers, hysteresis and event filters to control frequency and sensitivity of notifications.
• Commands and variables - declared device/instance variables and standard commands such as INPUT NOTIFICATION, POWER NOTIFICATION, SET EVENT FILTER, SET REPORT TIMER, SET HYSTERESIS, SET DEADTIME TIMER and related queries.
• Exception handling and diagnostics - handling physical sensor failure, manufacturer-specific errors and error-value reporting.
• Conformance & integration - how Part 304 extends the general input-device requirements in IEC 62386-103 for light-sensing instances.

Practical applications

IEC 62386-304 is used by professionals designing and integrating lighting control systems where automatic daylight or ambient-light regulation is required:

• Lighting-product manufacturers developing DALI-compatible light sensors and input modules.
• Control-system integrators implementing daylight harvesting, presence-aware dimming, or energy-saving strategies in commercial, retail and institutional buildings.
• Specifiers and consultants writing performance and interoperability requirements for smart lighting projects.
• Test laboratories and certification bodies validating compliance with DALI input-device behaviour and messaging.

Implementing devices to this standard enables reliable, interoperable illuminance reporting over the DALI bus for automated lighting controls and building-energy management.

Related standards

• IEC 62386-101: General requirements for system components
• IEC 62386-103: General requirements for control devices (input-device instances)
• IEC 61347: Requirements applicable to lamp controlgear

Keywords: IEC 62386-304, DALI, digital addressable lighting interface, light sensor, illuminance, lighting control, input devices, SET REPORT TIMER, SET HYSTERESIS.