Lighting Scene Design for KNX + DALI Projects
Scene naming conventions, dimming levels per room type, colour temperature tables, KNX trigger architecture, and a complete pre-handover testing checklist.
Why scene design matters
Lighting scenes define the character of a space. A scene is not just "dim to 50%" — it is a carefully considered combination of which luminaires are active, at what arc level, at what colour temperature, and with what fade time. The combination transforms a room from a functional space into an experience.
Good scene design requires understanding the room, the activities that occur in it, and the emotional effect desired. It cannot be done at the commissioning laptop on the day of handover. It must be planned before any DALI scene values are written to ECG memory.
The most common KNX lighting failure
Most KNX projects fail at lighting not because of wiring or ETS programming errors, but because scenes were never properly thought through before commissioning. The result: every button does "50% warm white" and the client is underwhelmed despite a technically correct installation.
Scene naming convention
Use a consistent naming system across all rooms: [Room] [Activity] — for example "Living Room Welcome", "Bedroom Evening", "Kitchen Cooking", "Office Presentation". Avoid generic names like "Scene 1" or "Dim 50%" — these become meaningless at client handover and in the KNX project documentation.
Recommended DALI-2 scene index mapping
Scene 0 → Full bright (cleaning, emergency, maximum) Scene 1 → Comfort (working, cooking, standard occupied) Scene 2 → Evening (relaxed, post-work, social) Scene 3 → Night (minimal, corridor wayfinding) Scene 4 → Cinema / TV (very dim, accent only) Scene 5 → Off (with slow fade, not abrupt cut) Scenes 6–14: project-specific uses (circadian, meeting, etc.) Scene 15: reserved — do not use (some gateways use as "no scene")
This mapping is not mandated by IEC 62386 — it is a project convention. The important thing is to apply it consistently across every room so any installer or integrator can understand the scene table at a glance.
Scene values by room type
| Room | Scene | Dimming | Colour temp | Fade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Living room | Welcome | 80% | 3000 K | 2 s |
| Living room | Evening | 45% | 2700 K | 3 s |
| Living room | Cinema | 8% | 2700 K | 5 s |
| Living room | Night | 15% | 2200 K | 2 s |
| Bedroom | Day | 100% | 4000 K | 1 s |
| Bedroom | Evening | 40% | 2700 K | 3 s |
| Bedroom | Reading | 60% | 3000 K | 1.5 s |
| Bedroom | Night | 5% | 2200 K | 5 s |
| Kitchen | Cooking | 100% | 4000 K | 1 s |
| Kitchen | Casual | 60% | 3000 K | 2 s |
| Kitchen | Night | 20% | 2700 K | 2 s |
| Office | Presentation | 100% | 6500 K | 1 s |
| Office | Focus | 100% | 4000 K | 1 s |
| Office | Meeting | 70% | 3000 K | 2 s |
| Hotel room | Arrive | 80% | 3000 K | 1.5 s |
| Hotel room | Evening | 40% | 2700 K | 3 s |
| Hotel room | Sleep | 0% | — | 10 s |
| Hotel room | Cleaning | 100% | 6500 K | 1 s |
KNX trigger architecture
Scene triggers in KNX arrive from multiple sources — all converge on the same KNX group address (DPT 18.001, 8-bit scene value). One scene group address per room or zone is the cleanest architecture. Triggers include:
Pushbutton (Gira / Jung sensor)
Short press = toggle on/off; long press (≥0.4 s hold) = recall scene. Each button can be assigned to a scene number via ETS parameter. A 4-gang sensor covers 4 scene presets per room.
KNX time switch
Scheduled activation — e.g. 06:30 'Kitchen Cooking', 22:00 'Living Room Night'. Implemented in MDT Logic Controller or KNX IP router with built-in scheduler.
Presence sensor (PIR)
Room occupied → recall comfort scene; room unoccupied after hold time → recall 'off' scene (scene 5). Sensor sends DPT 18.001 to scene GA.
Security / alarm system
Armed away → broadcast Scene 5 (off) to all zones. Alarm trigger → broadcast Scene 0 (100% full bright) to all lighting groups. Via KNX binary input from alarm panel.
Apple HomeKit / Siri
Via Home Assistant KNX bridge or KNX IP interface. HomeKit scenes map to KNX DPT 18.001 values on the room's scene group address. No additional hardware needed if KNX IP is on the same LAN.
Colour temperature scenes
For DALI-2 DT8 (tunable white) devices, each scene stores both arc level and colour temperature (Tc in Kelvin). This enables circadian rhythm lighting — matching artificial light to the natural daylight colour shift across the day. Recommended circadian profile:
Circadian colour temperature profile
Time Scene Arc level Colour temp Effect 06:00–08:00 Morning wake 60% 5500 K Alerting, mimics dawn 08:00–17:00 Working day 100% 4000 K Productive, neutral 17:00–20:00 Evening wind 70% 3000 K Relaxing, warm 20:00–23:00 Night 35% 2700 K Melatonin-friendly 23:00–06:00 Minimal 5% 2200 K Near-darkness MDT DALI gateway: each scene row = arc_power + colour_temp (Mirek or K) Lunatone gateway: scene table has CCT column, accepts values in Kelvin
Colour temperature reference values
6500 K — daylight / presentation; 4000 K — cool white / office; 3000 K — warm white / residential; 2700 K — very warm / bedroom; 2200 K — candlelight / minimum evening.
Scene testing checklist
Complete before client handover. Every item must be verified by the commissioning engineer — not delegated to the client for self-testing.
Every scene activated from every trigger path (pushbutton, timer, presence sensor, scene panel, app).
Fade times verified — no abrupt transitions; long fades (cinema scene) feel smooth and intentional.
Emergency scenes work: panic button → all zones 100% full bright immediately.
Alarm scene works: security armed-away → all zones off (scene 5 broadcast confirmed).
Absence scenes: unoccupied rooms reach 0% after correct hold time (office: 10–15 min, corridor: 30 min).
Welcome / arrival scene activates on entry detection at main door.
Colour temperature transitions are visible and correct (tunable white installations only).
All scenes documented in handover sheet: scene number, room, activity, arc level %, CCT, fade time.
Client trained on scene recall from pushbutton and mobile app before sign-off.
Scenes designed before delivery — not after
We design lighting scenes as part of panel delivery: scene table, fade times, colour temperatures, and trigger mapping documented and verified before the panel ships.
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