DALI-2: the wired default
For any project where cabling is being installed anyway, DALI-2 is the sensible backbone. It addresses fittings individually, reports faults, and is supported by essentially every serious manufacturer. It needs a control cable to every fitting, which is only a problem in retrofit.
Casambi: retrofit and small projects
Bluetooth mesh control removes the control cable entirely, which makes it the obvious answer in occupied buildings and heritage fabric. The trade-off is commissioning that lives on a phone and a mesh whose reliability depends on node density. Excellent under about 150 fittings.
DMX and RDM: colour and movement
Where facades change colour or effects run to a timeline, DMX remains the right tool — it was built for fast, synchronised, high-channel-count control. RDM adds the addressing and feedback that make a large facade maintainable.
Mixing protocols
Most large projects use two or three, bridged through gateways. That is fine, provided one system owns the scene logic. Two systems both trying to set the same zone is the most common cause of lights that appear to have a mind of their own.
