Crydom is one of several manufacturers of solid-state relays (SSR). Yes, an SSR is basically a triac with an opto-isolated trigger. Here's a good video explaining how to create a dimmer using an ardunio & SSR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y5AxWws0tI
I stopped researching Omnibus when I realized they didn't have a DMX module. Maybe I stopped too soon, but I wanted to look for other options. I did learn that:
1 - DALI is more of a European standard and US support may not be as good. There seems to be some concern about finding drivers that fully support the DALI protocol. For example, some drivers may not offer dimming.;
2 - DALI is focused on building lighting, where DMX has its origins in theatrical lighting. As such, DALI is suitable for on/of & dimming while DMX is suitable for On, Off, Dimming and RGB. There are a lot of DMX products available, so there are probably some products available to suit unusual needs (like the RS-232 DMX controller Picta previously suggested for control from the Omni Pro) I know DMX is used by some of the Christmas light fanatics to control their mega-displays.
@Fred - The Loxone system is probably the closest of any system I've seen that fulfills my HA goals. However, I guess my biggest concern is the lack on inventory on their website. It makes me wonder if they are serious about supporting the US market. It also gets a bit pricey as you add more IO. If I go with all 24vdc controls, I'm looking at a lot of digital inputs. From a technical stand point, I'd like to know what the trigger voltage is on the 24v inputs (how much voltage drop can it handle?)
I'm still pondering whether it makes sense to go all low-voltage controls, or some hybrid of line-voltage and low-voltage controls.
I stopped researching Omnibus when I realized they didn't have a DMX module. Maybe I stopped too soon, but I wanted to look for other options. I did learn that:
1 - DALI is more of a European standard and US support may not be as good. There seems to be some concern about finding drivers that fully support the DALI protocol. For example, some drivers may not offer dimming.;
2 - DALI is focused on building lighting, where DMX has its origins in theatrical lighting. As such, DALI is suitable for on/of & dimming while DMX is suitable for On, Off, Dimming and RGB. There are a lot of DMX products available, so there are probably some products available to suit unusual needs (like the RS-232 DMX controller Picta previously suggested for control from the Omni Pro) I know DMX is used by some of the Christmas light fanatics to control their mega-displays.
@Fred - The Loxone system is probably the closest of any system I've seen that fulfills my HA goals. However, I guess my biggest concern is the lack on inventory on their website. It makes me wonder if they are serious about supporting the US market. It also gets a bit pricey as you add more IO. If I go with all 24vdc controls, I'm looking at a lot of digital inputs. From a technical stand point, I'd like to know what the trigger voltage is on the 24v inputs (how much voltage drop can it handle?)
I'm still pondering whether it makes sense to go all low-voltage controls, or some hybrid of line-voltage and low-voltage controls.