Comparison
DMX512 vs On-Off Lighting Control
Control decides what a lighting installation can do after it is installed. The Lesan models offer their control methods model by model; the choice between DMX512 and simple switching should be made at the same time as the model choice.
What each method gives you
On-off control gives you one state: the fitting is on at its set colour and output, or it is off. It is the right answer for static-white architectural lighting, pond lighting that runs on a timer, and any project where the scene never changes. DMX512 gives you addressed, per-fitting or per-group control of colour and intensity, sequenced in real time — the basis of fountain shows, colour-wash facades and any programme that changes through the evening. Between them sit DALI and 0-10V, which dim and group fittings on building systems without DMX's show orientation; several underwater models offer those methods as well.
Control by model
| LX-UD005 | ON OFF / DMX512 / DALI / 0-10V |
|---|---|
| LX-SC009 | DMX512 / DALI / 0-10V |
| LX-BG84786 | DALI only |
| LX-UD-001A | DMX512 / DALI / 0-10V |
| LX-LNW465P | ON OFF / DMX512 / DALI / 0-10V |
| LX-XT-001 | DMX512 control; on-off control |
| LX-TG-010 and bar flood light | DMX512 controller / on-off controller |
Choosing
If the programme ever changes colour or runs a sequence, the DMX512 variant is the only route, and the controller, addressing plan and cable runs join the bill of materials. If the installation is static, on-off avoids all of that — but the variant decision is made at order time, because the control method is a property of the shipped configuration. The DMX512 control guide plans the DMX side in detail, and the colour-capable models are grouped on the RGBW DMX series page.
Confirm before ordering
Name the control method in your inquiry — on-off, DMX512, DALI or 0-10V — and confirm the shipped configuration carries that method before ordering.
The middle methods, honestly placed
DALI and 0-10V sit in most of the underwater models' control options, and they answer a real brief: a building that wants its exterior and water lighting dimmed, grouped and scheduled from the same system as its interior, without show sequencing. DALI brings addressing and feedback on a building bus; 0-10V brings simple analogue dimming for small, contained schemes. Neither runs a fountain show. Buyers sometimes discover at commissioning that the "controllable" system they bought dims beautifully and sequences not at all — a discovery made painless by naming the actual programme (static, dimmed scenes, or sequenced colour) in the first inquiry and matching the method to it.
Decision checklist
- Will the programme ever change colour or sequence? DMX512, and only DMX512, does that job here.
- Will it dim or follow a building schedule? DALI or 0-10V variants cover it.
- Will it simply be on or off? The on-off variant is the honest, cheapest configuration.
- Does every model in the scheme offer the chosen method in its own specification — not by family resemblance?
Cost shape, briefly
The cost difference between the two methods is rarely in the fittings themselves; it sits in the infrastructure around them — controller, data cabling, addressing time at commissioning, and the programming of scenes. A static installation that buys DMX512 pays that infrastructure cost for capability it never calls on. A show installation that buys on-off saves the infrastructure money and spends the difference later, with interest, on a refit. Decide by the programme, and the money follows correctly in both directions.