Interfaces or 'Gateways' enable the exchange of signals and data between different data networks or bus systems. Where several control systems are used in a building, the data needs to be transferred between these systems. Lighting control systems can be integrated as subsystems into a building management system by means of a gateway. In the same manner, gateways can be used, for example, for DALI lighting control systems to activate 1V-10V controllers for the sun screening equipment.
The word 'interface' can have several other meanings. It can be used to describe the control protocol itself (the type of electrical data signal) eg. DALI; it can mean the hardware used to send and receive such signals, eg. 'control gear with an integral interface'; it can also be taken to mean the 'human interface' - the control surface with which the user interacts, eg. a button, a GUI, etc.