DIALux Calculation

Intelligent Lighting Systems

Lighting specifications depict how the color and intensity of lighting will appear once installed.

Determine your energy consumption.

The 3D functionality allows for precise calculations of all lighting types, including interior, exterior, garden, and street lighting.

Design Using Existing Products

The selection of luminaire fixtures from online catalogs demonstrates exactly what the lighting will look like once installed.

How It Works ?

Step 1

Please send us the floor plan and any additional information.

Step 2

Our experts will go over the plans that have been shared.

Step 3

We create lighting plans in accordance with IES standards and local codes.

DIALux Calculations

Lighting systems that are well-designed provide just the right amount of light without sacrificing functionality or wasting energy. Of course, design elements vary greatly depending on whether the lighting is for the interiors of buildings, the exterior architectural use, landscaping design, streets, or other public spaces. There are both practical and aesthetic considerations in all of these areas, and designers use superior calculation procedures to achieve their design objectives.

 

DIALux is world-class software that enables our lighting designers and engineers to create high-quality lighting installations using the best lighting equipment available anywhere in the world.

Our engineers lighting specialists ensure that practical and aesthetic requirements are met, as well as that compliance issues are carefully considered. Energy efficiency, for example, is a major consideration, as are the potential effects that standards and lighting regulations may have on lighting design parameters. Other factors to consider include:

  • Illumination levels that vary depending on the environment and task. Essentially, these are constant levels of illumination reflected by a minimum average. However, for good, well-designed lighting, visual performance and comfort, as well as safety, are critical.
  • Uniformity and ratio illuminance of luminous flux or combined luminaires to ensure task lighting and a pleasant internal environment. Illuminance is measured in foot candles (FC) or lux, and 1 lux is the amount of light that strikes a one square meter surface when one lumen is shone from one meter away. 10 lux is roughly equal to 1 FC.
  • Glare levels should never be too high because they can cause discomfort and even disorder.
  • Room color and reflectance are influenced by interior color schemes. This is important for both aesthetics and reducing eye strain.
  • Energy efficiency standards established by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). It goes without saying that energy-saving light bulbs are essential; however, the DOE has mandatory lighting requirements for interiors and exteriors that involve controls, switching, and efficiency, including automatic shutoff. They also specify the power limits for interior and exterior lighting.

Lighting design is also accomplished through the use of photometric data, which is typically included on catalog product pages.

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Lighting Calculations

The lumen method is one of the simplest ways to calculate the required average illumination for rooms. A lumen (derived from the Latin word for light) is the S1 unit of luminous flux (or lux) that equals the amount of light emitted per second from a uniform source of one candela in a unit solid angle of one steradian (square radian). A candela is, of course, the international System of Units’ base unit of luminous intensity.

 

The lumen method is straightforward, relying on utilization factor tables generated from photometric measurements of individual luminaires. Number 1 below shows the simplest calculation. However, as you will see, additional factors and data are required.

  1. Calculate the room index of the space by multiplying the length by the width of the room and then dividing this answer by the length plus the width multiplied by the height (Hm) of the luminaire above the working plane (eg a table or desk).
    Room index = L x W
    (L+W) x Hm
    This result is used together with the reflectance values of the room to get a specific utilization factor for the surface to be illuminated.
  2. The room index can also be used to determine the average illuminance level in the room using a basic formula that involves multiplying the initial lamp lumens (F) by the number of lamps in each luminaire (n) or light fittings by the number of luminaires (N) to be used by the maintenance factor (MF) by the utilization factor (UF), in what is a complex multiplication exercise. This figure is then divided by the area of the room.
    Average Illuminance = F x n x N x MF x UF
    A
  3. Note that the maintenance factor is determined by multiplying the lamp lumen maintenance factor LLMF (which is the reduction in lumen output after a specific number of burning hours) by the lamp survival factor LSF (the percentage of lamp failures after a specified number of burning hours) by the luminaire maintenance factor LMF (the reduction in light output caused by dirt deposited in or on the luminaire) by the room surface maintenance factor RSMF (the reduction in reflectance because of dirt on room surfaces).
    MF = LLMF x LSF x LMF x RSMF
  4. Luminaires must be spaced in rooms to achieve acceptable uniformity. The maximum spacing to height ratio (the SHRmax) gives the maximum spacing that is allowed between luminaires in both axial and transverse directions compared to the mounting height. This should not be exceeded otherwise acceptable uniformity will not be achieved.
  5. The distribution of luminance is another important factor that affects individual users of rooms and buildings. It needs to reduce any risk of excessive brightness that can lead to glare because this tends to result in poor performance and fatigue. To achieve a luminous environment that is well-balanced, illuminance and reflectance of all surfaces in the room need to be considered. This is generally achieved with bright interior surfaces, especially walls and ceilings.
  6. Illumination levels for task areas are based on a variety of factors including the specific requirements for tasks to be carried out (eg reading, cooking, working on a computer), comfort and well-being, economy, and functional safety. It involves illuminating the task area and not the total indoor space, but refers to the immediate surround area that usually has a minimum band width of 0.5 meters, and the background area.
    If a task area is illuminated to 500 lux, the immediate surround should be at least 300 lux, and the background area should be illuminated to a third of the value of the immediate surround.

Photometric Data Application

Lighting designers and engineers use specifications for lighting calculations on all luminaires and lighting products. The following photometric data is included:

  • Polar intensity curves depict the expected distribution of luminous intensity from various luminaires.
  • Illuminance cone diagrams for spotlights and lamps with reflectors. The diagrams depict the maximum illuminance at various distances, as well as the angle of the beam at which the luminous intensity is reduced by half. The beam diameter at 50% of its maximum intensity is also shown.
  • Cartesian diagrams are commonly used to depict the distribution of luminous intensity in floodlights. Cartesian diagrams provide a graphical representation of the intensity and size of the beam.
  • Isolux diagrams depict contours in lux on floor and wall planes, indicating points of identical illuminance from a specific position where the luminaire will be installed. When assessing lighting levels in rooms or buildings, isolux diagrams can also be used to analyze the distribution characteristics of luminaires.

 

DIALux software includes photometric data which can be accessed with the click of a button.

DIALux Professional Lighting Design Software

DIALux software, created by the German Institute for Applied Lighting Technology (DIAL), has been available since 1994. It not only simplifies lighting design but also provides a platform for businesses to market luminaires and other lighting products professionally. While lighting manufacturers pay to have their products featured on the DIALux database, which includes 3D models and photometric data, clients benefit directly because they can see exactly how specified light fixtures and fittings look in the building environment.

DIALux allows lighting designers to plan, calculate, and visualize lighting projects for small spaces, houses, large commercial buildings, parking lots, roads, and landscaped gardens. DIALux can also import CAD data from other architectural and engineering software programs, making it an even more versatile option.

 

The beauty of DIALux is that our lighting designers can work from a DWG (AutoCAD) drawing in different layers, either from a blank space (a room or building) or from an architect’s flat plan. If the client does not have an architectural plan, we can create a clear presentation of what the lighting will look like using image files, even screenshots.

The software simplifies calculations and allows us to convert flat on-screen drawings into 3-dimensional models, and it includes tools that make this possible quickly and easily.

 

Building openings are critical, particularly for natural lighting, so we choose doors and windows and modify their dimensions to fit the design of the room or building. Then we arrange furniture and other objects, working from existing photographs or catalogs to make the final result as lifelike as possible. The building was then given a roof.

Placing luminaires is very similar to placing furniture, and being able to work from manufacturer catalogs that are included in the software or installed on the computer is invaluable. Then any type of lighting, suspended, ceiling hung, pendant lights, direct or indirect illumination, even dimmable lighting, can be used.

 

While positioning luminaires is relatively simple, it is a little more complicated than simply dragging and dropping light fittings and fixtures into an on-screen picture of the room. It is also critical to position them correctly so that they point where they are needed and to calculate the lighting load.

It’s as simple as turning on and off the lights to see what the visual effects are like inside and outside, or how exterior lighting is used. It is truly winning software, both for us and for you, our clients.

 

Our engineers values the following DIALux features the most:

  • Capability to calculate lighting for entire buildings as a whole rather than individual rooms.
  • Capability to perform large, complex lighting calculations.
  • Automatic analysis of lighting variations simplifies adjustments to areas in the lighting plan that are either too dark or too bright.
  • Photon shooting is used for calculations because it calculates energy content and is also roughly approximate to the true distribution of light.
  • The use of control groups for calculations saves time because the control can be used with adjustments over and over instead of recreating the basic calculations each time.

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