I will be presenting on professional lighting design with a focus on a BIM-centric workflow at BILT Europe 2019 on a couple weeks in Edinburgh, Scotland!. Today's post is a sneak peak at what I will be presenting on... including some material from my 64-page handout.
keep reading to learn more...
Class Description:
The four tools are:
Below are just a few samples of what I will be covering in the presentation...
Prior to using this feature, the model must have the Space element, ceiling and a single light fixture. The single light fixture is required for ElumTools to connect the dots between the desired family and the host (i.e. ceiling).
When you start the layout assistant tool, you are presented with this dialog (see image to the right).
When the selections are complete, you click the Layout Assistant button to move on to the next step.
In the main Layout Assistant dialog (shown next) the lighting designer is presented with a plan view of the room—an L-shaped space in this example. The most basic workflow consists of entering the desired foot candle (fc) level (see red arrow). Immediately, ElumTools presents three rough options in the “Estimated” section. Clicking on each of the buttons in the “Estimated” section previews the luminaire layout in the space. In our example, ElumTools indicates 8 fixtures will be required to achieve 70 fc.
Once we have selected an estimated option we are happy with, we need to run an analysis to confirm the design. The layout assistant provides convenient access to the full calculation engine via the Calculate button.
Upon completion of a full calculation, we can compare the Desired value with the Calculated values as pointed out in the next image. Also, notice how the estimated values have updated. The preview window now shows a 3D view of the model with our defined grid points populated with fc levels.
After you click OK, ElumTools places the fixtures in your model as shown in the next image. In this example, either the ceiling grid needs to move or all the fixtures could be selected and aligned with the ceiling grid. Also, notice that the Space Tag was edited to report the Average Iluminance for the space. Initially, the FC (or Lux) value is blank until a calculation is run.
The image below is my Law Office model (Interior Design textbook), used in two of my Revit textbooks, with Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE) spatial maps in the Rooms.
A quote from this blog post:
LHB has used this tool to help validate design solutions for Minnesota’s B3 Guidelines and the WELL Building Standard. Additionally, the goal is to use Licaso to help inform our designs, not just document the outcomes.
I hope you see you there!
For BIM Chapters updates, follow @DanStine_MN on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn
Check out my video-based courses on ArchSmarter.
I also write blog posts for Enscape - a new paradigm in rendering, animation and VR for AEC.
keep reading to learn more...
Class Description:
With the ever-increasing interest in high performance and sustainable building design along with human factors such as occupant comfort, lighting design plays a key role in delivering high quality buildings. This session will cover professional workflows for both electric and daylighting analysis. The session will conclude by creating a proposed post occupancy evaluation using an innovative, cloud-based tool to validate installed results from the user’s perspective.This session will look at four tools which have various capabilities to analyse electric light and/or daylight. The focus will be on keeping the workflow as simple as possible for the average architect as I believe this will lead to greater adoption and improved results in terms of design quality aesthetically, performance-wise and from a life safety perspective.
The four tools are:
- ElumTools by Lighting Analysts, Inc.
Professional lighting analysis add-in for Autodesk Revit. Works completely within Revit to analyze several metrics such as Illuminance, Luminance, Daylight Factor and more for both electric light and daylight. - Licaso by Lighting Analysts, Inc.
Professional lighting add-in for Revit and AGI32 to perform climate-based annual daylight simulations, including the calculation of annual daylight metrics such as Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE) and Spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA). - Lighting and Solar analysis tools by Autodesk
Add-in for Revit by Autodesk to analyze daylight. Not for electric light analysis. Requires cloud credits for each run. - Sefaira by Trimble
Add-in for Revit and SketchUp to analyze Daylight Factor. Not for electric light analysis.
Below are just a few samples of what I will be covering in the presentation...
Layout Assistant (ElumTools)
The layout assistant will add light fixtures to an area based on the desired illuminance for a Space or Room. Layout Assistant can also be used with a Region to estimate and layout exterior areas.Prior to using this feature, the model must have the Space element, ceiling and a single light fixture. The single light fixture is required for ElumTools to connect the dots between the desired family and the host (i.e. ceiling).
When you start the layout assistant tool, you are presented with this dialog (see image to the right).
- Click the Calculation Area Single button to select the Space in the model under consideration.
- Click the Calculation Points Single button to select Calculation Points family
- Automatic, if a Space with calc points is selected in step 1. - Click the Luminaire button to select the light fixture (previously placed on the ceiling in the space).
- Optionally, you can tell ElumTools where the ceiling grid is; this will ensure the proposed fixtures align with the ceiling grid. This is optional because it might be better to reposition the ceiling grid, rather than the lights, in some cases for ideal light distribution.
When the selections are complete, you click the Layout Assistant button to move on to the next step.
In the main Layout Assistant dialog (shown next) the lighting designer is presented with a plan view of the room—an L-shaped space in this example. The most basic workflow consists of entering the desired foot candle (fc) level (see red arrow). Immediately, ElumTools presents three rough options in the “Estimated” section. Clicking on each of the buttons in the “Estimated” section previews the luminaire layout in the space. In our example, ElumTools indicates 8 fixtures will be required to achieve 70 fc.
Once we have selected an estimated option we are happy with, we need to run an analysis to confirm the design. The layout assistant provides convenient access to the full calculation engine via the Calculate button.
Upon completion of a full calculation, we can compare the Desired value with the Calculated values as pointed out in the next image. Also, notice how the estimated values have updated. The preview window now shows a 3D view of the model with our defined grid points populated with fc levels.
After you click OK, ElumTools places the fixtures in your model as shown in the next image. In this example, either the ceiling grid needs to move or all the fixtures could be selected and aligned with the ceiling grid. Also, notice that the Space Tag was edited to report the Average Iluminance for the space. Initially, the FC (or Lux) value is blank until a calculation is run.
Climate-based annual daylight simulation (Licaso)
Product description from the Licaso website (www.Licaso.com):Given an AGi32 or ElumTools/Revit environment, Licaso can compute workplane illuminance for every daylit hour of every day for an entire year. From these calculations a wide variety of annual daylight metrics can be accumulated. These include: various flavors of Daylight Autonomy (Minimum, Maximum, Basic, Continuous, Spatial), Useful Daylight Illuminance, Annual Sunlight Exposure, Annual Daylight Exposure, and Average, Maximum and Minimum illuminance. Presentation options include graphical Spatial Maps (2D or superimposed on a rendered view), Temporal Maps, Temporal Map Charts and rendered views of specific times and dates. Any/all of these can be included with statistical summaries in a flexible and user formatted report.
The image below is my Law Office model (Interior Design textbook), used in two of my Revit textbooks, with Annual Sunlight Exposure (ASE) spatial maps in the Rooms.
A quote from this blog post:
LICASO is the first climate-based annual daylight simulation software program that is not based on Radiance. More than this, it is not even based on the Radiance computational model of ray tracing. Rather, it relies on proven radiosity methods,1 and in particular the algorithms that have been driving Lighting Analysts’ AGi32™ and ElumTools™ lighting design and analysis software products for nearly two decades. (See Lighting Analysts’ blog article Climate-Based Daylight Modeling for further details.)
LHB has used this tool to help validate design solutions for Minnesota’s B3 Guidelines and the WELL Building Standard. Additionally, the goal is to use Licaso to help inform our designs, not just document the outcomes.
Conclusion
So, come for the learning and sharing of experiences and ideas around BIM and built environment, and stay for the fun!!!
I hope you see you there!
For BIM Chapters updates, follow @DanStine_MN on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn
Check out my video-based courses on ArchSmarter.
I also write blog posts for Enscape - a new paradigm in rendering, animation and VR for AEC.