[Bldg-sim] Daylighting Program

[Michael Donn]

Gidday All

There are two lighting programs that I am aware of that 'interface' with Google SketchUp (standard or Pro):

ONE: Radiance
Daysim (http://irc.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/ie/lighting/daylight/daysim_e.html ) which models the annual availability of daylight inside buildings using the rigorously validated (http://lrt.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/27/4/181 ) render engine Radiance (http://radsite.lbl.gov/radiance/ ) as its underlying calculation engine. However, it should be pointed out that 'integration' means that IF you have the Pro version of SU, THEN you can export to the .3ds  file format that the Daysim program will import. The author, Christoph Reinhart, has referred recently to Daysim 3 being in the process of validation and incorporating some of the newer daylight performance metrics - but no reference to greater integration with SU.

Radiance in its raw form can be used simply on a file exported by Thomas Bleicher's su2rad (https://www.ohloh.net/p/su2rad ) exporter. Saved scenes become saved viewpoints in Radiance. Materials and skies can be defined within SU prior to export. There is as yet no render control 'button' within the exporter interface, but everything else is there. Running Radiance of course requires a knowledge of Unix (see http://luminance.londonmet.ac.uk/learnix/ ) or having a copy of Ecotect's Radiance Control Panel (www.ecotect.com<http://www.ecotect.com> ) and the Windows executables for Radiance (http://www.bozzograo.net/radiance/modules.php?op=modload&name=Downloads&file=index&req=viewdownload&cid=4 - the MinGW version) This works with both the versions of SU.

IES has a plugin (http://www.iesve.com/content/default.asp?page=s156 ) which will export from SU to their Virtual Environment format. If you have bought their full product, then you will again have access to Radiance, which as I understand it is distributed as the render engine for IES. I understand this works with both the versions of SU.

TWO: 3DS Max
mentalray within the 3DS Max software from Autodesk (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?id=5659302&siteID=123112 ) has been validated recently (http://images.autodesk.com/adsk/files/3ds_max_design-exposure_validation.pdf ) by Christoph Reinhart. To transfer files from SU again you will need the Pro version.

M

Michael Donn
Director Centre for Building Performance Research
School of Architecture
Victoria University      +64 4 463 6221  work
PO Box 600              +64 21 611 280  mobile
Wellington                +64 4 463 6204  work fax
New Zealand             +64 21 611 594  mobilefax

From: bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org [mailto:bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of Zoeteman, Mark R.
Sent: Saturday, 7 March 2009 9:47 AM
To: Bldg-Sim
Subject: [Bldg-sim] Daylighting Program


Bldg-Sim Group:

Are there daylighting design programs that interface with Google SketchUp Pro?

Mark Zoeteman, FTC&H
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.onebuilding.org/pipermail/bldg-sim-onebuilding.org/attachments/20090309/ac5ac1e1/attachment-0002.htm>