[Bldg-sim] Daylighting Calculations for LEED

Rob Guglielmetti rpg at rumblestrip.org
Fri Feb 12 13:27:09 PST 2010


I ran into limitations with the USGBC's other compliance demonstration
methods all the time at my last job; the so-called glazing factor
spreadsheet can only deal with very basic space types. I always used
Radiance for my simulation-based documentation, because it's what I'm
familiar with. But folks here have mentioned the other popular ones. Any
lighting simulation software that includes a daylight simulation component
will likely work, as long as you can set up grids and define standard CIE
clear and overcast sky types (depending on which compliance path you're
using). Lumen Designer is no longer commercially available, but as
mentioned, AGI32, Radiance, and also 3DStudio Max Design can all be used
for these types of simulations when the spreadsheet the USGBC provides
falls short. DiaLux is a freely available (Windows) program that
incorporates daylighting calculations as well:

http://www.dial.de/CMS/English/Articles/DIAL/DIAL.html?ID=1

- Rob Guglielmetti

On Fri, February 12, 2010 2:05 pm, Nick Caton wrote:
> I regularly use AGI32 for any daylighting studies, though I've not yet
> been involved in a project where that credit was not handled by the
> non-photometric options of documenting compliance.





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