luminous autonomy - deluminaelab.com · to understand the qualities of the luminous ambience, to...

Natural light is an essential

part of architecture and

urban planning.

The luminous ambience in

natural light influences

various points of view like

energetic and scientific,

poetic, sensitive, qualitative.

The evaluation of daylight

for spaces in design helps

the participants in the

project in their quest for

energy savings, comfort and

pleasantness.

For future users of the

project, daylight ambience

contributes to health and

well-being in the spaces,

and also to productivity

within the work spaces.

Natural light is part of the

sustainability assessment

methods in most countries

and its evaluation is now

necessary for certifications.

DL-Light is the software suite developed by De Luminæ to help

the evaluation of the intake and distribution of natural light in

architectural and urban spaces.

It uses the latest research results in daylighting and simulation

techniques. It combines the validated algorithms of Radiance

with a very intuitive interface.

DL-Light allows:

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Designed to take into account all types of situations and

climates, DL-Light is used all over the world in Australia,

Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Holland, Hong-Kong,

Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden, United-Kingdom, USA, etc.

to understand the qualities of the luminous ambience,

to answer to sustainable certifications requirements,

to verify the correspondence to architectural intentions,

to convince of the qualities of the project.

Reliable, fast and intuitive daylight simulation

for 3D architectural and urban models directly

integrated within SketchUp graphic modeler

https://deluminaelab.com/en/download-dl-light

DL-Light calculates luminous

autonomy in Daylighting to

evaluate how many hours per

year artificial lighting is

unnecessary.

This indicator has been created

to quantify the performance of

natural light using an

illuminance threshold to

maintain. Hence it helps to

quantify the consumption of

energy due to artificial lighting

to maintain that minimum

illuminance level.

The module allows to calculate

directly Breeam requirements

or custom criteria.

The analysis of luminous

autonomy considers that, when

natural light is sufficient,

artificial lighting is not used.

The calculation is performed

versus a threshold illuminance

level, often at 300 or 500 lux,

and during occupied hours of

the building.

The ray-tracing simulations of

illuminance are performed hour

per hour and compared to the

defined threshold.

It uses the 3D model, the

characteristics of materials

defined for the project, the

environment geometry and

climatic data.

LUMINOUS AUTONOMYRequirements in International Certifications

Beige areas are autonomous more than 80% of the time.

Light blue areas are autonomous less than 10% of the time.

Orange areas are autonomous

between 65% and 75% of the time.

Light green areas are autonomous

between 45% and 55% of the time.

Luminous Autonomy in SketchUp 3D



Threshold 500 luxThreshold 300 lux

DL-Light calculates the Daylight

Factor. Following the same

logic as autonomy, you can

easily visualize the DF of your

interior spaces inside the

Sketchup model.

This indicator evaluates the

performance in Daylighting in

unfavourable conditions, the

overcast sky. It allows to

understand how the light from

the sky is distributed in the

interior spaces.

This module directly calculates

the daylight factor, but also the

Breeam requirements for

average DF, minimum DF and

uniformity.

The analysis of the Daylight

Factor shows how the light

from the sky illuminates

interior spaces. DF does not

take into account direct light

from the sun.

It is independent from the real

climatic conditions of the site

and from building orientation.

Like all our modules, it uses

ray-tracing simulations via

Radiance calculation engine in

order to calculate illuminance

with precision.

Daylight Factor inside the SketchUp 3D model

DAYLIGHT FACTORRequirements in International Certifications

Turquoise areas have DF between 3,2 and 4,8.

Dark blue areas have DF between 0 and 1,6.

Daylight Factor on a whole floor in the SketchUp model

Analysis report for all surfaces



Micro-urban level, influence of the passageway of façade insulation

DL-Light calculates the

number of hours when direct

sunrays hit the faces of a

SketchUp model. This allows

to make precise solar studies.

It takes into account the

meteorological data of the

site, the clear skies, he

overcast ones, etc. It is much

more than a simple shadow

visualizer.

It calculates for a whole

period, a season, a whole year

or a unique moment.

As soon as the sketch phase,

DL-Light shows the surfaces to

protect, to insulate, the faces

that may be favorable to

passive solar, faces that risk

overheating, glare, etc. It

allows:

- The identification of glazed

surfaces with risks of glare or

overheating and that require

protection.

- The evaluation of glazing

protection efficiency and the

comparison of alternatives.

- The identification of faces

favorable to passive solar

benefits or to place active

solar panels.

- To help the precise

positioning of glazed surfaces

according to solar rays and

site climate.

DIRECT SUN MAPSShadow maps

Exposure to direct

sunrays in summer.

Outside and inside

surfaces within the

SketchUp 3D model

Green areas receive direct sunrays 3h20min per day.

Blue areas receive direct sunrays less than 1/2 hour per day.

Red areas receive direct sunrays more than 5 hours per day.

During the winter season,

Green areas receive direct sunrays 24 mins per day.

Red areas receive direct sunrays more than 2.5 hours per day.



DL-Light computes the Sky

View Factor.

The view of the sky in

architectural and urban

projects is an important aspect

of the well-being inside spaces.

The SVF module allows to

easily understand sky visibility

for all the chosen spaces thanks

to a visualization with False

Color patches along with a

quantification on the color

palette.

The Sky View Factor is the

fraction of visible sky from the

various surfaces of the model.

The value of the sky view factor

may be represented as

percentage or solid angle.

Sky View Factor extension is

designed for early design

phases of the project, when the

level of details is low. Only a

minimum of information about

the environment, the position

and project geometry is

necessary.

Information of the Sky View

Factor for various surfaces of

the project influence decisions

on heating, cooling and lighting

strategies at early stages.

Sky View Factor on an urban

area for a housing project

General and detailed view in

SketchUp

SKY VIEW FACTOR

Dark blue areas see 2% to 4% of the sky.

Light blue areas see 11% to 13% of the sky.


Dark blue areas see 2% to 4% of the sky.

Light blue areas see 100% of the sky.

Sky view factor in SketchUp – Open Space


De Luminæ is a technical and research office in natural and artificial lighting, its impacts on energy

consumption and the improvement of comfort and pleasantness for sustainable buildings and cities.

De Luminæ produces and distributes the software DL-Light, based on Radiance, for the design and

evaluation of architectural and urban ambiances in Daylighting. De Luminæ has developed expertise

in software Radiance, internationally renowned for the scientific quality of its results and that allows

to simulate the most complex situations.

As it comes from the research field, De Luminæ keeps a strong R&D activity in order to maintain a

high level of expertise and a constant innovative strategy.

De Luminæ was founded by Ljubica Mudri and Jean-Dominique Lénard. Ljubica Mudri is Architect,

PhD in Energetics from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris, specialist in Daylighting.

She has been teaching Daylighting in various universities in France. Jean-Dominique Lénard, PhD in

Applied Maths from University Paris-Dauphine, MSc Applied Mathematics from the London School of

Economics (LSE), specialized in simulation techniques. They have published the results of their

researches in many international journals and congresses.

De Luminæ has developed a strong expertise in Daylighting in order to contribute to the most varied

questions: highly complex architecture, specific interior and exterior spaces, luminous discomfort,

subjective questions, etc.

De Luminæ accompanies architects, consultants, building buyers and users to answer 3 main

questions, essential to energetics and comfort:

Quantity of light, is there enough natural light in the spaces for the intended activities ?

Comfort/discomfort, how is natural light distributed in the spaces or why do users complain ?

Pleasantness, does natural light contribute to create a pleasant space that corresponds to the intentions?

Contact us

Email : [email protected]

Web : https://www.deluminaelab.com

De Luminæ [email protected] https://www.deluminaelab.com https://www.facebook.com/deluminae 6/6

National French Bank :

French Television :

Toulouse Hospital :

Office Towers :

Orléans Private Hospital:

Examples

of intervention

Luminous discomfort in natural/artificial lighting and improvement project.

Conformity to French environmental certification for visual comfort.

Luminous discomfort in Post-anesthesia recovery rooms.

Impact of flooring on energy consumption, environmental certification.

Study of color profile in interior spaces & conformity to environmental

certification.

luminous autonomy - deluminaelab.com · to understand the qualities of the luminous ambience, to...

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