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Where does Ecotect Daylight data come from?

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Message 1 of 4
cupitt01
760 Views, 3 Replies

Where does Ecotect Daylight data come from?

Hi,

I have done some simulations on very basic models and I'm getting some funny results.  If I take an open space, say 40m x 60m with no buildings, and run an external daylight analysis, basically to get the illuminance data file (.ill) for the year, the results say the daylight levels are higher in September than in December, for example, which is obviously not true. So I'm wondering where the program obtains its daylight data from.  Is it a) actual collected illuminance data (which would therefore be variable due to the sky conditions on the day of data collection), b) calculated illuminance data from actual collected irradiance data, or c) other????

If you can help identify how they obtain the data that would be great.

Thank you.

Regards,

Adrian

3 REPLIES 3
Message 2 of 4
mstein7484
in reply to: cupitt01

This article may help answer your question:

http://naturalfrequency.com/articles/radiancedf

 

Regards,



Marjorie Stein
QA Analyst
Generative Design Group
Autodesk, Inc.

insight.support@autodesk.com
Message 3 of 4
cupitt01
in reply to: mstein7484

Hi,

 

For this simulation I am running it in the Daysim Header.  Don't know if that helps...

 

Thank you.

 

Regards,

Adrian

Message 4 of 4
cupitt01
in reply to: mstein7484

Hi,

 

I read that article however it doesn't really say where the values come from.  This is what it says:

 

"If you do not specify the total horizontal illuminance of the sky, RADIANCE will automatically calculate it based on the current date, time and model latitude. "

 

What is this calculation based on?  Is it based on solar radiation/irradiance data, with the luminous efficacy factored in? Such as in this comment:

 

"As illuminance levels are given in Lux, you need to convert them to an equivalent radiant energy value in W/m2. As 1 Lux = 1 Lumen/m2, and RADIANCE uses a default luminous efficacy for daylight of 179 Lumens/Watt, this is done by dividing the total horizontal illuminance value required by 179 to give W/m2."   

 

Furthermore, I thought the .ill file provided the illuminance levels at each hour (or was it half hour) throughout the year.  Is this correct?  Can you offer any suggestions why the results of these .ill files would not be what I expect to get (The results showed higher light levels in spring than summer)?  As mentioned I was simulating an open space, with no building or obstructions, such as an open field.

 

Thank you.

 

Regards,

Adrian

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