Michael Lane LC

archived articles

Lighting Software Review
February 2000

I have a theory on lighting software, and all software programs for that matter. Never buy a version 1.0. So last year when LitePro Version 1.0 for Windows 95 and Windows NT was introduced I was interested in getting a copy, but wary. More than once I have unwittingly been a beta tester for "a lighting software company".

Out of the box LitePro was a wonderful surprise. It installed easily and ran without crashing (in the last year I can't remember LitePro locking up the computer even once). Also, in the last year Columbia lighting has provided periodic updates available via the WEB at www.columbialighting.com/programs/litepro.html.

LitePro Version 1.06 for Windows® 95, Windows® 98 or Windows NT® is a full-featured, both interior and exterior point-by-point calculations, lighting analysis program. After running LitePro through a sample interior and exterior space, my first impression is that this is a very well designed and easy to use lighting tool.

As with any new computer program, there will be a learning curve, luckily LitePro’s curve is fast. Along with the standard "built-in" help screens LitePro provides a 100-page manual! I would like to go paperless, but a condensed manual is really helpful.

LitePro requires the user to do a lot of right clicking with the mouse, the biggest trick (reminder) on right clicking is first left click on the tree item that you want to open up, then right click.

After opening an existing project or starting a new project, right clicking on the project name opens up a drop down menu for creating "groups" for your project. Think of groups as floors or different revisions or different lighting options. Groups make it handy to copy all of your work, make revisions, and still have the original design intact, all in the same project.

Right click on your new group and you get a drop down menu with – Add Area, Copy Group, Delete Group, DXF Import, Extract DXF, DXF Export, Delete DXF, and more. Import the DXF file to your group, then select "Extract DXF" to create an area (room 101, room 102…). The program is smart enough to not let you continue without entering a ceiling height! LitePro allows 6 types of sloped ceilings – up to North, up to South, up to East, up to West, North-South or East-West centerline with just a click of a button.

Right click on your new area to add a calculation grid. LitePro calculates Horizontal Grid - Horizontal or Vertical Illuminance, Vertical Grid - Horizontal or Vertical Illuminance, Ceiling or Wall Exitance. You have plenty of control over the grid with X, Y & Z grid spacing. When using a horizontal grid you can slope it up in one of four different directions. Grid masking can not only turn points off, but can also change which statistical grid, 1 of 3, the points are averaged into. These statistical grids are a quick way to isolate an area within the existing calculation grid without having to create another calculation grid - example: what is the light level in the theater aisle vs. the seating area?

LitePro allows you to add Obstructions to your project for walls, tables & buildings. Vertical Obstructions can only run north-south or east-west, and Horizontal Obstructions, which must be parallel to the floor. Vertical and Horizontal Obstructions are available only for interior analysis and block and reflect light. 3D Obstructions are available only in the exterior analysis and just block light. A time saver tip on these 3D Exterior Obstructions is to use them only if you plan on using the rendering feature, because as with any analysis program, obstructions significantly increase calculation the time.

Luminaires can be added to the project using either the built-in database or IES file by right clicking in the Project Luminaires window. The three options for the built-in database are to search by Catalog #, Photometric Test # or an interactive Product Search. Placing luminaires to the area is as simple as selecting a luminaire and dropping it into the space. Once placed the Type, X Start, X Spacing, # Columns, Y Start, Y Spacing, # Rows, Mount Height, Orient, Tilt Roll, & Grid Orient can be modified within the status bar at the bottom of the screen. Changes to these status fields are immediately reflected in the drawing of luminaires. Positive and immediate feedback that you have placed the luminaires where you want them is extremely nice.

A couple of useful features for outdoor area lighting are the ability to group a number of luminaires into and Assembly of multiple luminaires (a pole with 4 heads). Secondly, the ability to generate footcandle templates to aid in the placement of the luminaires or assemblies.

Calculations are performed by clicking on the small calculator in the upper right corner of the screen. LitePro requires you to click on a "Calc" button to start the calculation process. This double step allows the selection, or not, of performing a rendering of the space. A status bar and a series of check boxes keep the user apprised that the program is still working. The status bar is accurate until rendering is preformed.

To the left is a plan of the space I used to do the calculations on. The green lines represent Vertical Obstructions, yellow lines are the imported DXF file, and blue lines are the luminaires.

Using a 266Mhz Pentium with 64 Megs of RAM, calculation times were as follows:

12 seconds with no obstructions

25 seconds as shown with 10 obstructions

4 minutes and 30 seconds with the maximum of 50 obstructions

Adding rendering to the calculation increased the calculation times to:

6 minutes and 45 seconds with the 10 obstructions

2 hours and 20 minutes with the 50 obstructions

As shown, the renderings are graphic representations of the space not a true photo representations of the actual space.

The major change I would like to see with LitePro is in the contours, the number of and how they are displayed is a little weak. I have to give LitePro high marks though. The program is easy to learn and use, is extremely stable in Windows 95, imports and exports DXF files, does renderings, you get a site license, posted program updates on the web, and comes with a condensed manual.

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Pentium 90 or higher

Windows® 95/98/NT®

CD-ROM drive

40MB of free hard disk space

800x600 graphics w/ minimum of 16-bit color

Price: $209.95 for full site license