lightCALC advanced – Getting Started

Selecting a luminaire is the first step in the process.

If you are experienced with our products, or lighting in general, and want to select your own luminaire, simply click the button labeled “I know what luminaire to use.”  This will take you directly to a product selection tool set up by product family and type or search by catalog number.

If you are not sure what type of fixture you should select for a specific application, click the button marked “help me choose a luminaire” and the program will list a group of applications by area type.  Select the type of area you wish to illuminate and the program will suggest products appropriate for the application.

Either method will lead you to a quality lighting design, with professional quality results and easy to understand graphic illustration for documentation or presentation.

Once you have completed your initial product selection, everything related to that product is loaded into the design software and you are on your way to a complete lighting design.

lightCALC advanced – Guide to the Display

The primary block of tabs at the top-left of the display is your step-by-step guide through the design process.  Each tab is dedicated to a specific task.  As you complete each task, move to the next tab.  You will be prompted for information related to each tab and guided through the process via a fill-in-the-blank format.

Once you have completed this process, you will have created and accurate, understandable lighting layout you can accept, modify or print.

Special “Advanced” tabs allow you to modify your design to satisfy your specific needs.

You can even change your design from standard to metric expression using the “Units” tab.

Across the top of the page, you will see a set of four buttons labeled “plan”, “elevation”, “isometric” and “dimensions.”  These four buttons allow you to select how the graphic of the space is shown.  To work with a simple plan view, click the button marked “Plan.”

If you prefer to work in an elevation view, click “Elevation” and that view will appear.

To see your plan in a perspective view, click “Isometric (3D).”

To add or delete dimensional details, simply click on the “Dimension” button and a pull-down menu will allow you to choose what dimensional data is to be shown.

At the bottom of the screen you will see four boxes related to the graphic.  These four tools allow you to adjust the graphic to provide the most comfortable point-of-view for you, and for the printing process once you are finished with your design.

Three windows at the bottom left show you vital information on your design as you go through the design process.  The top box shows you how many footcandles you have achieved.  The middle will tell you how many luminaires were required to get the footcandles shown.  At the bottom, the “LPD” box (Lighting Power Density) will track the watts-per-square-foot consumption you should anticipate from your design.

The “Print Preview” button at the bottom right allows you to see what will appear on the final printed output based on the instructions you have entered so far.

One of the most valuable elements on the screen appears across the very bottom.  As you move your mouse, notice how the window reveals important information about an item as the cursor moves over it.  This will help you identify and understand terms and commands as you work, without having to refer back to manuals or other documents.

Please note that these devices will remain at your disposal throughout the process.  As you progress from tab to tab, these tools are maintained on each screen.  More detail, and more data, will appear as you progress, but the “look” will not change.