Comparative Evaluation of Daylighting Simulation Programs

Abstract

Daylighting simulation programs use different methods and algorithms for illuminance calculations in buildings. It is widely known that results of different lighting simulation programs does not have to be the same for two or more identical rooms. Hence CIE issued Technical Report 171: 2006 which presents test cases to assess the accuracy of lighting computer programs. However, these test cases are simple and the accuracy of daylighting computer programs can be different for more complex cases. The purpose of this paper is a comparison of differences in the results computed by various daylighting simulation programs for selected test cases according to CIE 171: 2006 and for more complex cases.

The practical implications of the EN 17037 minimum target daylight factor for building design and urban daylight in several European countries

“…Despite the considerable maturity of programs simulating the propagation of light in the interior spaces of buildings, there are still differences between them in the results of calculations. In geometrically and materially more complex cases, the differences in results between simulation programs can reach several tens of percent in specific places [ 57 , 58 ]. Several practical architects and daylighting specialists consider the use of complex methodologies in EN 17037 to be unjustified in the vast majority of cases.…”

Effective Use of Daylight in Office Rooms

“…The problem was solved using the software Relux (v. 2020.1.3.0) [41]. The reliability of the results of this software package was tested in [42][43][44].…”

Definition of a composite index of glazing rooms

“…It is worth noting that in 2006 the scientific community came to the conclusion that the methods of determining the DF value, which are given in DBN B.2.5-28-2006, are obsolete [10,11]. A large number of free, high-precision programs for calculating natural light have been developed at present; their validity was verified by real measurements in [12,13]. The calculation of the DF values given in this article was carried out using the Relux program.…”