Calculux Indoor Software for Lighting Design



There are two types of Calculux software as follows:

  1. One for interior lighting design called "Calculux Indoor",
  2. One for outdoor lighting design called "Calculux Area".


First, I will explain the "Calculux Indoor" then "Calculux Area" will be explained later. 



Introduction to Lighting Design by Using “Calculux Indoor” Software



Calculux Indoor is a software tool which helps lighting designers in selecting and evaluating lighting systems for offices and industrial applications. 




What can you do with Calculux Indoor?



  • Perform lighting calculations (including direct, indirect, total and average illuminance) within orthogonal rooms; 
  • Predict financial implications including energy, investment, lamp and maintenance costs for different luminaire arrangements; 
  • Select luminaires from an extensive Philips database or from specially formatted files for luminaires from other suppliers; 
  • Specify room dimensions, luminaire types, maintenance factors, interreflection accuracy, calculation grids and calculation types; 
  • Compile reports displaying results in text and graphical formats; 
  • Support Switching modes and Light regulation factors; 


The logical steps used for project specification save you time and effort, while the report facility gives you the opportunity to keep permanent records of the results.



Installing the program

In order to install Calculux correctly, please stop all other applications before starting the installation.

To install the program: 



  1. click on the link: Calculux Indoor Software ;
  2. Select "calculux_indoor.exe"  and the file will begin downloading to your hard drive; 
  3. Once fully downloaded you can execute the file, upon execution you will be prompted to extract the installation files in a temporary folder; 
  4. Once this is done, open this folder and run "setup.exe" to install Calculux software on your computer; 
  5. Follow the on-screen instructions and user manual for installation. 

To Install the database:
  1. Download the data base from the link above or from the following link; Calculux data base .
  2. Once fully downloaded you can execute the file, upon execution you will be prompted to extract the installation files in a temporary folder; 
  3. Once this is done, open this folder and run "setup.exe" to install Calculux database on your computer; 
  4. Follow the on-screen instructions and user manual for installation. 



Environment of Calculux Indoor Software

Calculux Main Window

When you start Calculux, the Calculux main window is displayed. This window always contains the menu bar, and if selected, it may also contain a tool bar and/or status line. When a project file is open and data has been entered, a 2D top view or 3D layout is shown.


The menu bar contains the following menus:

  1. File
  2. Data 
  3. Calculation 
  4. Report 
  5. Finance 
  6. View 
  7. Options 
  8. Window 
  9. Help 



1- The file menu:





By means of the File menu you can manage your project files. You can create new projects; open previously saved projects or print reports.

To activate the File menu:

  • From the Calculux menu bar, choose File. 

Go to file menu, click on the New Project. Here in this menu, you can open the previous project or save the current one also.





2- The data menu:





By means of the Data menu you can specify the technical information about your lighting project and the areas (grids) on which the calculations will be carried out. You can also make 2-D drawings of objects using rectangles, circles and lines.

To activate the Data menu:

  • From the Calculux menu bar, choose Data. 

Here in the Data menu, we can add information regarding Project details (e.g. project name, customer & company name), room dimensions (Width, length, height & working plane details) application field, grid, type of luminaries & different type of objects we are using etc.


A- Rooms:


Use this dialogue box to specify or display the settings for the room.

B- Application Fields:




An application field can be used to graphically mark the area of interest for lighting calculations. The following types of application fields are available:

  1. Sports field: a sports field 
  2. General Field: a field without a predefined application. 


C- Luminaire list:


The luminaire list contains information about the individually placed luminaires used in the project. You can view, set, edit, copy or delete information of project luminaires. In the luminaire list the following luminaire information, if applicable, can be set:

  1. Luminaire Type 
  2. Luminaire Quantity 
  3. Luminaire Position (POS X, POS Y and POS Z) 
  4. Luminaire Orientation (aiming type) 


D- Grid:


A grid is a set of points in a 2 dimensional plane, at which the lighting calculations will be carried out. A grid must always be rectangular of shape and can be in any plane in space. The position and size of a grid is defined by its corner points A, B and C, and the number of points in the AB and AC direction and the direction of the normal vector.



E- Drawings:




Use this option to add a drawing to the project.

Following shapes could be added:

  1. Rectangle (for a table etc) 
  2. Text (to mark text on the object) 
  3. Line
  4. Arc 


3- Calculation Menu:




By means of the Calculation Menu you can define the calculations which need to be carried out for your lighting project. You can also calculate the quality figures and specify how the results of the calculations will be presented.

A- Room Illuminance:
Use this dialogue box to view the average luminance and illuminance values calculated for the room surfaces. The accuracy of the values depends on the selected inter-reflection accuracy.




4- Report Menu: 




By means of the Report menu you can define the contents and layout of your reports. By means of the 'Print Preview' option you can preview the report print-out.

Note: 
The settings in the 'Report menu' only apply to the report(s) you create for the currently selected project. The settings are saved with the project data, when you save your project. For new created projects, the report setup default settings will be applied (see Options menu, Report Setup Defaults...).



5- Finance Menu:




By means of the Finance menu you can set the parameters for the cost calculations for the current project.



6- View Menu:




By means of the View menu you can set the view options for the project overviews in the Calculux main window.

The following options can be selected:

  1. Toolbar 
  2. Status bar 

The following view types can be displayed in the Calculux main window, Select from:

  1. 3D Project View; 
  2. 2D Top View; 
  3. 2D Left View; 
  4. 2D Right View; 
  5. 2D Front View; 
  6. 2D Back View. 



7- Options Menu:




By means of the Options menu you can enter or change the default settings for your Calculux projects. The settings in the Options menu will affect all new created projects.

Note: 
When Calculux is installed, the settings in the Options menu are set to the factory defaults. When starting the first project, it is likely you will need to set your own defaults according to the local requirements.




8- Window Menu:




By means of the Window menu you can arrange windows and icons.

The following options can be selected:


Use
To
New
Create a new window sharing a 2D-Top View of the
currently selected project.
Close Result Views
 Close all windows which are result views.
Cascade
Resize and layer all open windows so that each title bar is visible.
Tile
Resize and arrange all open windows side by side.
Arrange Icons
Evenly arrange icons in a window.
'open windows'
In the 'open windows' field a listing of all open windows is given. The
 name of the currently selected window is checked.




9- Help Menu:




By means of the Help menu you can search for help information about Calculux topics.

You can also access Help by pressing F1 for context-sensitive help on the dialogue box you are currently using.




In the next article, I will explain Calculux Indoor calculation process steps for lighting design. Please, keep following.



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