Pre-Labs of Electrical Power Distribution & Utilization (EE-357)

NED University of Engineering and Technology Karachi Department of Electrical Engineering

Introduction to Lighting design software DIALux

Download and Installation

DIALux can be downloaded from DIALs homepage (www.DIAL.de). Once you have downloaded the
DIALux setup.exe file on your hard-disk, double-click on the file to start the installation. Follow the
simple instructions on the screen to complete the process

What is DIALux?

It is a free software developed by Dial for effective and professional light planning. With DIALux you
can simply create photorealistic visualizations of your own virtual worlds. Similarly, it is possible to
import CAD data of other architecture programs and different 3D models from the internet. DIALux
enables you to build daylight and artificial light scenarios through which, you can glide with camera
runs. Above all, you can carry out different lighting calculations, and issue normative documentation
to validate your design.

Upon startup of DIALux, you will be prompted with the Welcome dialogue screen, where you can
select your indoor, outdoor or street lighting project. If you already have an existing project, select
Open Project.

Figure 1 DIALux Welcome screen

The DIALux User Interface

DIALux has adopted the user interface of Windows XP. The user interface is divided into following
three main work areas as shown in figure 1:

1) The Guide
2) CAD Window
3) Project Manager

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Pre-Labs of Electrical Power Distribution & Utilization (EE-357)
NED University of Engineering and Technology Karachi Department of Electrical Engineering

Figure 2 DIALux GUI

1) The Guide
The Guide enables the user to access all the necessary steps for quick and efficient light planning. It
consists of seven sub-menus: Indoor Lighting, Outdoor Lighting, Street Lighting, Light Scenes,
Emergency Lighting, Daylight, Energy Evaluation, Sport Site Lighting, and Adjust Guide. If The Guide
is hidden, you can access it from the Window Display guide window.
2) CAD Window
The CAD window is used for the interactive lighting design. With the mouse, you can graphically
select, rotate, zoom, move and roam the room, the street or the exterior scene:

Left-button: used to trigger the selected option in the graphical user interface.

Middle button (scroll wheel): used to move the lighting scene. It is also used to zoom in or out, if
scrolled up or down within the GUI.

Right button: Depending on the selected object and the working area, various options can be
accessed.
Similarly, you can right-click inside the room to access the select, rotate, zoom, move and roam
options; these options can also be selected from the toolbar menu.

In addition to the 3D view, you can use the ground view, side view and the front view to create your
model. You can obtain different views of your planning using the View toolbar. Similarly, you can
right-click inside the room to select the 3D view or the ground view of your design. Use the tabs at
the top of the CAD window to toggle between different views
3) Project Manager
The Project Manager includes the Inspector and the respective tree structure of the Project, Objects,
Colors, Luminaire Selection and Output menus. The Project Manager enables a smooth workflow
with the elements used in your design. Elements can be individually selected and their properties
can be viewed and modified in the Inspector.

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Pre-Labs of Electrical Power Distribution & Utilization (EE-357)
NED University of Engineering and Technology Karachi Department of Electrical Engineering

a) Project menu
The Project menu organizes the global project information such as the project name,
contact/address information, and the location. The Inspector lists different room, exterior scene and
street elements. The following figure depicts an indoor scene, where the room consists of room
defining surfaces (work plane, floor and ceiling), walls, objects, and luminaires.

b) Objects menu
The Objects menu enables the user to add new furniture to the project. It consists of seven main
subdirectories: standard elements, room elements, windows and doors, exterior scene and elements,
sports facilities, calculation surfaces, points and grids, and object files. You can simply add different
elements to your project via the mouse using drag and drop. Once you have inserted an object
into your project, you can select it and change its properties under the Project Manager.

c) Colors menu
Using the Colors menu the user can modify the surface properties of the room elements. The Colors
menu consists of four main subdirectories: textures, colors, light colors and color filter. The textures
and colors can be applied to different room surfaces, and the light colors and color filter are
applicable to the luminaires. The user can simply insert a texture via the

mouse using drag and drop. Once you have you selected a texture, you can view and modify its
properties under Project Manager. Similar to the Objects menu, you can create and delete new
folders, and you can move/copy textures from one directory/folder to another.

d) Luminaire Selection menu

The Luminaire Selection menu enables the user to insert luminaires into the project. From the tree
structure of the Luminaire Selection menu you can import luminaires. Double-clicking on the Not
Installed Catalogs will open the internet homepage of the manufacturer, where you can download
different Plugins to your DIALux database. If you do not wish to download the Plugins, you can
directly import luminaires from the manufacturers website; double-click on the Online Catalogues
of a manufacturer and select a luminaire directly from their website. Keep in mind that the Inspector
differentiates between a luminaire arrangement and individual luminaires. Luminaire Arrangement is
used to change/modify physical properties (luminaire type, position, arrangement, mounting height,
etc) of the luminaire. To change the technical properties (flux, power, PF, filter, etc) of your
luminaire select individual luminaires.
You can also import your own luminaire IES files into DIALux. DIALux treats imported IES files a
point source. Therefore, you do not need to model individual LEDs within a fixture; in other words,
you must simply specify the properties of the fixture as a whole. While software is running in the
background, locate your file, right-click on it and select insert into DIALux Project. Once you have
inserted your luminaire into your project, you can modify its properties under Project Manager.
e) Output menu
The Output menu is used to display different outputs/calculations. The user can select different
outputs/calculations to be displayed on the screen or to be exported as a .pdf document. To view an
output type on the screen, double-click on the corresponding icon. To view an output type on a
separate window, right-click on the output icon and select Open in New Window.