Solar street lights offer a major improvement for eco-friendly and energy-saving lighting. They use sunlight to light our streets, lessening our dependence on fossil fuels and reducing pollution. But with so many choices, how do you pick the right ones?
Dialux software can help. It allows lighting designers to create virtual models of real-world spaces. By simulating how light spreads and measuring brightness, Dialux helps us decide where to put lights, how many we need, and what wattage of is best. This article covers the basics of designing solar street lighting and explains why Dialux is crucial for creating effective and efficient lighting
Before learning how to use DIALUX for solar street lights, let’s cover some basic lighting terms，This quick overview will help you understand the following discussion. You don’t need to be an expert, but knowing these basics will be helpful. Here are some key concepts:
Basic Lighting Terms
Illuminance: How bright a surface looks (measured in lux).
Luminous flux: The total amount of light produced (measured in lumens).
Luminous intensity: The strength of light in a specific direction (measured in candelas).
Luminance: How bright something appears to your eyes (measured in candelas per square meter).
Luminous efficacy: How much light is produced for each unit of energy used (measured in lumens per watt).
Understanding Solar powered Street Lights
Solar street lights are self-sufficient lighting systems powered by the sun. They generate their own electricity, store it, and use it to light up our streets at night. Here’s a breakdown of the key components:
Light (Light Source): This is what actually produces the light, using the energy stored in the battery.
Solar Panel: This panel captures sunlight during the day and converts it into electricity.
Battery: This stores the electricity generated by the solar panel, so it can be used when there’s no sunlight.
Controller: This acts like a switch, automatically turning the light on when it gets dark and off when it gets light.
If you wanna know more detail about solar powered street light ,you can check out article “what is solar street light?”
What is DIALux?
DIALUX is the most popular software worldwide for designing lighting. It’s available in 26 languages and is free to use. You can use it to plan and visualize lighting for indoor spaces, outdoor areas, streets, and emergency situations.
Why do solar street lights need Dialux lighting calculations?
Using Dialux to calculate lighting is important for creating well-lit areas. It helps prevent using too much light, which wastes energy and harms the environment. It also makes sure the lighting looks good and works well, creating a comfortable and pleasant space
What is solar street light wattage?
Before we get into using DIALUX for lighting design, there’s one really important thing I need to point out about solar power. You might be thinking, “What’s the big deal about solar light power? Isn’t it just the wattage on the label?” Well, it’s not that simple. We’ve written a blog post that explains exactly what solar luminaire power is, and it’s super important to understand this. It’s different from regular light bulb wattage. You can read the article for all the details “What wattage is a good solar light?” —I won’t go into it here
How to Design Solar Street Lighting with Dialux
Step 1: Get the Light Information (IES Files)
Method 1: Obtain from your supplier
When you buy light fixtures, you’ll need something called “photometric data” or IES files. This data tells you how the light spreads out and how much total light the fixture produces. This information is essential for figuring out how much light you need for your project.
The file extension contains the letters “IES,” as shown in the picture on the left.
Method 2：Obtain from the DIALux luminaire database.
The specific steps are as follows:
or you can directly link to luminaire to get the imformation “https://luminaires.dialux.com/”
In the planning layout view, open the “Open Luminaire List,” and then click “Go to DIALux Luminaire Finder.”
Choose “OUTDOOR”
Normally we choose “pole top mounted”
As your need choose the suitable one
Choose one of the lamp and send it you Dialux
The one you choose will appear in your dialux ,now you can use it
Step 2: Build a 3D Model of the Road
Create a simple 3D model of the road area.
Setting the basic imformation ,the pole distance ,lighting centr height etc…
Just a Few More Things
Under ‘Standard,’ you will see A1/A2/A3/B1/B2/D1/D2/D3/D4. What do these designations mean?
A Classes (A1, A2, A3): These classes are generally associated with motorized traffic on main roads and highways, where high visibility and uniformity are crucial for safety and traffic flow.
B Classes (B1, B2): These classes are usually for pedestrian and cyclist areas, focusing on providing comfortable and safe conditions for non-motorized traffic.
D Classes (D1, D2, D3, D4): These classes are designed for conflict areas or areas with specific safety concerns, such as intersections, roundabouts, and pedestrian crossings. They prioritize visibility and conspicuity to reduce accidents
Step 3: Set Up the Simulation
Select the luminaires, arrange them according to your needs, and as you arrange them, you can observe the changes in the relevant data in the upper right corner.
Step 4: Run the Lighting Simulation
Dialux will then calculate how the light will spread across your 3D road model.
If the lighting isn’t quite right, you can adjust settings like the light’s power (wattage) or the lens.
Once you’re happy with the results, you can export a report that shows all the lighting calculations.
Step 5: Consider the Solar Part
Dialux mainly focuses on the lighting itself. For solar street lights, you also need to think about these solar factors:
Sunlight (Solar irradiance): Find out how much sunlight the location gets on average. This helps you calculate how much energy the solar panels will produce.
Battery size (Battery capacity): Figure out how big the batteries need to be to store enough energy to power the lights for the desired amount of time, especially during cloudy days or at night.
Controller settings: Set up the controller that manages the charging and discharging of the batteries to make sure everything works efficiently.
Summary
By following these steps and using Dialux, you can design effective and energy-efficient solar street lighting. This guide is designed to help beginners get started with Dialux.
DIALux also provides numerous tutorials for learning, as shown in the image. If you encounter any difficulties or problems while using lighting software, please feel free to discuss them with us. Let’s make progress together and strive to illuminate the world.