DIALux

DIALux is a professional 3D modeling utility that can help designers and architects realistically light their creations.

Especially useful in the architectural field, this powerful free and open lightning design application can empower individuals, teams, and organizations to take full control over the natural and electric illumination in both interiors and exteriors of their designs, quickly test lightning concepts for designs of all sizes (rooms, floors, multiple floors with open spaces, immediate outdoor environments, green spaces, parking spaces, outdoor paths, public lighting, and more.

• Free and open lighting design software
• Available in 26 languages
• Real luminaires for your lighting design
• Products of more than 190 manufacturers
• Community of more than 750,000 users worldwide

With full support for mixing sunlight and lightning products offered by more than 190 manufacturers, architects and designers can get quick and reliable approximations of the realistic lighting their creations will be bathed in, with a wide variety of tools for fast experimentation and discovery of new lighting solutions.

With the built-in ability to load CAD designs of all types and sizes, DIALux can dramatically expand the ability of designers to create lightning concepts and adopt final lightning solutions for their projects. This includes full support for natural lightning (all times of day, with overcast and cloudy weather), as well as the ability to light interiors and exteriors using the currently adopted standards and real-world products. Rendering features are not only limited to indoor or outdoor scenes, but can also disperse indoor lighting outside, and outdoor lights inside, providing highly realistic visualization that will match the real-world state.

Light distribution visualization is enhanced with the presence of various graphic data points, as well as false colors that can clearly showcase the flow of light in all environments. This is especially important for the illumination of building evacuation paths, where emergency lighting can play a key role in helping people find safe routes outside and reduce panic during the time when every second of inaction can matter.

The app can be used for the evaluation of all elements of architectural projects, from single rooms to entire buildings and surrounding environments. For quick evaluations, DIALux can even import image files (in all most supported formats such as JPG, PNG, and BMP) and populate the top-down 2D view with Illumination heatmaps for open zones, perfect for setting up illumination for open zones such as parking lots, outdoor paths, and others.

DIALux is free for use, both for individual users at home and commercial use by educators and commercial entities. In addition to the Windows PC app, users can also take advantage of the DIALux Mobile solution for iOS and Android devices, enabling fast access to light planning projects and interior space light calculation on the go and on the worksites.

FAQ

What is DIALux and what can it be used for?
DIALux is a software program used for the planning, calculation and visualization of indoor and outdoor lighting. It is mainly used by architects, lighting designers, and engineers to create lighting designs for buildings, streets, and outdoor spaces.

Is DIALux a free software?
Yes, DIALux is FREE software and can be downloaded from the official website. However, there are some additional features and plug-ins that can be purchased separately.

Can DIALux be used for outdoor lighting planning?
Yes, It can be used for outdoor lighting planning. It includes features for calculating street lighting, façade lighting, and park lighting. The software also allows for the import of Google Maps and other location data to provide accurate simulations of outdoor lighting.

How accurate are the lighting calculations in DIALux?
The lighting calculations in DIALux are based on industry-standard algorithms and can provide accurate results. However, the accuracy of the calculations depends on the quality of the input data, such as luminaire data, reflectance values, and environmental data. It is important to ensure that the input data is as accurate as possible to achieve reliable results.

Hardware requirements

CPU with SSE2-support 4 GB RAM (min. 2 GB), OpenGL 3.2 graphics card (1 GB RAM), Windows 8.1/10/11 (64 bit), resolution min. 1920 × 1080 px.

Language support

Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (UK), English (US), Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian,  Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portugese, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish  Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian.

The Premium version of the app called DIALux Pro unlocks access to professional project presentations, with support for corporate branding, layout specifications, and more. These presentations can also be exported in a wide variety of formats (including DOCX, XML, PPT, and CVS).

PROS

• Free and open lighting design software
• Available in 26 languages
• Real luminaires from 190+ manufacturers
• Supports mixing sunlight and electric lighting
• Accurate lighting calculations

CONS

• Hardware requirements may be high
• Accuracy of calculations depends on input data quality
• Premium version required for some features