Current Use of Lighting Simulation Tools in Sweden

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a web-based survey on the current use of lighting simulation tools in Sweden. The objective was to understand which lighting simulation tools are currently used in Sweden and to understand the design practitioners' needs for future software development. The results showed that lighting simulation programs are widely used in Sweden. However, the respondents paid less attention to daylight than to artificial light. The respondents' principal training methods were university courses and self-study. Interior illuminance values, glare indexes, and the daylight factor were the most commonly calculated simulation outputs. "Ease of use" and "accuracy" were identified as the most important factors in the use of the software, while "the slowness of simulation proo cesses" causes the most dissatisfaction. Dialux was the most popular software program used.