Tuesday, December 21, 2010

lightingCalc: lighting calc on iPhone/Android

Visitors using Android or iPhone/iPad arriving at www.fold1.com will from now on be transferred to the mobile site where a special small form calculator called lightingCalc is available.
The initial screen shows a list of brands that have products available to design with.
After filling in room size...
...and lighting task details, you get a very short form proposal.
With this proposal you have the option either to email to the brands customer service desk in your country, or to place a phonecall to the local custiomer service desk (when available).
This last piece of functionality is not very stable yet, but it will be operational soon.

Technical details: the mobile site is built using HTML5, CSS, jQuery, and jqTouch.

Friday, December 10, 2010

New EulumdatTools 0.7.2.v20101210 released

Today we released version 0.7.2.v20101210 of EulumdatTools, Eclipse based workbench for photometric files.

Version 0.7.2.v20101210 is available as an update to the standalone version EulumdatTools RCP and EulumdatTools plugin for use in the Eclipse IDE. How to upgrade: To upgrade select menu Help/Check for Updates and follow from there.

This update contains numerous improvements with regard to:
  • handling of files with some symmetry and non-equidistant C-planes in the photometry, that failed until now.
  • handling of different character sets: all the ISO-8859-x character sets are now recognized in addition to UTF-8. This is especially useful for those converting IES files of lamps produced by Chinese manufacturers. Also product names with accented characters as found in EULUMDAT files of European manufacturers are now handled properly.
  • Proper handling of changed product geometry specs in IES format LM-63-2002.
  • Some speed improvements in the conversion and validation routines.

Please note that the same improvements are deployed to the online IES-EULUMDAT and EULUMDAT-IES converters found at IES2EULUMDAT.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Online IES to EULUMDAT and EULUMDAT to IES converters

When you need to convert IES to EULUMDAT or EULUMDAT to IES format, you can now use the free online converters at Googles Appspot.
This is a testbed for conversion code to be included in the next version of EulumdatTools, an Eclipse based workbench for editing and managing photometric files.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

EulumdatTools 0.7.2.v20101203 released

Today we released version 0.7.2 of EulumdatTools, Eclipse based workbench for photometric files, which is a regular maintenance update to extend the enabling of new code trials.
Version 0.7.2.v20101203 is available as an update to the standalone version EulumdatTools RCP and EulumdatTools plugin for use in the Eclipse IDE.How to upgradeTo upgrade select menu Help/Check for Updates and follow from there.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Online lighting design site www.fold1.com goes mobile!

The last couple of years has seen a steady rise in the screen resolutions of the visitors to my online lighting calculation site Fast Online Lighting Design. In some months I see screens as large as 3200 x 1600 pixels!

Big screens keep getting bigger 
Recently however a new group of very low screen resolutions has started appearing in the visitor logs. These must be smart phones like iPhone and Android and tablets, like iPad.
Small screens now mean smart phones visit you.

So I have adjusted the screen layout to work better on iPhone and iPad, mostly by setting a viewport and by making the page elements flow to adapt to portrait or landscape orientation. I also cleaned up the jvascript using the very capable jQuery library.
iPhone in landscape mode 480 x 320
iPad in portrait 768 x 1024
Next step is to make it touch aware: swiping the design alternatives from left to right and back and increasing and decreasing sizes and values using finger gestures rather than the standard web widgets.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Version 0.7.1.v2010115 released

Today we released version 0.7.1 of EulumdatTools, Eclipse based workbench for photometric files, which included numerous improvements in parsing IES files for conversiuon to Eulumdat based on feedback and error reports received from the Google App Engine IES to Eulumdat converter. Version 0.7.1.v20101115 is available as an update to the standalone version EulumdatTools RCP and EulumdatTools plugin for use in the Eclipse IDE.

How to upgrade

To upgrade select menu Help/Check for Updates and follow from there.


Be sure to check the acceptance of the certificate.


How to install

To install for first time use you can use the upgrade site:
http://www.fold1.com/eulumdattools/

Monday, October 18, 2010

EulumdatTools 0.7.0.v20101018 released

Today we released version 0.7.0 of EulumdatTools, Eclipse based workbench for photometric files, which included bug fixes to do with IES conversion based on feedback and error reports received from the Google App Engine IES to Eulumdat converter. Version 0.7.0.v20101018 is available as an update to the standalone version EulumdatTools RCP and EulumdatTools plugin for use in the Eclipse IDE.

How to upgrade

To upgrade select menu Help/Check for Updates and follow from there.

How to install

To install for first time use you can use the upgrade site:
http://www.fold1.com/eulumdattools/

Friday, July 16, 2010

EulumdatTools 0.6.9.v20100716 released

Today we released version 0.6.9 of EulumdatTools, Eclipse based workbench for photometric files, which included minor bug fixes to do with expiry and IES conversion. Version 0.6.9.v20100716 is available as an update to the standalone version EulumdatTools RCP and EulumdatTools plugin for use in the Eclipse IDE.

How to upgrade

To upgrade select menu Help/Check for Updates and follow from there.

How to install

To install for first time use you can use the upgrade site:
http://www.fold1.com/eulumdattools/

Monday, July 5, 2010

New online IES to EULUMDAT converter

Thanks to Google Inc. providing the free online App Engine it is now possible to offer free online conversion of IES files to EULUMDAT format. Please check out this new offering at http://ies2eulumdat.appspot.com/.

If you have more extensive conversion needs, you can always use the 30 day free trial of EulumdatTools.

Update 2010 12 06:

The newer version also handles preliminary EULUMDAT to IES conversion.

Friday, June 4, 2010

New version with updates finally cracked

Updating Eulumdat Tools finally works

I finally managed to create a version of Eulumdat Tools RCP where you can do check for updates and actually install the updates.
To get to this screen select menu Help then Check for Updates.

This means that checking for updates and actually doing them will take a lot less time. No need to reinstall the full package anymore, just upgrade the parts affected.

Make it automatic

You can make cheking for updates automatic by choosing Window/preferences (on Mac Eulmdat Tools RCP/Preferences) and choosing Instal/Update and then Automatic Updates and enabling them.Please note that you have to download complete RCP versions once more for update to work for Windows XP, Windows Vista/7.0, Linux GTK on x86, Linux GTK on x86 (64-bit), Max OSX (Snow Leopard 32 bit) or Max OSX (Snow Leopard+ 64 bit).

Nerd info

A big thanks to Andrew Niefer and his blog posts at here and here.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

New version 0.6.7.v20100518 released

Today I released a new version of Eulumdat Tools. It is available as Eclipse plugin or standalone RCP application for Windows XP, Windows Vista/7.0, Mac OSX 10.5 and Mac OSX 10.6 64 bit.

Complete RCP application for Linux

In addition to the commercial OS's I now also prepared a complete RCP application to run on Linux GTK, for example Ubuntu. This will widen the use of this application to more platforms. Photometric graphs are not yet shown on screen, but can be exported to file.

Import IES files Wizard

The IES import wizard was redesigned and can now select from one project and export to another.

Export E100 lux tables Wizard

The E100lux Table wizard was also redesigned and can now select from a project and export to anywhere in the file system.Select the folder or project to use as source.
Then select the reflectances to display in the table. The end result is text file containing e100lux tables:

Energy consumption per sqm per 100 lux
CL downlight
Lamp undefined
PL (W) 66,0
Phi (lm) 4800
P* (W/100lx.m2) 3,8

Grid (m) E (lux)
1,2 x 1,2 1216
1,2 x 1,8 811
1,8 x 1,8 541
1,8 x 2,4 405
1,8 x 3,0 324
2,4 x 2,4 304
2,4 x 3,0 243
2,4 x 3,6 203
3,0 x 3,0 195
3,0 x 3,6 162
3,6 x 3,6 135

Correction table (%)
Reflectances (%)
Ceiling 80 80 80 70 50 50 30 0
Wall 80 50 30 50 50 30 10 0
Floor 30 30 30 20 10 10 10 0
Room index (%) - Apply multiplier below to E
0,60 82 60 52 58 55 50 46 44
1,00 100 81 73 77 73 69 65 63
1,50 111 96 90 90 85 82 78 76
2,50 118 108 103 100 93 90 87 85
3,00 121 112 107 103 95 93 91 89

Friday, April 16, 2010

New version 0.6.6.v20100416 released

Today I released a new version of Eulumdat Tools. It is available as Eclipse plugin or standalone RCP application for Windows XP, Windows Vista/7.0, Mac OSX 10.5 and Mac OSX 10.6 64 bit.

Preliminary support for Absolute Photometry in EULUMDAT files

Since August 2009 the EULUMDAT standard was modified to allow Absolute Photometry as described here. The new rules boil down to the following changes:
  • Only one lampset is allowed
  • LORL is set to 100%
  • The number of lamps (line 26a) is set to a negative number

IES files with Absolute Photometry translate to the new format EULUMDAT files

Many LED light sources have photometric data provided as IES files. Eulumdat Tools allows easy conversion fo such files for use with softare such as Relux or Dialux.
EulumdatTools will also help manufacturers and importers of new energy saving light sources such as LED's to provide accurate and consistent photometric data.

Numerous smaller bugs in correctly displaying grahics for these lamps were also fixed


Thanks to Fanis Kavouropoulos and Linuz Backelin for helping track down and reporting these problems!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

New version 0.6.3.v20100410 released

Today I released a new version of Eulumdat Tools. It is available as Eclipse plugin or standalone RCP application for Windows XP, Windows Vista/7.0, Mac OSX 10.5 and Mac OSX 10.6 64 bit.

Improved IES file header parsing

IES files can contain many custom parameters, but these were not parsed but seen as errors.
Examples of problem lines:
IESNA:LM-63-1995
[TEST]
[DATE] 02-01
[MANUFAC] GE LIGHTING
[LAMPCAT] 30754
[LAMP] Q20MR11/SP15-FTC
[_CATEGORY] HALOGEN
[_SUBCATEGORY] MR11
[_BULB] MR11
[_RATED-CBCP] 1760
[_CANDELA-MULTIPLIER] 1
[_RATED-LUMENS]
[_RATED-LIFE] 3500
[_BEAM-ANGLE] 15
[_DETAILS]
TILT=NONE
...
LInes starting with [_ will be ignored from now on, resulting in less editing being required in existing IES files.

Fixed div by zero error in rotation symmetric IES file parsing

Rotation symmetric IES files did not convert to EULUMDAT properly but resulted in an uncaught exception.
A proper error dialog was added and the cause of the div by zero fixed.
Also the offending files were added to the regression test suite.

Thank you Linuz Backelin for helping me track down and solve these two problems!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

New version 0.6.3.v20100408 released

Today I released a new version of Eulumdat Tools. It is available as Eclipse plugin or standalone RCP application for Windows XP, Windows Vista/7.0, Mac OSX 10.5 and Mac OSX 10.6 64 bit.

As I'm still in BETA stage I hardcoded an expiry date into the program, but forgot to update it. Very bad!
I'm also starting to handle PayPal payments, though the interface does not work very good yet.
Also EU VAT rules have changed so this requires a major effort to set up in terms of financial administration.

Many apologies again to my first customers. Please bear with me.

Please vote when you think IES to Eulumdat file conversion is a major item for Eulumdat Tools.

Monday, March 1, 2010

New version 0.6.2.v20100303 released

Today I released a new version of Eulumdat Tools. It is available as Eclipse plugin or standalone RCP application for Windows XP, Windows Vista/7.0, Mac OSX 10.5 and Mac OSX 10.6 64 bit.

All allowed keywords from LM-63-02

I missed some of the keywords in ANSI/IESNA LM-63-02 giving errors with more completely specified products.
Please vote when you think IES to Eulumdat file conversion is a major item for Eulumdat Tools.

Friday, February 12, 2010

New version 0.6.2.v20100212 released

Today I released a new version of Eulumdat Tools. It is available as Eclipse plugin or standalone RCP application for Windows XP, Windows Vista/7.0, Mac OSX 10.5 and Mac OSX 10.6 64 bit.

Improved IES parser feedback

When using the RCP application, you now get parser errors in a dialog instead of just in Error Log view.
Please vote when you think IES to Eulumdat file conversion is a major item for Eulumdat Tools.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Converting IES files to EULUMDAT

Different lighting design programs work with different photometric file formats. EULUMDAT is popular in Europe, IES is widely used in the USA.

Converting EULUMDAT to IES

Utilities exist for converting EULUMDAT to IES, mostly for further use in Radiance or Radiance based ray tracers. On such utility is the DOS program EULUMCNV.EXE.

Converting IES to EULUMDAT

No free conversion utilities exist for converting IES to EULUMDAT, but is an option present in Eulumdat Tools.

Preparation

Download and install Eulumdat Tools for your platform, register for an Evaluation License. For this demonstration we are going to use a set of IES files from the ERCO site. We use the CL Downlights recessed luminaires for this range.We also download the EULUMDAT files for the same range, so we can compare them later.

Project setup and Importing

Create a project using New Eulumdat Project and create three folders: ies, eulumdat and converted. Import the IES files into the folder ies by selecting and right-clicking the Import Wizard. Select the folder with IES files and select all.The result is a set of imported IES files.

Converting IES to EULUMDAT

We select the IES files and right-click to use the Convert IES to EULUMDAT option. We navigate to the converted folder to save the results.
We can change the name, or accept the suggested on for each file.

Comparison of Results to ERCO provided files

Finally we import the EULUMDAT files the same way to the folder eulumdatfor comparison. We can select one file in each of the folders and invoke the Compare Editor. We see no difference in the C-Gamma table, only a different set of decimals. There are minimal differences in the Direct Flux Factors. We can manually edit the luminaire dimensions and source type, as these data are not fully included in the IES standard. We can then use the validator and editor to further clean up the EULUMDAT file to make it ready for use or distribution.

Conclusion

Eulumdat Tools offers a modern and flexible interface for converting IES files to EULUMDAT. It can convert, ie. use data fields from, IESNA:LM-63-1995, IESNA:LM-63-2001, and IESNA:LM-63-2002 format IES files. It also offers the possibility for manual correction of non-photometric fields, such as brand, product name or product code.

New version 0.6.1 of EulumdatTools available

Today FOLD Systems released version 0.6.1 of Eulumdat Tools, the Eclipse based toolset for managing, editing and verifying EULUMDAT photometric files.
This is a recommended update for all users.

Support for Update Site withdrawn

You can check for online updates, but automatic updates do not work yet unfortunately. Instead one must download a complete new version for Windows or Mac OSX.

Converting IES files to EULUMDAT also in EVAL version

You can now convert IES files to EULUMDAT files, by selecting them in Project Explorer and right clicking them. This will be explained in more detail in a separate blog post.

Quick Access to this blog

The help menu now contains shortcuts for going here.