The Sustainability Podcast

EvariLUX– The Convergence of Illumination Photometrics with Geographic Information Systems

May 04, 2022 The Smart Cities Team at ARC Advisory Group Season 7 Episode 4
The Sustainability Podcast
EvariLUX– The Convergence of Illumination Photometrics with Geographic Information Systems
Show Notes

EvariLUX– The Convergence of Regional Illumination Photometers with Geographic Information Systems, A Discussion with Fritz Feiten, Streetlighting Consultant at Ameresco

Join Fritz Feiten and Jim Frazer, former Illuminating Engineering Society Roadway Lighting Committee Chair as they discuss EvariLUX, an innovative 3D approach to planning, visualizing and implementing outdoor lighting applications. EvariLUX overlays IESlight output files, which are unique to each fixture type, onto a three dimensional map. This confluence of datapoints allows a very intuitive visual containing insights such as the actual predicted light level on the pedestrian crosswalk or on your own front door keyhole. The varying heights of poles, spacing of poles, and varying elevations and grades of roads and sidewalks creates a true 3D representation, where under lit and overlit conditions can be quickly observed and corrected.

What exactly is EvariLUX?

EvariLUX™ is a suite of tools to understand and analyze regional illumination photometrics within a Geographic Information System (GIS). EvariLUX is similar to bringing illumination data into Google Earth. EvariLUX strives to overcome the challenge of comprehensively understanding lighting design across an entire project area. 

EvariLUX uses IES files and onsite elevation data to creates 2 primary outputs: and illumination surface and illumination volumes. An illumination surface is displayed using points and contours across the project area. Illumination volumes represent the 3D space illuminated above 1 lux.

For one EvarlLUX application,  Evari GIS Consulting completed a field audit of more than 60,000 streetlights across the City and empowered City staff to choose between 11 luminaires to install at each location. (Evari GIS Consulting did not make any decisions about which luminaires to use or where they should be installed.) 

Illumination Points and Contours

Illumination  points and contours provide a complete picture of the seamless underlying values within the illumination surface. The values on the ground are created using real world-elevation.

In order to pass as much information as possible, the points and contours are represented by their value, rounded and optimized for performance at different scales.

Represented numerically and pictorially are illumination contours - lines of equal illumination levels. Illumination contours and points represent the same underlying illumination surface values in different ways. Like the illumination points dataset, this illumination contour dataset covers all areas above .02 lux. A typical dataset can have over 250,000 individual lines ranging from 0 to 100+ lux.

Illumination Volumes are also represented as the 3D space where light is above 1 lux. The illumination volume uses the IES file to determine the lighting conditions after the fixture is installed.

 Illumination Volumes across a project

 Many illumination volumes are typical in even a small neighborhood. Each volume is created individually using the prescribed IES file and the on-site elevation.

 A typical dataset can leverage a variety of different IES files identified earlier across the entire street light count. EvariLUX can use 12, 30 or a hundred different IES files.

 For more information on the EvariLUX solution and related services from Evari GIS, please visit them at http://evarilux.com/

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