A quarter of the year has flashed past before any of us could blink and take stock of all that has happened during that time.
For many years, lighting designers have debated which is the best lighting design software for them to achieve the best results. I know of twenty three (23) different software suites that can be used for lighting design, some of which have add on extra bits of software for tunnels, use within Revit and more.Some software is made available free of charge, whilst other software is licensed and paid either monthly or annually in advance. With that said, how does a lighting designer, consulting engineer, architect or other professional know where to start and ultimately be able to decide which software will be best?
A good starting point is to determine one’s personal needs and preferences. One would then be able to select the software that will meet those needs and preferences. In South Africa, there are essentially three (3) lighting design software suites available. They are:
- Agi32 which was one of the first lighting design software suites available. It can be acquired for a monthly single user licence fee of $110 per month which when converted to SA Rand at the time of writing works out to be R2,050 per month or R18,325 annually in advance.
- Relux Desktop 2023 is rapidly becoming the most popular and best lighting design software in the world. It is extremely well supported from Switzerland and by BHA School of Lighting.
The software is free to download. The software is offered free of charge because the lighting product manufacturers pay for their products to be included for users to select to use in their lighting designs. If users need to add individual luminaires that are not included in the online Relux software luminaire selections (there are about 1000 manufacturers who subscribe to have their products listed for use in the software), they will need to purchase a Relux 3RD Party add on licence which must be renewed annually.
Other paid add-ons that are available include Relux Tunnel, Relux KCalc to calculate obtrusive light, Relux Energy CH, Relux for AutoCAD and Relux for Revit.
- Dialux Evo is also excellent lighting design software. Whilst Dialux Evo 11 has many features that are similar to Relux Desktop, there are a number of features that are still not available in Dialux Evo 11. But having said that, both software suites, Dialux Evo 1 and Relux Desktop 2023 are constantly being updated and enhanced.
If any of the readers would like to know more about the two leading lighting design software suites, they are most welcome to register for a webinar that I will present on 20 April 2023 at 18:00. To register simply go to https://bhaschooloflighting.clickmeeting.com/episode-4-23-dialux-evo-versus-relux-desktop-a-factual-comparison-by-experts-and-me/register
Choosing the lighting design software to meet your needs is essential. There are so many lighting design functions and applications which make it more difficult to make a choice.
At BHA Lighting and BHA School of Lighting we recommend Relux Desktop 2023. We have used all three of the software suites detailed above, but we finally settled on Relux Desktop.
I am frequently asked to help lighting designers and consulting engineers to choose lighting design software. It is a very onerous task to help them make that choice. Fortunately, I have never received any complaints from any of those I have assisted.
We recently launched our own proprietary Relux Desktop Lighting Design Software Course. The course has been extremely well received. Students are taken from beginner level through to the level of being an accomplished Relux Desktop user working through 4 exercise sets, three for interior lighting designs and one for exterior lighting designs, including street lighting, flood lighting, high mast lighting and visualisations, and a final very complex challenge to lift the student to the highest possible level of proficiency.
I hope that this short article has stimulated you to learn more about the different software suites before making your final choice. I am always available to answer any questions that you, the readers, may have.
Continue to have a great and successful 2023.
Enquiries: phil@bhalighting.co.za