Fully-Integrated Lighting Calculation Tool for Autodesk® Revit®

ElumTools® is the first (and only) fully integrated lighting calculation add-in for Autodesk® Revit®. ElumTools is designed to calculate point-by-point illuminance on any workplace or surface utilizing lighting fixture families and surface geometry already present in the Revit model. ElumTools runs completely inside of Revit with its own ribbon toolbar to provide quick access to analysis tools for Revit Rooms, Spaces, Regions and Views. An interactive Radiosity-based visualization is produced by the calculation process providing designers complete walk-through capability to assist in the understanding the interaction of light and surface.

ElumTools is easy to learn and even easier to use regularly for your lighting computations. The ElumTools workflow is fast and efficient, saving you countless hours over trying to export geometry to a stand-alone tool, then fussing to integrate the results with your Revit sheets. ElumTools can compute your lighting, allow you to see it in a visualization, drop it on the view or sheet and schedule all in the time it takes to export the model for use elsewhere.

If your world is Revit, ElumTools is your solution for painless lighting design! Take a few additional minutes to watch the Overview video to see how easy it really is!

Features

Point by Point for Interior and Exterior Lighting

Lighting performance can only be accurately assessed by the calculation of illuminance at discrete points of adequate density on the task area. ElumTools applies proven illumination engineering principals to your lighting calculations as an add-in to Revit.

Calculations on Workplanes, Floors, Walls, Stairs, even Topography

Calculate accurate illuminance across grids of points with height, spacing and meter aiming easily specified. Points can also be placed on lines, surfaces (like a table or wall) and even projected onto irregular surfaces such as topography or entire stairways.

Calculate by Room, Space, Region and View

Interior lighting is easily computed using Revit Spaces or Rooms as individuals or groups. Unwanted calculation points can be easily removed (masked) by object selection or by Revit Category.

Revit Regions are especially useful for exterior analysis where they can serve as point boundaries and calculation volumes. And, when you just want to compute anything visible in a section-boxed 3D view, you can do that too!

Calculate Illuminance, Luminance, UGR and More

Most often your calculation needs will be for illuminance (fc or lux). But ElumTools can also compute; Luminance (diffuse), Exitance, Unified Glare Rating, PPFD and Daylight Factor on your calculation grids.

Results in the Views or Sheets of Choice

You can switch on the calculated results for any or all of the calculated areas in the view or sheet of choice. It’s easy to separate the General Use calculations from those done in Emergency or Daylight modes by displaying the results in different views.

Easy Scheduling

ElumTools can schedule your lighting results with a click! You can modify if you like using Revit’s scheduling tools.

Interactive Rendered Model for Each Calculation

ElumTools can schedule your lighting results with a click! You can modify if you like using Revit’s scheduling tools.ElumTools unique radiosity-based calculation engine has the distinct advantage over other visualization technologies of yielding a completely interactive 3D model after a single calculation. This allows immediate walk-through assessments and ultra-fast client collaborations. The ElumTools Calculation Viewer contains many design-centric evaluation tools including pseudocolor. The viewer retains your previous settings of view and specific evaluation modes for future viewing.

Manage Renderings

ElumTools stores your calculated renderings in the Revit project file to be called up at any time. They can be easily removed singularly or in groups if needed.

Render Source Color

ElumTools allows you to visualize the difference in source CCT or RGB to help your clients further understand the lighting solution being provided.

Raytrace Your Renderings

ElumTools provides the ability to raytrace any rendered view to quickly provide an enhanced visualization showing specularity, crisper shadows and more defined luminance patterns on surfaces.

Isolines and Spatial Maps

Isolines and Spatial Maps can be excellent visual aids in interpreting your computed results. Fabulous for presentation, they visually assist laypeople in understanding the distribution of light.

Assign IES Files to Families

ElumTools makes it easy to assign any IES file to your own, or any other lighting fixture family in Revit. Simply select the family in ElumTools Luminaire Manager, click on the folder icon and navigate to the IES file location.

Generic Families for Your Use

ElumTools comes with several generic luminaire families to guarantee your immediate success. You can match any valid IES file to the family and flex the family geometry as necessary. Boxes, cylinders, industrial and exterior boxes with poles are installed. You can even co-opt these for your own and modify as needed.

IES Database (Instabase in the cloud)

A robust collection of manufacturers photometric data (IES files) is available for ElumTools users with a click. It is a searchable database based on performance characteristics (and more) and is unique in the lighting industry. Download groups (zip) or drag and drop directly into ElumTools Luminaire Manager.

Manage Material Reflectances Individually or By Category

Tools provides the ability to assign surface reflectances by Revit Category or by individual material. The ability to assign reflectance to a Revit category permits a generic reflectance to be used for a wide-ranging number of surfaces such as all ceilings, walls and floors.

Interior Layout Assistant

Unsure of how many luminaires are required to meet a specific light level? You can use the ElumTools layout Assistant to compute it accurately AND place the luminaires in your Revit model!

Horticultural Lighting Mode

ElumTools can calculate Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density (PPFD) for horticultural lighting applications by setting the software in Horticulture Mode. ElumTools Layout Assistant can also predict luminaire quantity to meet specific PPFD specifications.

Emergency Lighting Mode

ElumTools can compute your emergency lighting results as well by toggling the program to Emergency Mode. Designate your EM fixtures by instance or type and calculate in the usual way. You now have complete results and rendering for your emergency lighting plans. Easily flip the software back and forth between General Use and Emergency with a click.

Daylighting Mode

Compute single date and time daylight illuminance with ElumTools set to Daylighting Mode. Choose the Revit site or any other location and apply IES, CIE or Perez climate-based sky models. Single calculations at 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM on the Equinox are adequate for LEED Eqc7, Option 2.

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ElumTools – Layout Assistant

ElumTools can compute luminaire quantity to meet a specific light level (on the floor, workplane or calculation point surface) for any Room, Space, Area or Region using the Layout Assistant. This very handy command in ElumTools will provide a series of estimates and possible luminaire layouts for you to examine and manipulate. Select the layout of choice, compute the actual point-by-point results, AND export the luminaire positions back into Revit. It is a tremendous time saver.

ElumTools Computes PPFD for Horticulture

ElumTools supports a separate and specific mode for horticultural lighting calculations. When the software is set in Horticulture Mode, luminaires can be assigned output in terms of PPF (Photosynthetic Photon Flux in µmol/s, typically provided by the luminaire manufacturer), or by PPF Factor (µmol/s/kilolumen) which can be computed from the spectral power distribution of the light source. All point-by-point calculations will then be expressed in terms of PPFD (Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density, µmol/(s.m2)). Rendered results are shown in pseudocolor

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