Ian Ashdown, P. Eng. (Ret.), FIES Senior Scientist
SunTracker Technologies Ltd.

Concordia University
April 2022

View the full presentation here.

Whether it is in lighting or acoustics, engineering design and analysis invariably involves commercial software design tools. It can be challenging to master the intricacies of these programs, particularly when they offer idiosyncratic user interfaces … but it can be done.

The far greater challenge, however, is to understand these tools. What calculations are they performing, and worse, what assumptions are they making? Worst of all, what are their limitations?

These are not questions that are easily answered by reading the software manuals. However, if you understand the basic engineering principles of a problem, you can often reason what the programs are doing on your behalf.

Topics

• Lighting History
• Tools – Inverse Square Law
• Tools – Lumen Method
• Architects
• Understanding Light
• Tools – Ray Tracing
• Lighting Design Programs – Ray Tracing
• Tools – Radiosity
• Radiosity Equation
• Radiosity History
• Radiosity: A Programmer’s Perspective
• Lighting Design Programs – Radiosity
• Lighting Design Programs – Applications
• Lighting Design – Applications
• Lighting Design Programs – Applications
• Room Acoustics – History
• Auralization Process
• Tools – Room Acoustics Simulation
• Room Acoustics Simulation Programs

View the full presentation here.