The C_E program does direct illumination calculations for any general situation, including basic area lighting, floodlighting or decorative lighting. Using photometric data in IES files, the program can calculate the direct illuminance onto points described separately or in grids, roadways or other groups. The results are provided in text files, including a statistical summary as appropriate.
C_E operates through a web-browser by providing forms for collecting the necessary input data and submitting it for calculation. C_E displays the results in the browser using files that are directly available for download. This means that using C_E involves no installation or maintenance for the user, and the program is available through any device with access to the web.
The program can be used to evaluate all sorts of lighting situations. The flexibility in C_E allows for the use of multiple luminaire types and the capability of tuning individual luminaires to model advanced control strategies. Luminaire distributions can be individually aimed using OTRS (orient, tilt, roll & spin) angles based on the common CCE (counter-clockwise from east) approach. The calculation points can be grouped into planar surfaces or along lines or as individual points, and the orientation of the illuminated surface at any calculation point can differ from the orientation of a plane containing the points. For example, to model the illumination onto the eyes of pedestrians as they proceed along a sidewalk, a grid of points could be described as in a horizontal plane at eye-height above a sidewalk, while each point's normal is horizontal (i.e. on a virtual vertical surface) and in the direction of travel.
This flexibility is inherent in the way C_E was designed to work, and it is enhanced by the Make utilities included in the C_E suite. These utilities produce sets of points that are suitable for use in C_E as typical roadway grids, planar grids, individual lines or groups of lines. The discussions and example shown in the links below demonstrate some of the capabilities of C_E (and others are still being explored.) For technical assistance or more information, see the links below or contact us through email: Marshall Design, Inc.