Every output DIALux evo produces — and what a Singapore homeowner can actually appreciate.

What it measures

Nothing numeric. It is a faithful visualisation of colour temperature, beam spread, reflection, shadow softness and mood. The render reads the same physical luminaire data (IES / EULUMDAT) and same surface reflectances DIALux uses for its calculations, so what the buyer sees is photometrically truthful — not Pinterest-fiction.

Reading effort

Zero. The image looks like a 3D-rendered interior. Anyone can interpret it.

Catch

Renders are static (no real-time navigation). For a website you produce 3–6 fixed camera angles per scene. The HDR (.exr) variant lets a graphic designer push the look further in Photoshop without re-running the calculation.

Layperson takeaway

"Oh — so that's what my living room looks like with this fixture vs. that one." A side-by-side render (e.g. 3000K cove vs. 4000K downlights) instantly communicates a decision a homeowner could never read off a datasheet.

Singapore buyer angle

Most HDB and condo buyers today pick fixtures from product photos that show only the fixture, not the room. Raytrace renders flip this: they show the buyer's space with the buyer's choice in it. Strong differentiator vs. Shopee/Lazada listings.

What it measures

Same physics as raytrace but rendered with pre-baked light textures — so reflections in mirrors and refraction through glass are not simulated, but the illuminance distribution on opaque surfaces is correct.

Why it matters

You can fly through the model live. The designer iterates here, then runs raytrace only at sign-off.

Layperson takeaway

Looks like a video-game preview of their flat. Less polished than the raytrace, but it allows live walkthroughs — useful in a showroom or screen-share consultation.

What it measures

Illuminance (E, in lux) on calculation surfaces, or luminance (L, in cd/m²) on real surfaces. The legend ties colour to numeric value. DIALux KB: "the false-colour view helps to interpret the calculation results quickly and easily."

Reading effort

Light: you need to grasp that red = bright, blue = dim, and you need to remember the standard (e.g. 300 lux for living rooms, 500 lux for kitchens / desks).

Layperson takeaway

"I can see the dark corner." A homeowner who has never read DIN 5035 can still point at the blue patch by the dining table and say "I don't want that". The colour ramp turns abstract lux numbers into a literal picture of bright vs. dim.

Singapore buyer angle

HDB living rooms typically have one ceiling point and miss the dining counter and the sofa-reading zone — a false-colour map of "your current setup" vs. "what BSH proposes" is brutally clear without needing a single number.

What it measures

Same data as false-colour, drawn as line contours rather than colour bands. A sector with very dense curves represents an area with pronounced differences in illuminance; ample spacing indicates uniformity.

Layperson takeaway

Less intuitive than false-colour for a non-engineer. Looks like a "weather map". A buyer can grasp the concept ("rings = unevenness") but won't appreciate it without a guide.

What it measures

Candela per square metre — the perceived brightness of a surface, accounting for both incoming light and surface reflectance. Critical for ceiling-luminance limits (offices), façade lighting, and roadway luminance (M-class roads in Singapore highways are specified in cd/m², not lux).

Layperson takeaway

Useful narrative ("a black floor needs more lumens than a white floor for the same perceived brightness") — but the raw cd/m² map looks similar to a false-colour lux map and the unit confuses non-specialists.

What it measures

Discomfort glare from luminaires for a seated observer. Each observer point gets a rosette diagram: each spoke represents a sight direction, and DIALux flags red on every direction where UGR > the chosen limit (typically 19 for offices, 25 for industrial).

Why it matters

The single most under-appreciated lighting failure in Singapore offices and F&B is glare from bare LED downlights. UGR is the calculation that catches it before installation.

Layperson takeaway

The rosette diagram is unintuitive. But the story — "we placed virtual people at every seat and checked whether any light fixture would blind them" — is incredibly compelling. A green-vs-red rosette comparing "cheap downlight" vs. "deep-recessed downlight" lands hard.

What it measures

Service illuminance compliance with EN 12464 (Singapore offices follow this) or SS 531 (Singapore code-of-practice for indoor workplaces). The minimum value matters as much as the average — a corridor that averages 200 lux but dips to 50 lux at the entry would fail.

Layperson takeaway

A wall of three-digit numbers in a grid. Nothing for a homeowner to take away. But for a procurement officer at an office or restaurant fit-out, this is the evidence that lighting meets code.

What it measures

Daylight factor (D) = (interior horizontal lux) / (exterior unobstructed lux), %. Singapore's Green Mark scheme has daylight-glare and daylight-factor credits — daylight maps are how you prove them.

Visual

Output is a false-colour map across the floor showing D as a percentage. Areas near windows red (5–10 %), deep interior blue (< 1 %).

Layperson takeaway

For HDB residents this is gold: it answers "do I really need the living-room downlights on at 11 am?" A daylight map shaded green near the window and blue 4 metres inwards instantly explains why selective dimming saves electricity.

What it measures

EN 1838 / SS 563 emergency-lighting compliance: minimum 1 lux on the centre line of escape routes, 0.5 lux on anti-panic floor, 5 lux around fire-fighting equipment.

BSH angle

For office, F&B and retail tenants in Singapore, emergency lighting compliance is statutory. A BSH proposal that includes this study elevates the offer beyond "supply & install" into "code-compliant design".

Layperson takeaway

Powerful when framed as safety: "We simulated a power outage and checked that every escape route still has enough light for someone to reach the door." Visceral, not abstract.

What it measures

The directional distribution of luminous intensity (in candela) emitted by the fixture. Narrow polar curve = spotlight. Wide / batwing curve = office downlight. The diagram is the fingerprint of the optic.

Layperson takeaway

Looks like radar / a butterfly. Most homeowners cannot read it. But a side-by-side cone diagram showing "60° beam covers your whole dining table" vs. "20° beam pools just the centerpiece" lets them pick beam angle without jargon.

What's inside

Project cover, table of contents, building / storey / room overview, luminaire schedule (data sheets + counts), light-scene results, calculation surfaces with isolines & false colour, energy summary, signature page. Typical residential set: 12–25 pages. Tender pack: 60–120 pages.

Layperson takeaway

A PDF that looks like a Mercedes-quality engineering report. Most homeowners will not read it — but the existence of the document is the point. It signals: "you are getting an engineered design, not a quote scribbled on a brochure."

What it measures

EN 13201 road-class compliance: average road luminance Lav (cd/m²), overall uniformity Uo, longitudinal uniformity Ul, threshold increment TI (%), surround ratio SR. Singapore LTA reuses many of these.

Layperson takeaway

Irrelevant to HDB residents. Highly relevant to LTA / town-council / industrial-estate clients.

What it measures

CRI: 8 reference colours, 0–100 score. R9 (deep red) and R13 (skin tone) are reported separately — critical for residential and retail. Obtrusive light: the share of fixture output that leaks above-horizontal or beyond property line.

Layperson takeaway

CRI = "do my food / clothes / skin look real under this light?" A homeowner intuitively understands the difference between CRI > 95 (food blogger / fashion) and CRI 80 (cheap supermarket). This is the simplest specialist metric to market.