Frequently Asked Questions

LightStanza for Electrical Lighting Analyis

LightStanza is used by Lighting Designers, Electrical Engineers, Architects, Sustainability and High Performance Design Specialists, Daylight Consultants, Lighting Consultants, LEED Consultants, Energy Modelers, and Project Managers. 

Main reasons people choose LightStanza:

  • Individuals who need accurate (Radiance-based) electric lighting analysis done quickly
  • People looking to explore and compare different electric lighting products to optimize their electric lighting designs
  • Designers who want to easily collaborate with clients, colleagues, and those in the lighting channel
  • Sales representatives who seek to deliver tailored lighting solutions with greater confidence and expertise
  • People who want transparency with simulation inputs and outputs so they can arrive with confidence at a lighting solution

LightStanza uses the trusted and validated US Department of Energy Radiance Engine. Expert users have control over simulation inputs and the ability to download raw data to verify its results. 

LightStanza provides the fastest Radiance results through its proprietary High Performance cloud server architecture. It highly optimizes server CPU utilization, distributes jobs across multiple servers efficiently, uses fast math libraries to manage copious lighting simulation data, has built in redundancy, and is reliable. It will outperform installed Radiance on a desktop. 

For annual simulations as required by LEEDv4, LightStanza automates Radiance’s most accurate fast 5-phase method. The 5-phase method is designed to work with BSDF data, accurate descriptors of daylight products like skylights, blinds, and redirect films for windows. This method allows you to compute annual daylight availability taking into account human-factors of blind operations. LEEDv4 requires blinds to operate to ensure that occupants can get the real benefit of glare-free light. Users of LightStanza just have to drop in a 3D model and LightStanza will do all the work required about inserting blinds and operating them in accordance to LEEDv4 as well as other control algorithms.

LightStanza is web-based and does not require a plugin. Unlike other building performance tools, it requires no special model building or simplifications to get started. There is a simple 1-button plugin available to upload the model from within Revit, but this is not required for generating results.

LightStanza is compatible with Revit, SketchUp, Rhino and ArchiCAD geometries. For Revit or SketchUp users, it is preferred to use the proper plugin to upload the 3D geometry into the LighStanza app. For Rhino users, simply drag-and-drop the file into the LightStanza interface. For ArchiCAD, save as an .ifc file and drag-and-drop it into LightStanza.

LightStanza performs all calculations using a cloud-based simulation engine. This releases your computer from the burden of running complicated and long simulations. With cloud-based calculations, your computer is free to use for its other functionalities. Run multiple calculations simultaneously, work on other LightStanza projects while simulating, or completly exit the app; once a simulation is complete, LightStanza will notify the user via email.

LightStanza provides fast, accurate and simple electric lighting calculations. Import complete 3D geometries or create geometry within LightStanza to develop lighting layouts. Engage in superior project management through the automatic creation of 2D lighting plans from 3D geometries. Import images and .dxf files to create lighting designs. Utilize the automatic lighting layout feature for quick and accurate lighting design. Effectively collaborate with other members of your project team (with or without LightStanza accounts) through live commenting and sharing capabilities within LightStanza. Have more questions about our app? Reach out to support@ec2-3-84-153-223.compute-1.amazonaws.com or check out our support forum to learn more!

Yes. Here is how LightStanza keeps your information safe: 

1. Credit Card Information is securely stored with © Stripe. No credit card information is stored locally. To learn about Stripe security, please visit https://stripe.com/docs/security/stripe. 

2. Communications between users and the app are encrypted using SSL (Secure Socket Layers), with a new encryption certificate renewed each year. 

3. All stored files are isolated from the public. Designs, result images, and result data if downloads are “opted in” are stored through Google Cloud. For information about Google Cloud security, please visit https://support.google.com/cloud/answer/6262505?hl=en. 

4. When the LightStanza Application is accessed, these steps are taken to prevent users from seeing one another’s data:

  • All sensitive routes of communication in the app are controlled using Access Control Lists (ACL), implemented with standard open source packages and user/team level roles.
  • Permissions are checked again in route-level middleware to limit access to specific database resources – e.g. users must be logged in and can only view designs that belong to their team
  • An enterprise-level application deployment service further protects sensitive data by providing:
    • Authentication (to identify who a user is)
      • No anonymous authorization allowed
      • OpenId Connect Tokens to authenticate users
      • No insecure ports utilized
    • Authorization (to determine what a user is allowed to do)
      • For in-app authorization, see above (ACLs)
      • For other access (e.g. file service and database), LS uses role-based authorization controls. Only LS employees have roles that allow direct access to anything other than the app.
    • Admission Control (to allow a person to modify/change components of the app)
      • Restricted access to all components (e.g. app, database)
      • LS always pulls new software images from a private repository, so credentials are always needed to make changes to the code in any component.

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