Skyline Engineering’s Electrical Engineers and Designers have collective lighting design experience of approximately 60 years. Markets with unique exterior lighting design projects have included; Aviation, Commercial / Industrial, Healthcare, Educational, and Hospitality including Gymnasiums, Theatrical, Museums, Historical Restorations, and High-End Gaming. We have completed many exterior projects including wall and streetscapes, signage, parking, roadway and street lighting, and intersection lighting.
For energy conscious clients, efficient fixtures are considered a priority. But, in reality, efficient fixtures are just the first step to savings. An optimized design utilizing efficient fixtures and good control while minimizing the total fixture quantities, is as important as selecting appropriate and efficient fixtures. From a legal view, it is imperative lighting levels are sufficient to achieve IES criteria while minimizing lighting pollution, glare, maximum/minimum ratios and the potential of blinding drivers and pedestrians.
Our engineers and designers are utilizing lighting modeling software to optimize designs by improved precision in lighting level accuracy.
Lighting Models
Illuminating Engineering Society Optic Files called fixture IES files are published by manufacturers. Each fixture IES file (shown left) is inserted, positioned, and aimed within a model. Fixtures (point-sources of light) may be aimed at any surface or object and effectively turned on and off. After which, the program calculates the summation of grid-plane lumens on selected calculation grids. These techniques allow engineers to optimize designs and better predict the outcome of a particular lighting solution effectively avoiding over/under illumination. Should a legal issue arise, lighting modeling minimizes fixtures, conserves energy and validates that minimum lighting standards were considered and achieved.
Our designers created the 3D model to the right for the Rapid City Roosevelt Ice Arena for outdoor/parking. This model was placed on plans as an exterior lighting performance criteria. Light poles are shown as blue. Although difficult to see in the scaled down version, the expanded model indicates the anticipated illumination levels in a calculation grid format. The green and pink lines are visual lumen contours delineating minimum lights levels recommended by IES for the facility type/use. The contour lines are used to verify proper illumination in the targeted areas.
Read about our expertise with interior lighting design.
