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LightTools Case Study: ERCO, The Light Factory
The Spherolit reflector is a breakthrough design that allows easy and flexible adaptations to be made to a variety of architectural lighting applications, including narrow spot, flood, and accent lighting.
The Design
ERCO used LightTools to design their sophisticated Spherolit reflectors for accent lighting, washlighting, and wallwashing applications.
“Throughout the development of the Spherolit reflector technology, I could rely on my LightTools simulation results. LightTools predicted critical features in the light distribution with high accuracy. Using its powerful virtual prototyping capabilities, we saved several iterations of hardware prototypes.”
- Dr. Matthias Bremerich, chief illumination engineer at ERCO
The Goal
ERCO, headquartered in Lüdenscheid, Germany, specializes in producing engineering hardware and software for architectural lighting. ERCO’s indoor luminaires, outdoor luminaires, and lighting control systems comprise an extensive range of lighting equipment for architectural lighting solutions.
ERCO set out to create a breakthrough reflector design that would allow easy and flexible adaptations to be made to a variety of architectural lighting applications, including narrow spot, flood, and accent lighting. ERCO used LightTools to create the innovative Spherolit reflectors, which are distinguished from conventional reflectors by their three-dimensional spherical curvature that can be shaped for specific light distributions.
“Throughout the development of the Spherolit reflector technology, I could rely on my LightTools simulation results,” says Dr. Matthias Bremerich, chief illumination engineer at ERCO. “LightTools predicted critical features in the light distribution with high accuracy. Using its powerful virtual prototyping capabilities, we saved several iterations of hardware prototypes.”
The Design
The Spherolit technology supplies various light distributions from a series of reflectors with identical footprints.
Spherolit images courtesy of ERCO.
Accurate source modeling was crucial for the development of the Spherolit reflectors. In LightTools, ERCO defined a source model that shows all details of measurements of an HIT (metal halide) lamp in the near field and far field.
LightTools analysis images courtesy of ERCO.
The symmetric and asymmetric light distributions are achieved by a dedicated layout of cushion-shaped reflector facets. Parametric design and macro programming in LightTools made this possible.
LightTools simulated results versus actual results. Image courtesy of ERCO.
The Results
The breakthrough and exclusive technology in ERCO's Spherolit reflectors presents an ideal light quality and offers many practical advantages to lighting designers and users. The Spherolit reflectors are now successfully used in several new product lines. ERCO has effectively invented an entirely new, central element of lighting technology.
