Virtual Sun Model A7 Design Guide

In a building with multiple skylights, observers can only see the Sun through one skylight at a time. Because the Sun appears to be millions of miles away, the angle between one’s eye and the Sun never changes as you walk around the room and the Sun appears to follow you in the sky. Virtual Sun acts the same way. When you install multiple Virtual Sun units (Model A7) into a ceiling side by side, it creates the impression of one large skylight.

Units can be installed in a tight 1 dimensional or 2 dimension grid to create the impression of an even larger skylight with more dramatic effect.

For more even illumination across a large space, it may be necessary to space units in the ceiling further apart.

In all cases, The Sun will appear to follow an observer in the sky as they walk under the units. As the viewer moves their view point from one fixture to the next, only one Sun will be visible.

Innerscene Virtual Sun Model A7’s unique patented parallax-free Sun appears at a 30 degrees angle from vertical.

Virtual Sun Model A7 projects a beam of light and casts a bright spot onto the floor below just as our real Sun. For the best viewing experience of the Sun, we recommend a viewing distance of at least 1-foot (0.3m) away from the fixture. There is no minimum ceiling height requirement. Virtual Sun Model A7 can be installed at any ceiling height the mounting method supports.

Due to the directional nature of the Sun’s beam of light, we recommend fixtures within the same space to be installed in parallel and in the same orientation to maintain a consistent Sun position in the sky. All Virtual Sun fixture enclosures have markings to indicate the direction of the Sun.

If units are installed as shown left, an observer standing between the two units would see 2 suns in the sky. When all units are installed having the same orientation, each person in the room will only see one Sun no matter how many units are installed.

Innerscene Virtual Sun Model A7 is able to emit a wide range of both the sky and sun scenes from the warm glow of sunrise/sunsets to blue summer sky with the warm glowing Sun above.

Virtual Sun Model A7 can output light with CCTs (Correlated Color Temperature) in the range of 3000K at its warmest colour temperature to over 10,000K at it’s coolest.

When a blue sky look is desired, the coolest CCT is used. Average CCT targets for office environments range from 4000K to 6500K and home environments often use 2700K. In environments where no outside lighting is present to balance the CCT, additional warm CCT lighting is recommended to achieve both a blue sky look and a lower CCT average.

Adding complementary warm light sources such as down lights or free standing lights can be used to achieve a lower average CCT for a room when a blue sky setting is enabled.

When designing a space, adding additional standard ceiling downlights or floor lamps with a low CCT (2700K or lower) can help balance the average room CCT.

Examples shown are a Whitegoods 4” down light fixture and a CTO Lighting Trico floor lamp with warm 2700K light sources.

The ideal light levels in a space depends on the task required. For example, the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) Code for Lighting recommend the following light levels on the work plane:

The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) recommends the following footcandle levels to ensure adequate illumination and safety for occupants:

To aid quick lighting layouts, Innerscene has produced illuminance intensity simulations using typical 9-foot (2.8m) ceiling heights as well as several typical fixture spacings below. For other layouts please get in touch with our technical team and we would be happy to assist. Alternatively, an experienced lighting designer will also be able to use our standard photometry files to simulate the lighting layouts for your particular requirements. Actual spacing will depend on your requirement and structural considerations. The absolute minimum X spacing, where the trims are adjoining, is approximately 21-11/16” (551mm). The absolute minimum Y spacing is 41”(1042mm). To achieve more uniform lighting distribution in larger spaces, Innerscene recommends utilising multiple fixtures in regular rows or columns.

To give the appearance of a single continuous larger sky light, Innerscene recommends arranging multiple fixtures as close together as possible in a line or grid. The Sun appears to be millions of miles away in all fixtures. As the viewer moves their view point from one fixture to the next, only one Sun is visible at any time, thus completing the illusion of a single expansive sky light. To maximise this effect, the fixtures should be situated as close together as possible.

Innerscene has simulated the approximate illuminance level on the working plane in various room scenarios using CircadianLab, our own photometric engine, driven by the Virtual Sun Model A7 IES file. Each arrangement below can be opened in CircadianLab and adjusted to your own room. The simulations were done with the following assumptions:

* Reflectances - These values determine how reflective your walls, floors, and ceiling surfaces are. Exact values may vary in practice.

Different room dimensions, reflectances and maintenance levels will have some effects on the actual illuminance.

Average, minimum and peak are horizontal illuminance across the whole 31-1/2ft (9.6m) square work plane. The peak is the centre of the Sun spot.

The above scenario shows the tightest possible line arrangement at 41” (1042mm) on-center spacings.