How to View an IES Photometric File (Free, Online IES and LDT Viewer)
View IES and LDT photometric files for free, right in your browser, with nothing to install and no account.
This tutorial opens the IES file for our Circadian Sky 2x4 and walks through everything the free IES viewer shows: total lumens, peak candela, watts, efficacy and beam angle, the polar plot (C0-C180 and C90-C270), the 3D goniometer, cone of light at mounting heights from 8 to 15 feet, zonal lumen distribution, the floor illuminance (iso-footcandle) plot in footcandles or lux, and every keyword in the file. Then a 24 degree spot, a wall washer in the European LDT (EULUMDAT) format, the free Innerscene IES library (over 350,000 IES files: search it from the viewer, or browse by manufacturer and fixture type at innerscene.com/fixtures and download any file), and opening the fixture in CircadianLab, our free lighting calculator. Reads IESNA LM-63 from 1986 through 2019, Photometric Types A, B and C. The file stays on your device.
Transcript
Intro
Here is how to view an I E S photometric file for free, in your web browser.
Open the IES viewer
Go to innerscene.com/tools/ies-viewer. There is no account and nothing to install, and the file stays on your device.
Open an IES file
Click Open an I E S or L D T File, or drop the file on the page. This is the photometric file for our Circadian Sky 2x4 fixture. Across the top are its total lumens, peak candela, input watts, efficacy and beam angle.
Polar plot and goniometer
The polar plot draws the candela curve in the C0 to C180 and C90 to C270 planes. The goniometer shows the same light as a 3D surface you can turn and zoom.
Beam analysis
Cone of Light gives the beam diameter and the light at its center for mounting heights from 8 to 15 feet. Zonal lumens shows where the light goes: here all of it downward, most of it within 60 degrees of straight down.
Floor illuminance
The floor plot shows the footcandles on the floor below. Pick a mounting height, or switch to lux.
Photometric specifications
Below is every keyword from the file: the manufacturer, catalog number, test lab, lumens and dimensions.
A different beam
Load a different file and every plot follows it. This sample spot packs its light into a 24 degree beam.
LDT files
European L D T files open too. This sample wall washer throws its light to one side, and the floor plot shows how far out its peak lands.
The Innerscene IES library
No file at hand? Innerscene has a free library of over 350,000 I E S files, and you can search it right in the viewer. Pick a result and it opens like any other file. To browse by manufacturer, go to innerscene.com/fixtures. Pick a manufacturer, like Innerscene. Choose a fixture type to narrow the list, then open a fixture. Each fixture has its own page with the same plots, and a button to download its I E S file.
Open the fixture in CircadianLab
Every library page, and the viewer, has Open in CircadianLab, which takes the fixture into our free lighting calculator, to place it in a room and see the light it gives.
Phones and tablets
The same page works on a phone or tablet, so you can check a fixture's photometry on site.
Summary
That is the free I E S and L D T viewer at innerscene.com. Links are in the description.
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