Engineering challenges in LED lighting
The lighting industry underwent a revolution with the rise of LEDs — but this technology presents designers with new, harder optical challenges than traditional incandescent or fluorescent sources. An LED emits light from a small surface over a wide solid angle, and its angular characteristic is strongly asymmetric. Shaping such a source into a light distribution that meets a standard — whether EN 60598, LM-79, or a customer's requirements — demands precise secondary optics and accurate simulation.
Engineers designing luminaires must simultaneously optimize light distribution, minimize optical losses (every lost percentage point of efficiency is lost lm/W and the customer's money), eliminate glare, and meet UGR requirements. Without simulation, every iteration means a new prototype — several to a dozen or so weeks and several thousand zloty. TracePro shortens that cycle to days.
How does our software support design?
| Product | Role in this area |
|---|---|
 — TIR lenses | Designing and optimizing TIR (Total Internal Reflection) lenses for LEDs — narrow-beam and wide-angle distributions |
| — Street luminaires | Photometric curve analysis, EN 13201 lighting classes, visualization on the road surface grid |
| — Industrial lighting | High-bay and industrial luminaires — symmetric and asymmetric distribution, uniformity on the working plane |
| — LCD backlighting | Light pipes, EFLS (edge-lit) and DFLS (direct-lit) systems for LCD displays |
| — Architectural lighting | Wash, uplight, and in-ground projectors — glare and color harmony analysis |
| — UV and IR | Simulations of UV-C disinfection and IR heating systems |
a 150 W LED street luminaire meeting EN 13201 class ME4
Design assumptions
The design of a 150 W LED street luminaire had to meet the requirements of the EN 13201 lighting class ME4, ensuring proper roadway luminance, lighting uniformity, and reduced glare for drivers.
Optical model of the luminaire
The luminaire geometry developed in SolidWorks was imported into TracePro, where the LED sources were assigned the manufacturer's photometric characteristics, and the optical properties of the reflector and diffuser were defined.
Road lighting simulation
A simulation of luminaire installation was performed on a 7 m wide road section with poles spaced 30 m apart. The analysis covered luminance and illuminance distribution in line with EN 13201 requirements.
Light distribution optimization
The results showed insufficient lighting uniformity. After a small change to the reflector geometry and correcting the LED module positioning, the required photometric parameters for class ME4 were achieved.
Verified design
After optimization was complete, an LDT photometric file was generated and used for further design verification in lighting design programs such as DIALux, with no need to build additional optical prototypes.
Frequently asked questions
LED lighting
Does TracePro generate LDT and IES files for DIALux and Relux?
Yes. TracePro exports photometric results in IES (IESNA LM-63) and LDT (Eulumdat) formats, which can be imported directly into DIALux, Relux, AGI32, and other lighting calculation programs.
Can multi-color LED modules with color mixing (RGBW) be modeled?
Yes. TracePro supports multiple light sources with different spectra, allowing you to simulate color mixing and analyze color uniformity in RGBW systems.
Does TracePro support UGR glare analysis?
Yes. TracePro calculates the UGR (Unified Glare Rating) value according to the EN 12464-1 method, enabling verification of office and industrial luminaire designs for visual comfort.
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