
Daylight Visualizer - breck
http://www.velux.com/article/2016/daylight-visualizer
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matttproud
Velux designs and manufactures fantastic windows. We had them in our German
apartment and in few windows of our Swiss one. Folks in North America don't
know what they are missing. Makes the highest quality windows available in the
U.S. feel like they were bought at Wal-Mart.

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watty
Velux is at Lowe's and Home Depot in North America.

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knolan
Reminds me of this blender/OpenFOAM based tool.

[https://www.ods-engineering.com/tools/ods-studio/](https://www.ods-
engineering.com/tools/ods-studio/)

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ivanbakel
Impressive splash page - but what makes this anything other than advertising?
Is there something worth demonstrating on the technical side?

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martinbundgaard
I think a bunch of HN readers are also interested in software product design.
To me, this looks like a nice example of that. They appear to be taking a
selection of fairly complicated functionality and packaging it so that non-
technical people (architects?) can use it when discussing lighting options
with people who they are helping design their houses.

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Pulcinella
I wouldn't describe architects as "non-technical."

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mysterypie
> _promote the use of daylight_

I'd like to offer a contrary opinion about the obsession with daylight, floor
to ceiling windows in new houses and condos, and glass skyscrapers. I'm fine
with good artificial lighting. I don't mind some windows if it's a nice view
or for fresh air (assuming the windows even open).

But in my opinion, good man-made lighting is better and preferable to
daylight. We don't live according to the sun's schedule anymore, so you do
need artificial lightning for most of the time anyway. Optimizing houses and
buildings for daylight leads to weird shapes (like those diagonal ceilings in
the article), higher cost (of course), zoning wars when one building might
cast a shadow on another, weaker structures, and terrible climate control
(glass buildings trap more heat in summer and are colder in winter).

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bcraven
What do you use to combat Vitamin D deficiency? [0]

"Known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is produced by the body in response
to skin being exposed to sunlight. "

"Vitamin D is essential for strong bones, because it helps the body use
calcium from the diet. Traditionally, vitamin D deficiency has been associated
with rickets, a disease in which the bone tissue doesn't properly mineralize,
leading to soft bones and skeletal deformities. But increasingly, research is
revealing the importance of vitamin D in protecting against a host of health
problems."

[0] [http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/vitamin-d-
deficiency#1](http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/vitamin-d-deficiency#1)

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GlennS
Would expect that daylight which has gone through glass is probably not going
to help you produce vitamin D.

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scaryclam
Why on earth not?

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dcminter
Because the ultraviolet-B component of sunlight is what allows your skin to
create vitamin D, and glass blocks ultraviolet-B pretty effectively.

~~~
scaryclam
Wow, thanks for the information, I didn't know that! :)

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catpolice
"Daylight visualizer" is basically my job title.

