In addition to regular offices, LIPID facilities include an experimental laboratory and workshop on the ground floor of the LE building. These facilities are shared with the Laboratory of Architecture and Sustainable Technologies (LAST) and the Laboratory of Techniques and Preservation of Modern Architecture (TSAM).
Scientific Equipment
HPD Model 126 Heliodon
Heliodons are design and educational tools for sun course analysis with physical models. The one at LIPID (designed by Norbert Lechner and manufactured by hpd-online) provides a pedagogical perspective with moving lights on arcs. Similar devices – with a moving model – were developed in Prof. Andersen’s former group at MIT, which included an automated version and a portable one for outdoor studies.
Optics Lab Equipment
The optics lab at LIPID is well equipped with various optical detection systems and calibrated light sources. Major equipment includes portable spectrophotometers operating in the wavelength ranges 350-1000 nm and 800-2500 nm, calibrated thermopile, calibrated photodetector operating in the wavelength range 250-1100 nm and pyranometers (205-2800 nm) of 2nd class.
Solar Radiation Equipment
The laboratory’s solar radiation equipment can measure Direct Normal Radiation and Global Horizontal Radiation outdoors. We use the CHP1 pyrheliometer manufactured by Kipp & Zonen for direct radiation measurement. Since this kind of measurement requires tracking the sun as it moves through the sky, we use a Solys 2 tracker (also by Kipp & Zonen). To measure global horizontal irradiation, we have the SR12 and LP02 pyranometers (from Hukseflux).
Data Loggers
The laboratory has four indoor-use temperature and humidity loggers (manufactured by ONSET Corp.) and a high accuracy logger for analog inputs (from Agilent Inc.). The indoor-use loggers can be programmed to collect and store data independently for several months or up to time steps as fine as a second. All of this equipment is portable and wired for modular expansion. We can accommodate many more instruments to measure outdoor temperature, wind, etc.
DEMONA
DEMONA is a Daylighting Testbed for field measurements purposes. This chamber resembles a typical office room, equipped with a unilateral façade reaching a 62% window-to-wall ratio. Inside the chamber, lux-meter arrays and temperature sensors are positioned for lighting and thermal monitoring. At the moment, experimental activities in DEMONA include visual and comfort evaluation under coloured daylight, and perception of glare under different type of blinds / electrochromic glazing.
