Sun still shows at night!! What is wrong?

[LiteMari]

I just upgraded from HD Suite to Pro 2016 and am using Sun Angle and entering Earth Data to deterine sun/shade on various windows and with different overhangs. For the most part what I am seeing seems quite similar to such free online resources such as the sun window calculator at http://susdesign.com/overhang/index.php

 

What puzzles me is that putting in 3AM for a date in March when the sun is below the horizon still shows shadows in a Perspective Full Overview camera; AND hitting the toggle for Sun on/off shows that that camera view is using sunlight I am puzzled. Your thoughts/experience?

 

My hypothesis is that this feature of HD Pro while useful is NOT that robust. Meaning, when you click Day Light Savings time in Earth Data that does NOT mean that HD automatically compensates the sun based on the calendar date that you enter. You the user need to determine whether DST is in effect at that date for your location. I am guessing that HD Pro might simply not have the smarts to know that the sun is below the horizon; uses the correct angle for it and continues to use it as a shining light even in the middle of the night e.g. my 3AM example.

[DavidJPotter]

Under the 3D menu -"lighting" there is a manual command to "Toggle Sunlight" which controls whether there is  or is not sunlight, did you toggle sunlight "off"? yes or no? I often use the sunlight arrow to modify shadow patterns during the day but it is not useful at night where you would toggle off sunlight, did you do that or did you do something else?

 

DJP

[LiteMari]

Thanks David. Yes I have toggled the Sunlight, but my concern is what seems to be the lack of built in programming sophistication and not sure that I trust the visual results of HD Pro. But that I mean as originally posted, at 3AM entered in the Earth Data area for sun angle, I would hope that this level of software would check the database and simply know that the sun has not yet risen and that it would not need intervention on my part.

 

Reading between the lines of your response, it seems that my hypothesis that HD Pro is not very sophisticated is right. Have you checked what it displays visually against other tools that allow modeling of sun/shadow, and if so do you trust what HD Pro displays? Does it agree with other tools?

 

Thanks

[Kbird1]

I don't think there is anyway for it to determine Dusk/Dawn and by Default every 3D view generates a Default Sun  which you can alter in the Adjust Light DBX if the is no Sun Arrow in the Plan.

 

You also might want to play with the Default Ambient light in the 3D Defaults ....I personally find Night-Time is usually too high by Default and I find Interior too Low often.

 

[LiteMari]

Thanks @Kbird I think I understand most of the basic controls for sun light/shadows. What concerns me is whether the software is doing a reasonably accurate depiction. Have you or others confirmed it against other tools?

 

Given that HD Pro has not taken the time to make it convenient for user I wonder if they have cut corners/accuracy as well. By this I mean it would be fairly easy for software to use database to know a) when daylight savings time is and is NOT in effect at a given lat and long (location); and since it is pulling sun angle from a database it would also be easy for it to "know" that the sun had not risen on a particular date and time and then automatically toggle off sun for user rather than forcing the user to know this and toggle it off. Sun infiltration into windows; shadows caste by different overhang geometries is something that I am working on and I'd like to feel some confidence in what HD Pro is showing visually. I will do my own checking and comparison with other tools, but the lack of taking care of user with some basic conveniences does not inspire my confidence in this aspect of the software. I was very impressed with HD Suite at $100 and what I was able to do; I was hoping that stepping up to HD Pro would give me more AND also accurate control. While I have more control, I don't know about accuracy. I had called tech support and they did not know whether the "sun shining" at night was a flaw or whether it was something I was doing wrong. It seems like it is just how the program works.

[DavidJPotter]

The fact is that any software is merely a mechanical device operated by end users. Part of learning and mastering any software is understanding what its limits are, what it can be trusted to do on its own and where one has to step in and control conditions. In terms of Sun Angle control and lighting, there is no difference in the controls of Home Designer Pro ($495.00) and Chief Architect Premier ($2,600.00) other than more choices and tool options. The big difference is in the quality and diligence of the end user to get a product using the tools he has. You have every right to be critical I suppose but such criticism will not and does not change what is.

 

DJP

[LiteMari]

David I agree it is up to me to determine where I can have confidence in the software, I've just been trying to get at your exp. and others as to whether the Sun Angle and therefore the Shadows it creates does a pretty accurate job. I can put up with the annoyances of having to know myself whether Daylight savings time is in effect, or whether the sun has not already risen, or has already set. Any thoughts, experience on accuracy would be appreicated? Thanks again.

[Kbird1]

I don't do Sun studies at all , so can not comment on the Sun's accuracy in HD or CA as I have not compared them to anything else.

M.