Daylight and Sunlight Studies plus Right to Light Assessment within AutoCAD® / Revit®

MBS Waldram Tools v6.0 is used by planners, architects, developers, sustainability consultants and specialist right to light consultants to process calculations within an AutoCAD®/Revit® environment. These cover two areas: daylight/sunlight analysis and right of light (AutoCAD® only).

The software allows analysis by running calculations from a 3D CAD Model based on scenarios you provide. For example, the impact produced by a building of a given height and shape.

The software fully meets all planning regulations and relevant guidelines. That includes the Building Research Establishment (BRE) document “Site Layout Planning for Daylight and Sunlight – A Guide to Good Practice” by P J Littlefair. As many UK local authorities have adopted this guide, these recommendations provide a foundation upon which planning permission is decided.

Right to light has become ever more of an issue, in the UK, as the rise of right to light specialists bears witness to. Property owners who are negatively affected are entitled to legal remedy. If successful, that can mean compensation awarded, developments drastically altered and court orders to stop development altogether. There have even been high profile cases of buildings being pulled down following adverse judgements.

Even developments with planning permission can still be opposed on the grounds of right to light. This presents additional risk for developers, with courts generally upholding the rights of residential owners more than commercial developers.

Fortunately, proper right to light studies on new builds – with the help of Waldram Tools for AutoCAD® – can ensure all the facts and figures are known from the earliest design stage. Quickly, efficiently and at far less cost than if issues are detected later.


Benefits of using Waldram Tools

  • Proven and trusted by hundreds of users in UK and elsewhere
  • Far less time and effort than other options
  • Fully meets BRE recommendations
  • AutoCAD® environment provides a very flexible way of modelling buildings
  • Produces all the required data needed in assessing right to light
  • Results are produced in both visual and tabular form

Building Surveyors & Rights of Light Specialists

Even if planning permission exists, the building process can still be halted if it’s deemed that right to light of neighbouring properties is infringed. MBS Waldram Tools v6.0 gives you a full suite of tools for assessing before and after scenarios quickly and easily – and for preventing major cost and reputation issues down the line.

  • Meets the BRE guidelines
  • Easy analysis and re-analysis of before and after scenarios
  • Easy generation of cut backs
  • The software calculates and produces the 0.2 Contour
  • EFZ tables produced to show areas of loss
  • Waldram diagrams and Excel outputs aid visual understanding
  • Facade Analysis using predefined or custom legend
  • Windows/Rooms are high-lit based on Custom Pass/Fail Criteria

Architects & Sustainability Consultants

Planning consent requirements are more restrictive now than ever, especially regarding sustainability and well-being, both for those who use buildings and those who may be affected by them. In particular, the Code for Sustainable Homes promotes well-lit spaces that fit well in their space and also with neighbouring properties.

MBS Waldram Tools allow you to design cutbacks allowing effective space optimisation and to fine-tune design at the earliest stage. In that sense, it can also act not just as a necessary tool, but a creative one, allowing you to explore different possibilities.

  • Meets the BRE guidelines
  • Meets the BSEN_17037 & EN17037 guidelines
  • BREEAM & LEED calculations
  • Easy analysis and re-analysis of before and after scenarios
  • Simple generation of design envelopes
  • Quick and efficient calculation of average daylight factors
  • Analysis of sun paths and shadows
  • Waldram diagrams and Excel outputs aid visual understanding.
  • Radiance based Analysis
  • Climate Based Daylight Modelling