Did you know that your smartphone can help you improve your well-being in natural light? Find out how to simulate the natural brightness of your future home, measure the intensity of natural light in your home and pinpoint the precise location of the sun’s movements around your home.
Our smartphones are a concentration of technologies. Most of them integrate a light sensor, a camera and a GPS positioning system. These three devices combined allow the emergence of new applications dedicated to your living comfort. In this article discover 3 applications to improve your well-being in natural light !
Solen
The Solen application allows you to simulate natural lighting in a house under construction. Solen provides figures on the available brightness in the dwelling in grey and good weather. Its algorithms also allow this information to change over the course of a typical day and according to the seasons. The Solen app is a fantastic tool for buyers of a flat. Brightness is a particularly important criterion on which future occupants want to be reassured. Solen allows you to anticipate your level of well-being in natural light. Contact your real estate agent or developer to find out more about the application. Solen also issues brightness certificates for existing homes.
Luxmeter
Light intensity is a key characteristic of natural light. This value is measured in lux using a Luxmeter such as the one marketed by Espaciel. While waiting to acquire this device, here is “Luxmeter”. This app turns your smartphone into a luxmeter. Of course the app is not as accurate as a real luxmeter. But it gives an order of magnitude and references for comparison quite interesting. It allows you to evaluate your well-being in natural light in a numerical way. Luxmeter was developed by the famous Danish company Velux, a specialist in roof windows. Load this application onto your phone now!
Sun Surveyor
If you live in a place that is partially hidden from the sun, you know how nice it is to see the sun appear in the sky to finally enjoy its benefits. In what season is the sun high enough to reach the windows of your home? At what time of day does it appear according to the seasons? All these questions are answered with Sun Surveyor. This app uses the GPS coordinates of your smartphone to locate the sun’s movements in the sky. The application superimposes this information on the screen view of the camera. Although the application is quite complex and despite the restriction of free options, Sun Surveyor remains a mine of valuable information. Note that Solen, mentioned above, has also developed the sun tracking in her mobile application.
Other applications related to natural light…
A jewel that evaluates your dose of sunshine
There are other applications related to natural light, but they often require the acquisition of additional sensors. This is for example the case for the June application of Netatmo. It works in conjunction with a jewel supplied by Netatmo. The sensor inserted in the jewel measures the exposure to sunlight over a day (like a dosimeter). It communicates with your smartphone via the manufacturer’s application. The objective is to ensure your well-being in natural light by avoiding overexposure to sunlight. Natural light is a source of benefits. But overexposure to the sun can be dangerous (sunburn, sunstroke, dehydration …).
A light analyzing sensor
The Lighting Navigator application measures the temperature of light in degrees Kelvin. This value indicates the colour of the light, more or less warm or cold. Again, an additional sensor is required in addition to your phone. This is an optical sensor to be connected to your smartphone. The Lighting Navigator enables an analysis of the colours that make up the surrounding light. For example, artificial light consists of only 2 or 3 components. In contrast, daylight contains all the colours of the rainbow. This richer constitution of daylight is essential. It is the basis of well-being in natural light.
The Espaciel configurator
Espaciel has created an online configurator. It allows you to choose the most suitable Light Reflector to gain natural light in your home. The Espaciel configurator is not strictly speaking an application, although it is similar to one. It is easily accessible from the Espaciel website. After answering a few questions you will get a recommendation on the type of Light Reflector recommended. A way to prepare your purchase to enhance the well-being in natural light in your home.
To go further…
As you can see, natural light is an inspiring topic for application designers. Stay connected to our newsletters. This way you will be informed about natural light, its benefits, how to benefit from it and the daylighting solutions to achieve it. See you soon!
