Our business model:
How DIALux is funded
We value good lighting. We think a tool for planning good lighting should be available to many not just a few.
DIALux is accessible to everyone. Whether student or professional, whether with a technical or a design background. DIALux is available and used all over the world. In 26 languages, with regional and international standards included, supporting small and large manufacturers.
With DIALux we offer you a powerful and comprehensive planning tool that provides you with all the necessary functions for professional lighting design free of charge. Anyone can download DIALux and use it for personal, educational, and commercial purposes. We know this is not common and will certainly raise some questions about how DIALux is funded.
Who is behind DIALux?
The company behind DIALux is DIAL GmbH from Lüdenscheid in Germany. We have 87 employees – developers, engineers, designers, architects – who are primarily involved in the development of DIALux evo. DIAL GmbH is owned by an association of leading companies in the lighting and automation industry, which does not withdraw any profits, but keeps them entirely within the company. Although DIALux evo is free of charge for you, we generate most of our revenue with DIALux and our profit is fully invested in development. Learn more about DIAL here.
How do you fund the development of DIALux?
The development of DIALux is essentially funded by membership fees from luminaire manufacturers, our DIALux members. We cooperate with all leading brands in the lighting industry. As DIALux members, manufacturers can make their brand visible in DIALux and their products available for planning. Only DIALux members can offer detailed, comprehensive and trusted product data in DIALux that users can easily and safely apply in their designs. Only DIALux members will keep you posted about product updates via their catalogues or will gladly receive your product inquiries directly from the software.
Why did you introduce DIALux Pro?
Since DIALux 12, we offer a purchase version in addition to the free version of DIALux: DIALux Pro. DIALux Pro contains special functions that enable users to significantly increase productivity and efficiency in their work. DIALux Pro combines all previously released DIALux Pro Features and in the future, we will continue to develop this purchase version in parallel to the free version of DIALux. DIALux Pro is very useful for power users who regularly and frequently plan with DIALux in a commercial context. For this reason, we have decided to make DIALux Pro available to these users as a subscription. The revenue from DIALux Pro subscriptions is used entirely to fund the development of DIALux as a whole.
How can I support DIALux as a user?
The main purpose of DIALux is to provide the best possible support for your daily work as a lighting designer, lighting engineer or architect. DIALux development takes a lot of time, money and hard work. You can support DIALux by using products and data from DIALux members. We cooperate with all leading brands worldwide, almost 200 at this point (you can find all the latest DIALux product catalogues here). By doing so you provide important feedback to manufacturers, that they are investing into a vibrant and active lighting design community. Moreover, if DIALux Pro helps you to do your job, we are more than happy if you buy a subscription. Thank you for supporting us!
Does DIALux only allow data/products from DIALux members?
DIALux allows the import of standard photometric file formats like EULUMDAT *.ldt or *.ies. However, a distinction needs to be made between members who support the development of DIALux and non-members who do not. Non-members can therefore only offer basic product information and their products are anonymized upon import. For non-members no manufacturer information is shown in the interface or included in PDF reports. Please encourage lighting brands to become a DIALux member and thus support the development of the software.
Do you sell my personal data?
Absolutely not. We know that this is a common scheme to make money. Our business model is simple; we collect membership fees and usage-based fees from manufacturers and sell DIALux Pro to users. That are the only ways we make money. We won’t sell your personal data to anybody. Ever.