[Radiance-general] non-technical

[Greg Ward]

Hi Tom,

Thank for taking the time to write a thoughtful and thought-provoking  
letter to the group.  Indeed, material models are hard to come by in  
Radiance, and most users end up spending a significant amount of time  
creating the materials they need for a convincing and accurate result.

Sadly, there are so many architectural materials out there, that  
creating a library that is comprehensive or even representative is a  
daunting challenge, and it has proven difficult to get public funding  
agencies behind such an effort.  The best hope is for a consortium,  
similar to the one set up by Mike Rubin & company at LBNL with the  
glazing manufacturers to establish a protocol for characterizing  
their products in a consistent and unbiased way.  Getting the kind of  
cohesion and groundswell needed for such a consortium of the many  
companies involved in producing masonry, floor coverings, paints,  
wallpaper, etc., etc...  Well, let's just say it would take a big  
push from somewhere.

So, I don't really have a satisfying answer to your request, but  
maybe there are others on the list who can volunteer their  
experiences with material modeling.  Perhaps someone can even suggest  
a route for gathering a reasonable library together.  Certainly, it  
would get some use.

Best,
-Greg