LDT to IES Converter
Free LDT to IES converter that runs entirely in your browser. Convert EULUMDAT photometric files to IESNA LM-63 format with no upload, login, or size limit.
This LDT to IES converter turns an EULUMDAT (.ldt) photometric file into the IESNA LM-63 (.ies) format that North American lighting design tools, e-commerce platforms, and product feeds expect. Paste or drop a file and get a clean, downloadable IES output in seconds — useful for distributors normalizing photometric data inherited from European suppliers.
LDT to IES Converter
The interactive version of this tool is coming soon. It will run entirely in your browser — no login, no upload limits.
Planned tool: ldt to ies converter
Need this now? Talk to ClaroWhat it checks
Before and during conversion, the tool validates the structure of your source file and the integrity of the output so you do not ship a photometric file that silently fails downstream:
- Format detection — confirms the input is a valid EULUMDAT LDT file (the fixed line-numbered header, lamp block, and intensity table) rather than a mislabeled IES, XML, or CSV file.
- Geometry mapping — reads the number of C-planes (Mc) and the gamma angles per plane (Ng) and maps them to the IES
TILT, vertical, and horizontal angle arrays. - Photometric type — translates the EULUMDAT symmetry indicator into the correct IES photometric type and angle ranges so a symmetric luminaire is not exported as if it were asymmetric.
- Unit and multiplier handling — converts luminous intensity values (cd/1000lm in LDT) into absolute candela using the declared lamp lumens, and sets the IES candela multiplier accordingly.
- Luminaire dimensions — carries over length, width, and height into the IES luminous-dimensions line, converting millimeters to meters where required.
- Output integrity — checks that the generated IES file parses cleanly: keyword block, tilt line, and a complete intensity matrix with no missing or NaN values.
How the LDT to IES converter works
EULUMDAT (LDT) and IESNA LM-63 (IES) both describe the same physical thing — how much light a luminaire emits in every direction — but they encode it differently. LDT is a strict line-positional format common in Europe; IES is a keyword-and-array format standard in North America. Converting between them means parsing the LDT intensity table indexed by C-plane and gamma angle, rescaling intensities from the per-1000-lumen convention to absolute candela, and re-emitting the same distribution in the IES angle and keyword structure.
- 1Parse the LDT headerRead the fixed lines for manufacturer, symmetry, plane count, angle count, lamp lumens, and luminaire geometry.
- 2Rebuild the intensity gridMap each C-plane and gamma angle to its candela value, applying the lumen-based multiplier.
- 3Emit IES LM-63Write the keyword block, TILT=NONE line, angle arrays, and candela matrix in valid LM-63 order.
- 4Re-validateParse the output back to confirm it is a well-formed IES file before you download it.
Everything runs client-side in your browser. Your photometric files are never uploaded to a server, which matters when you are handling pre-release supplier data under NDA. The same normalization problem shows up across catalogs: a furniture supplier sends dimensions in millimeters while your PIM expects inches, an MRO vendor ships specs as PDFs, a CPG feed mislabels units. Photometric conversion is one instance of the broader enrichment work of making heterogeneous supplier data conform to one canonical shape — which is exactly what Claro’s product data enrichment platform automates across an entire catalog with provenance on every transformed value.
Related resources
Tool
EULUMDAT / IES Photometric Validator
Validate an LDT or IES file structurally before or after converting it.
Playbook
Identify an IEC 60309 Plug From Markings
A worked example of turning physical markings into clean catalog attributes.
Playbook
Extract Product Specs From PDFs With Traceability
Pull structured specs out of supplier documents without losing provenance.
Glossary
What Is Unit of Measure (UOM)?
Why consistent units underpin reliable photometric and dimensional data.
Glossary
What Is Data Normalization?
The discipline behind converting supplier formats into one canonical record.
FAQ
What is the difference between LDT and IES files?
LDT (EULUMDAT) and IES (IESNA LM-63) are both photometric file formats that describe a luminaire’s light distribution. LDT is a line-positional format widely used in Europe and stores intensity as candela per 1000 lumens. IES is a keyword-and-array format standard in North America and is the format most US-facing lighting design tools and product feeds expect. The underlying physics is the same; only the encoding differs.
Is this LDT to IES converter free and does it require an account?
Yes. The converter is free, requires no login, and has no file-size limit. All parsing and conversion happen in your browser, so your photometric files are never uploaded to a server.
Will the conversion change my luminaire's light output values?
The conversion preserves the photometric distribution. It does rescale intensity values from the LDT per-1000-lumen convention into absolute candela using the lamp lumens declared in the file, which is the correct representation for IES. The shape of the distribution is unchanged.
Can every LDT field be represented in IES?
Most can, but the two standards are not identical. Geometry, symmetry, angles, and intensities map cleanly. A few vendor-specific or free-text fields in EULUMDAT have no direct IES equivalent and are preserved as keyword comments where the format allows, or omitted if they would produce an invalid file.
Why would a distributor need to convert LDT to IES?
Distributors often receive photometric data from European manufacturers as LDT files while their North American customers, e-commerce platforms, and lighting design software require IES. Converting LDT to IES lets you publish complete, tool-ready photometric attributes for every fixture instead of leaving the field blank, which improves catalog completeness and searchability.