Planning for efficient exporting to rendering packages

I am looking for a strategy of construction which will help me to
export a low-polygon model after the design is finished. This is for
a theater, so that the models can be rendered in a specialized
lighting package. The program is different than most rendering
packages because of the need to allow over 1,000 light fixtures.
Needless to say, although it is optimized for a large number of light
sources, a high polygon count certainly slows the process down.

I just went through a little testing with a utility that can export
a 3DS file with adjustable complexity. However, the hollow tubing we
commonly used is a problem. The inside of the tubing is useless for
rendering, but not easy for this exporting program to automatically
filter out when exporting.

I am thinking I can help the process by making it easy to suppress
the interiors of the tubing by naming that feature something easy to
suppress as a group. Perhaps something generic like "Suppress for
Export" or to be shorter "S-f-E"? Anything I know I shouldn't export
for rendering can have this in its feature name.

However, I can't picture how to do this with the weldment feature.
Any suggestions?

Joe