Office lighting has more influence on company productivity than you think. Although often an overlooked aspect of office interiors, installing the correct illumination can make staff feel more relaxed and focused and avoiding eyestrain. Just like at home it is important in creating an inviting atmosphere for the work environment.
Investing in effective light for office illumination now will give you long term benefits. Whether you are looking for tube lights, track lighting, accent lighting, table lamps, wall sconces to include the lighting designs as part of the features. Lighting solutions for offices and reception areas have so many options to choose from and is key to the aesthetics.
You can save on your electricity bills when you switch to environmentally-friendly energy-saving LED systems.
Good lighting can be an investment in your staff’s health and employee productivity. Poor illumination can cause health issues like migraines from eye strain and fatigue for your employees, which will lower the quality and effectiveness and even increase the number of sick days taken.
Even for the home office, either in a room in your home that you have put aside to work from or maybe you are working from your living room, the lights you have are important. If you are looking at a computer screen for any length of time consider getting a task light that is good for that, if you are looking at paperwork consider a desk or floor lamp. Don’t forget lighting for work purposes still applies to you.
Take a minute and see if you have the correct lights in your office or over your workstation, consider the brightness and color accent, are your ceiling lights good for computer work. These are just a few of the things to think about when looking for the best lights for your work area.
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6 Tips for Office Lighting Tips (+ Some Inspiration)
Do you feel like your light is causing eyestrain? Maybe you want to improve your employee’s inspiration and productivity or even just brighten up the workplace for your team. Read through these tips for better lighting ideas.
Tip #1: Analyze the Lights in the Office Space
When designing/redesigning an office space, even if it’s in your home, think about how the sunlight and light changes throughout the day and how this affects the lighting in offices. Is it suitable for what that specific space is used for? Have you considered task lights, designed specifically for the work that is being done?
A common mistake found in offices, especially open-plan office spaces, is that fluorescent office ceiling lights are the main light source. Fluorescent overhead lights are not enough for more precise tasks such as reading and can cause glare that will affect the eyes.
The most comfortable office space will have a combination of four different types of lighting; natural, overhead, task, and ambient. Where necessary, corrective lighting can also improve quality and combined with the best solution you really can transform any work environment into a creative one.
Tip #2: Maximize Natural Light
Natural light is the healthiest, it improves mood which in turn increases worker productivity making for a great office lighting idea.
Where it is possible, utilize daylight and sunlight and plan desk space near windows, don’t block them and your starting from scratch install larger windows if possible.
Like most home offices there might not be enough natural daylight for all tasks. This is where the other options come in – overhead, task, and ambient light should be placed to complement the natural light.
Tip #3: Install Adjustable LED Overhead Lighting
The first thing you should do is think about replacing all the fluorescent tube lights with LED tube lighting. If you want to find out how to convert fluorescent to LED lights click here. LED tubes have an average life span that is far greater in hours than fluorescent tubes. They reduce glare, don’t flicker and are generally kinder to the environment as they contain no mercury and are very energy efficient.
If the thought of replacing tube lights sounds like a daunting task, you will be happy to know that the new LED T8 tube lights are much easier to install. With all the modern technology there are even LED T8 models that will fit into a T12 fluorescent fixture without any rewiring like the Phillips InstantFit LED T8.
To further improve the quality of overhead systems you can install an adjustable system that allows you to change the color tone and has a dimmer. Even overhead lights that respond to the natural source and other light sources are available for the room which will lower your electricity costs in the long run, the options are amazing these days.
Tip #4: Place Appropriate Task Lighting
No matter what type of space it is, smaller task lighting will make a big difference. Task lights can be as simple as placing a good desk lamp as this will already make it easier for staff to read at their desk or installing 4 foot office lights above desks.
You will notice that everyone has their own preferences – for example, older staff might have more difficulty reading small print while others suffer more from the brightness of computer screens. Individual desk lamps for workspaces are a quick way for each employee to adjust it to their own personal needs.
If you work in creative work, you might also need daylight LED for drawings or checking the color of materials. You won’t be able to achieve the same precision and CRi with having only overhead lights.
Tip #5: Add Atmosphere to Group Spaces and Halls with Ambient Lighting
Hallways and group spaces such as meeting rooms have different requirements.
Ambient light that is motion-activated will lower the electricity bills. Since hallways are not busy areas in every, motion-activated lighting lowers energy usage, especially in very large working spaces.
Another function of this form and a great idea for hallways is to guide guests through the building. Stylish designs can be utilized to represent the type of brand the company wants to portray.
Having a distinction between group spaces and individual work areas encourages more creative thinking compared to a space that has uniform illumination throughout. More cozy lights in group spaces can also help to create a friendlier work atmosphere. This option is also the best office lighting for computer work.
Installing decorative fixtures in meeting spaces and group areas will not only help to get the creative juices flowing, but it can also be used as a way to indicate separate functions in open-plan offices.
Tip #6: Provide Corrective Lighting to Avoid Glare
Glare is one of the subtle ways that eyes experience strain. Long exposure to glare can cause headaches and long term eye health issues.
The reason it is a subtle problem is that you might not even notice what is causing glare. Common culprits are computer screens, reflections of shiny surfaces and even bright wall colors.
You can make small yet smart interior design choices like using mat surfaces, natural wall colors and of course, placing a corrective source in the right place.
Place small corrective lights near computer screens or compensate for other glare-inducing sources with smart placement of additional brighter lights.
These are the general rules for creating good lighting. Take any of these tips to improve your quality of light and watch how the entire place transforms into a more comfortable space.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Having covered most of the aspects that you need to think about when looking for the best office lighting we thought it would be helpful to answer some of the questions that we a LED Light Guides get asked the most, hope it helps.
What is the best lighting for an office?
The best lighting for an office depends on the size of the area and what work is being done. Overall, with the features that LED lights offer, such as color temperature control, the possibility of having dimmers fitted and of course it is so energy efficient it would be the best option.
There is a huge variety of LED lighting solutions available so the best is very dependent on individual circumstances.
How can I improve the lighting in my office?
You can improve the lighting in your office by maximizing the natural light source available to you. Fit LED lights that you can control for different environments and is a super energy saver for you. Ensure that you consider the positioning of the lights to gain the best out of them and help reduce any glare.
What type of lights are used in offices?
The type of lights that are used in offices most is one of the big three. Fluorescent fixtures used to be the most popular and could be found everywhere, but, with new technology LED lighting is starting to turn the tide. Not only is it super energy efficient it contains no mercury, and unlike fluorescents, you can control it with more color temperature options and also dimmers that can be fitted. Lastly, there is the incandescent lighting and is the least used.
What is the most appropriate lighting level in your home office?
The lighting level of a home office would be with LEDs that have an output of between 600 and 1000 lumens. In the color temperature of about 4,000 kelvin, which would be a bright light with a blue hue for alertness.
