When designing your office, your main emphasis is always on the interiors, the furniture and other tangible aspects. But definitely, lighting always remains the least worrying aspect and we must realize that lighting in office premises is just as important to consider.
The best quality of light to work in is daylight. It varies naturally throughout the day to provide visual pleasure and reproduces colors accurately. It is also the most cost-effective way to light a workplace.
Unfortunately, this is not possible for most of us in today’s urban life with all the skyscrapers around us, to have access to abundant natural light in our work environment.
When daylight is scarce or unavailable, the quality of the artificial lighting system becomes an important factor in defining the overall quality and comfort an occupant/employee will experience in the space.
It is therefore essential that artificial lighting is carefully designed to complement available daylight and ensure that the right quality and quantity of light is provided at the right place and time throughout the day.
The effect of natural light
Nothing can beat nature. Open areas are ideal for allowing a greater flow of natural light from the windows. For example, incorporating glass walls to divide cubicles/offices instead of drywall allows for a more natural flow of light.
As a result, the use of artificial lights is significantly reduced during the day, leading to lower energy consumption, further reducing costs.
Also, installing skylights if possible is another way to get more natural light into your office. And of course, having plenty of natural light in your office keeps you energetic and alert enough to avoid longing for that relaxing after-lunch nap.
The brighter the better
As mentioned above, there is no comparison with nature, but unfortunately natural resources are limited and must be used optimally to best meet the needs of the moment. Having artificial light in your office is better than not having enough lighting.
As such, consider how bright you want your office to be and how you can achieve it. From including a decent number of fixtures to arranging them to illuminate desks, you can plan a lighting scheme that illuminates the office.
Make sure you know how bright different fixtures get and where they pour their light. More dimming fixtures, you will need more to install, while bright fixtures cover more area.
The natural and the artificial can go hand in hand
There’s no question that natural light is always better for morale, energy, and stress levels than artificial light, but you can’t help but use the latter in an office space. Your best option is to combine and make use of both.
Make windows your main source and complement through light fixtures.
You will need to make sure that the light from the windows can move throughout the space. This requires strategic planning so that even on one of those cloudy, rainy days when the sun is nowhere to be seen with everything gray and dark outside, you have enough lighting inside your workplace to keep going and meet your goals. deadlines of your work without lighting obstacles.
Reconsider the colors of your walls and interiors
The two obvious light sources are windows and fixtures, but you can use those two and always make reflection work to your advantage.
Lighter color tones reflect more light than darker tones, so painting the walls white or pale colors will make the room appear brighter than painting in darker tones. Like an area in the office that is away from windows or tends to be darker than the other spaces, it can be painted a bright color to bring some light into that area.
use decoration
Another option could be the use of metallic surfaces; And mirrors also reflect light, so they can be used to further brighten your office by adding a style statement as well. In addition, they look decorative and attractive.
And not forgetting that your employees could also see themselves every time they walk through that mirror.
Don’t Forget Task Lighting
This is also a very important factor when planning the lighting scheme for your office space. So far, our ideas have served to help you light your office in general, but it’s also important to include task lighting.
Now what does Task Lighting mean?
Task lighting refers to fixtures that provide concentrated light in a specific area so employees can clearly see what they are doing.
Don’t overlook this type of lighting when planning your office, as these task lights prove to be very useful when an employee needs to stay after normal working hours.
The task light is enough to turn on instead of keeping all the office lights on.
A bright and lit office not only makes it easier for employees to be visible, but also improves productivity and quality of life. Also, weakened eyesight, fatigue, and lack of brightness are always the result of poor lighting. For this reason, planning your lighting scheme should go hand in hand with designing your office layout and choosing quality furniture.