Workplace Lighting

March 27, 2019

Workplace Lighting

The lighting of an environment is usually considered during the design stage of the building by the architects and interior designers.

During this stage there are various factors to consider which include the aesthetics, regulations and the application of the lighting.

It is vital that the lighting levels are adequate for the type of work that is being completed. For example, a process control room should be lit at an illuminance of 300 lux, a corridor or walkway may only require 50 lux whilst an engineering drawing may require 750 lux.

Other lighting factors to consider are the colour, contrast and glare.

Colour

All sources of light have a particular colour. Some of these, such as sodium, can make coloured text and diagrams difficult to read. Neutral to cool colour temperatures (3000-4000K) are usually recommended for use in office environments.

Contrast

The sudden contrasts in light levels e.g. coming out of a well-lit area into a dark area or vice versa can be a problem because it takes the eye several seconds to adapt to new lighting conditions. Changes in lighting levels should be made gradually where possible.

Glare

Directional light can cause glare if it bounces off a reflective surface such as a computer screen which can cause eyestrain and headaches. Up-lighting can be used to help resolve this issue.

It has recently been identified that 77% of office workers believe that lighting in the workplace affects their productivity. Giving workers in an open plan office control of lighting has also been proven to increase job satisfaction. It is, therefore, more important than ever that lighting is a priority during the design stage of a building to support the health and wellbeing of employees.

Red Arrow offer a full range of LED lighting solutions for commercial and industrial applications. We also provide a free lighting design service, so if you are working on a project and want to discuss your requirements in more detail please don’t hesitate to contact our Technical Team.

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