Choosing the right task lighting

Between determining whether you want to go with a vintage look or employ contemporary office furniture, planning out individual workspaces and considering an open office layout, you’re going to have a lot on your plate. Still, the devil is in the details when it comes to workspace design, and no small point is more important than lighting. While it can be tempting to leave the recessed or overhead lighting that came with your space alone, this is a shortsighted action. Picking different kinds of lighting for various tasks will allow you to maximize productivity while also putting less strain on the eyes of your employees. No matter where you are in the office design process, take a look at these tips for choosing the right task lighting and see if you can optimize your office:

Don’t undervalue natural light
Though it’s reasonable to assume that you’re going to need a fair amount of differentiated task lighting throughout your entire office, this may not be the case. It’s crucial that you understand the immense value that natural light can have for your office. To Get Light reported that the eye can not only see a broader spectrum of detail and color in natural light, but that it also puts less strain on the human eye. With this in mind, you may want to target areas of your office with more windows or skylights for creatives. By allowing individuals who work in modeling, design or another graphic field the opportunity to work in natural light, you may also boost their productivity and creativity.

Don’t undervalue the importance of natural light in your office.

Allow for user control in all situations
One of the most important understandings you can come to when developing a lighting plan for your office is that the needs of each individual are going to be different. Similarly, most employees will likely require varied sorts of lighting throughout the day, especially if they have a particularly multifaceted workload. Dazor, a lighting manufacturer, pointed out that one of the best solutions is to offer as much user control as possible when it comes to task lighting. There are several ways to go about executing this strategy. For instance, providing multiple lighting sources in one room will allow your employees to choose which sort of lighting they wish to use. If you don’t have the space, time, budget or resources to provide varied task lighting, you can create a similar environment by installing multi-variable dimmer switches. While slightly less versatile than true task lighting, dimmer switches are relatively effective and usually come at a fraction of the cost.

Dimmer switches are a cost-effective option for variable task lighting.

Age as a factor
Unsurprisingly, the average age of your employees will also play a role in which sort of task lighting you choose. According to Lightology, most individuals over the age of 50 will require roughly twice as much light per task as a 25-year-old to achieve optimum results and workflow. With this in mind, it may be to your benefit to conduct a general survey of your workforce prior to making any major purchases related to task lighting. Ask questions such as how pleased they are with their current task lighting options and what you could do to improve the lighting in their workspace. This data should aid you in making the right decisions when it comes to task lighting.