Lighting in Design Q1 2023

recommended choice. Fluorescent lighting might be a cheaper option for offices looking to cut costs, but using such lighting can come at a cost to employees’ health and well-being. Fluorescent lights are very bright and can seem rather harsh to employees with sensitive eyes and/or migraine tendencies. As such lighting hurts eyes when one is exposed to them for too long, it causes disturbance in sleep patterns and causes tiredness. Thus, such lights should be avoided. 7: If the office has a separate sitting area where guests are welcomed, it would be more aesthetically pleasing if the lighting in there were not too bright. Here, dimmer, more yellow-white toned lights (around 2700 K) can be used to provide a calmer, more relaxed look and pleasant environment. Moreover, one can be creative with the lighting structure in such areas, including any lounges in the entire office, the cafeteria, recreation room, etc. 8: Consider using task lights. In some cases, overhead lighting may not be the best option, but task lighting can salvage the situation. Task lights are small in size and the advantage is that these can be easily plugged into outlets convenient to employees and their needs. Thus, these can provide concentrated light just where the employees need some, and using such lights will also allow the employees control over where and how they would prefer lighting for their work. 9: Remember that some types of lights heat up and cause overheating and stuffiness in the office space. This is true for smaller offices and for low quality lighting. Such lighting will probably not have a long life and may also come with other repercussions because of the poor quality. It is advisable not to use such lighting and instead, pay a little more for better quality and longer, more sustainable use, as employees will spend many hours every week in the office and should

lighting makes adjustments so that the employees don’t have to strain their vision and can work in better conditions. 4: It is widely agreed that natural daylight is the best lighting one can use for the most productive work environment. However, these days it is increasingly difficult for companies to find office spaces that are exposed to considerable daylight, so it follows that daylight-like lighting must be mimicked by closest available artificial lighting. Thus, the colour temperature of the lighting used in such offices, especially bigger and wider office spaces, should be between 5000K and 7000K, according to lighting experts. 5: It has been observed that brighter and warm, but white-based lighting correlates to energy and wakefulness for employees, boosting performance and productivity, while dim lights make one drowsy and lethargic at times. The idea is to find a right balance between yellow and white lights and use lighting that falls somewhere in the middle. Dimmer lighting can always be used in recreational areas to create a more relaxed atmosphere. 6: Even today, many offices use fluorescent lights overhead to save costs, but that is not a

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LiD Q1 - 2023