Now that more and more people are working from home, lighting consultants are always asked how to properly light a home office. Proper lighting is essential when you’re regularly spending up to six or more in your office. The right kind of general lighting can help increase your productivity, work accurately and minimize eye strain and fatigue
As a business professional, designer or anyone who telecommutes, you need a comfortable workspace. From the furniture you choose to install in your office to the lighting, everything needs to work to improve the hours and quality of work you spend at a desk. Before we get into it, it’s important to know and understand why home office lighting is so crucial. Here are the three main types of office lighting :
- Ambient Lights: these are for circulation and control contrast
- Task Lights: these are placed in high levels where most needed
- Accent Lights: these lights direct where light is needed
- Bonus- Natural Light: you need to position your desk by a window where natural light can come in
These are the different layers of light types and their general function. Now, let’s look at picking out the best fixtures that, when combined correctly with the different types of lights, you can create a beautiful office space.
- Using ambient lighting, evenly spread light with overhead ceiling fixtures, pendant lights or track light to reduce glare and eyestrain. Although central fluorescent ceiling lights can provide enough illumination, investing in upgraded bulbs with colour producing as close to natural sunlight as possible.
- An excellent source of ambient lighting is tge torchiere because it steers light up to reflect off the ceiling, filling the room with indirect lighting.
- Floor lamps and portable desk lamps are great for allowing movement of the light closer to where you’re working. You can also have angled and adjustable desk lamps to help you with reading or using the computer. There are also swiveled arm desk lamps and wall swing lamps that aid with defraying light coming from the outside, particularly where varying degrees of light come through the window. Another great alternative is LED lamps for task lighting.
Halogen lamps are great for accent lighting as the give the best colour rendering and a soft, soothing illumination.
Now you have a grasp on the different light types, you’ve chosen the ideal fixtures. What happens now? Here are some tips on how you can get the most out of your new office lighting:
To Reduce Eyestrain, Light Up Your Home Office
We’ve all this this being said at one point or another in our lives, “don’t watch TV in the dark” or “don’t look at the computer screen in the dark”, but most times we don’t listen.
What everyone needs to understand is contrast ratios in relation with the statements above. They eye can adapt to an array of different light types at once. When you look at bright computer screen on a dark background your eye doesn’t know whether to adjust to the brightness or the dark background and this causes fatigue when happening for hours on end. This also happens when looking at brightly lit sheets of white paper in a dark room.
How to Lessen Eyestrain
- Make sure you lower the brightness on your monitor
- Increase your lighting in surrounding areas, or do both.
Remember that the light during the day surrounding your computer screen can make it difficult for you to see the screen,so it is important that your general lighting compliments the room you’re in as well as the computer light.
Watch out for Reflections on Shiny Surfaces
Reflections on surfaces like computer screens, and slick printed materials can also cause straining and they can obscure whatever task you’re working on.
Windows are another area of concern as they are the most noticeable reflections along with other light sources. To overcome this, make sure that you move any offending light, even if it’s your desk lamp, change your orientation to the light, or both to mitigate the issue.
The kind of lighting you install in your home office is essential for optimal working.
At Copper Electrical, we’re not only experts at a range of lighting solutions, but we have insights in how you can use general lighting to make your workspaces work for you.
If you’re looking for general lighting information, installations and repairs for your home, get in touch with us today.
