Healthy office lighting can be broken down into two main areas – focussing on the health of the employees and focussing on the health of the environment. One will involve over-lighting a space and the other will involve either under-lighting a space or simply lighting the space ineffectually. Balancing the two in the right way will ensure that you save money in many different areas.
Firstly, by ensuring that your offices are not under-lit, you will help avoid seeing employees taking time off with eyestrain or seeing their productivity drop simply due to headaches, fatigue and even the simple inability to see well enough to easily carry out specific tasks. On the other hand, by over-lighting any space, not only are you damaging the environment needlessly, but you are also damaging your profits too, needlessly wasting extra money on your energy bills.
Both flickering lights and too much overhead lighting can cause headaches, whilst a lack of adequate lighting is likely to lead to a great deal of eye strain. Therefore, balancing the lighting you have is integral. Not only is it important to make the most of the lighting fixtures you have, but it is also important to make the most of natural light too. Not only will this save on electricity bills, but it will also be far healthier for your staff.
It is not only fixtures that will be important but also the types of bulbs you use, with fluorescent lighting needing to be used in moderation to help save money and avoid eye strain.
Therefore, the best approach is to get very specific with the way you light your workspace. Office lighting should not just involve using a number of overheads, but instead should utilise a wide array of different types of lighting, with accent lighting and task lighting being as prominent as possible. Not only will more light fittings allow you to easily control which lights are used at any time and in turn cut down on the amount of energy you use, but it will also ensure that any staff member is able to control the amount of light they have based on the time of the day and the work that they are carrying out.
Of course, there is also a safety point to take into consideration. Not only should an office space be well lit, but the exterior should be well lit too. This will ensure that accidents are far less likely to happen both inside and outside the workplace. Again, this benefits productivity, but it also ensures that no claims can be made against the company for negligence.
Whilst it may seem hard to know where to start with such a vast criteria of lighting needs, the right lighting suppliers will not only have a huge range of different lighting solutions to help make your choices easier, but they will also have the expertise to offer any advice you might need and ensure that you get the very best solutions for your own needs and your own unique space.