How to Choose Your Office Lighting During an LED Upgrade

A lot of factors go into an office lighting upgrade. Along with cost, type of bulb, and color temperature, you also need to decide how bright the light needs to be for specific tasks. Even after making these decisions, you still aren’t done. To help ensure your office lighting upgrade meets the needs of your employees, here are some tips to help you get started.

What to Consider During an LED Upgrade for an Office

Take a look at your workspace. Is there enough natural light to allow for dimming or even turn off the luminaires? Taking advantage of natural light can help reduce energy usage and it can also benefit employees. Natural light can help employees stay focused and improve their overall mood. Both of which benefit the company.

Some questions to consider include,

• Can you improve the amount of natural light coming into the space?
• Is glare a problem in any areas? For example, on a computer screen.
• Are employees complaining about eyestrain?

The answers to these questions will make it easier to plan your office lighting upgrade.

Your office lighting options typically fall into four categories and each has its best uses.

• Direct lighting: Direct lighting is best suited for workstations and is often combined with indirect lighting. Desk lamps are an example of direct lighting.
• Direct-Indirect lighting: Direct-indirect lighting provides even coverage across an area while also eliminating glare. You can often find this type of lighting in manufacturing facilities.
• Indirect: Indirect lighting fixtures are ideal in offices. The fixtures produce a more natural light effect and can cover larger areas without any annoying glare since the light illuminates the ceiling.
• Shielded: Shielded lighting uses lenses and covers to distribute and filter light. These types of fixtures can cover larger areas and are often used in office settings.

Most office lighting upgrades use a combination of various types of fixtures to ensure everyone has the right amount of illumination to complete their tasks.

Regardless of the type of lighting installed during the LED upgrade or the amount of natural light in the space, it’s always a good idea to install task lighting fixtures in all of the workstations. Each workstation should have an adjustable lamp that produces around 500 lumens. Tasks lighting can help prevent eyestrain, headaches, and other issues that can reduce productivity due to poor lighting.

Does the building have large windows and/or skylights? If so, you can take advantage of natural light. Older structures typically have large windows, but it doesn’t always apply to newer buildings. If your office has small windows, you can still mimic natural light. LED bulbs are often color and temperature adjustable, making it easy to replicate natural light indoors.

Flickering lights can make it difficult for employees to stay focused on their tasks. It can also cause issues with eye strain and headaches. Even barely perceptible flickers can be a problem but there are ways you can avoid the issue.

• During your office lighting upgrade replace old ballasts with electronic ones.
• Make sure all lighting parts are functioning optimally and replace any that are old or worn out.
• Create a bulb replacement schedule. Remember LEDs last longer than traditional bulbs.

Preventing flickering lights is relatively easy as long as you perform routine maintenance checks.

Talk To Us About Your LED Upgrade for Offices

An office lighting upgrade requires planning and not every business owner has the time to create a strategy. Talk to us about your office lighting upgrade and let Action Services Group take care of all of the details. Contact us today to learn more about an office LED upgrade, by calling 610-558-9773, emailing [email protected], or schedule a call that fits your needs by clicking the button below.