How to create efficient, well-lit offices

Among the many things that go into making an office comfortable and beautiful, lighting design is perhaps the most crucial. From livening up the ambience to increasing employee productivity, perfect lighting can work wonders for your workplace. As a result, it is very essential to choose the right lighting design for your office. Apart from adding a dash of style to your workplace, the right lighting design can help you save energy and costs too. Given that re-doing lighting for an office is simply not feasible, you must ensure that the one time you do it, you do it right.

We list down a few pointers that you need to keep in mind while choosing the perfect lighting design for your office:

1. Solutions that blend in with natural light: If you are lucky enough to have a fair amount of natural light in your office, you must opt for solutions that blend in with this light to create a beautiful ambience. Natural light, if used in the right fashion, can complement the artificial lighting very well.

2. Colour and ambience: The colour and ambient light of your workplace play a key role when it comes to choosing the right lighting solutions. The choice of light must be such that the resultant combination enhances the aesthetic value of your office.

3. Energy and cost savings: Concerns related to high costs and carbon footprint feature high on the checklist of those looking for office lighting designs. It makes sense to do a thorough assessment before choosing solutions that cost less but are high on energy savings. No wonder then that LED is the preferred choice these days.

4. Efficiency is the buzzword: Nationally and internationally, facility managers are moving towards energy-efficient lighting technologies. For instance, the Indian Green Building code warrants steep Light Power Density (LPD) requirements of not more 0.8W/Sq.ft to qualify for a Platinum Rated Green Building.

5. Avoid over-lighting: Many a time, lighting audits reveal that offices are over-lit. Over-lighting not only results in extra costs for the company, but also inconveniences employees. In extreme cases, it can affect people’s eye sights too. Hence, you must choose lighting solutions that are specifically designed keeping your office in mind. Localized lighting solutions can help increase user satisfaction and increase productivity. By the same token, you must be wary of under-lighting too.

6. Control maintenance costs: Choosing energy-efficient lights that have long lives means you will have to spend less time and money on their upkeep. A professional lighting assessment can help identify where installing new fixtures or upgrading of lighting is required helping to reduce maintenance costs over time. In the long run, reduced maintenance costs can lead to huge savings.

7. Eco-friendly solutions are the way ahead: More and more offices are going for environment-friendly lighting solutions. With an increase in awareness, there is a conscious effort on the part of companies to reduce their carbon footprint and stay away from hazardous material. This is not just a passing phase, but is becoming a culture unto itself. Even reducing the energy use by just a few watts per fixture can cumulatively add up to dramatic savings.

8. Conduct a thorough light assessment: For a detailed study of your workplace and for customized solutions that are energy and cost-efficient, get a professional to do a thorough light assessment. Such an assessment will give you a clear idea of what you must do and what you must not. From aesthetics to economy, all aspects of lighting your workplace will be taken care of. This one time investment will go a long way in save a lot of overhead costs.