In the era of home working, we all need a well-lit office space to work with peace of mind. To be comfortable, you have to know how to create the right conditions. Beyond the choice of the armchair which must be very comfortable and the ergonomics of the office to have intelligent storage areas, visual well-being is essential in this particular corner which requires both concentration and attention. ease.
This is why the office area requires suitable lighting to avoid any fatigue or premature discomfort. Several criteria must be taken into account to ensure the ideal lighting for your workspace and to choose the right desk lamp . Follow our 8 tips. lamppoint explains everything to you!
In the era of home working, we all need a well-lit office space to work with confidence. To be comfortable, you have to know how to create the right conditions. Beyond the choice of the armchair which must be very comfortable and the ergonomics of the office to have intelligent storage areas, visual well-being is essential in this particular corner which requires both concentration and attention. ease. This is why the office area requires suitable lighting to avoid any fatigue or premature discomfort. Several criteria must be taken into account to ensure the ideal lighting for your workspace and to choose the right desk lamp . Follow our 8 tips. Lamppoint explains everything to you!
- INCREASE THE NUMBER OF DESK LAMPS
- Stop preconceived ideas: a single desk lamp is not enough to properly illuminate the workspace. A single source of light, and fatigue is guaranteed! Don’t settle for a simple desk lamp to avoid too much contrast with the surrounding darkness.
- First tip:the office area requires several types of lighting to provide you with different sources of light.
- To create an ultra functional workspace, it is recommended to create a main light atmosphere. To obtain an overhead lighting solution with a homogeneous distribution of light, start by installing general lighting, such as ceiling lights. Avoid spots that risk dazzling you and causing rapid eye fatigue. They can come in indirect lighting with an adjustable function to allow you to direct the light towards the wall for example. The pendant light can be a good idea if you opt for a cylindrical pendant lampshade with diffuser to reduce the light, a bell pendant or an openwork ball pendant which will filter the light gently.
- Attention, little reminder:do not be satisfied only with general lighting which creates strong shadows on the workstation. Add other light sources such as the traditional desk lamp to illuminate the computer, a small hanging garland to decorate and why not LED recessed spots …
- LIGHT UP WHEN WORKING ON A COMPUTER
Do you work on a computer? Place a desk lamp nearby, to the side or behind, so as not to strain your eyes. We now know that the blue light emitted by screens can be the cause of degradation of the retina, chronic visual fatigue and sleep disturbance. A desk lamp is therefore essential to create an optimal working environment on screen. It will play an alkaline role on the light intensity emitted by the screen and offer you precise accent lighting adapted to your activity. Occupational medicine recommends the use of desk lamps emitting between 2,700 and 3,000 Kelvin for ergonomic lighting. This means that it is therefore necessary to favor lighting that comes as close as possible to natural light with warm lighting but not too white. Also remember that the need for light varies depending on your age. A 40-year-old needs more light than a 20-year-old.
- GOOD LIGHTING DEPENDING ON WHETHER YOU ARE LEFT-HANDED OR RIGHT-HANDED
It may seem like a picky approach, but whether you are left or right handed counts in a better optimization of the office space. Why ? Quite simply because good lighting is concerned with the details, sometimes the most insignificant, and that this one in particular will avoid you some problems of cast shadow. Indeed, if you are right-handed, place the desk lamp on the left to avoid annoying shadows and vice versa, if you are left-handed, place the desk lamp on the right. It may seem simplistic, but it is a fundamental positioning element for luminaires to obtain the best functional, efficient and practical lighting.
- LIGHTING ACCORDING TO THE TYPE OF WORK IN THE OFFICE
The kind of work you do in an office area depends on your activity, your hobbies, the time of day … It can require a lot of concentration, even extreme precision. Depending on the type of work performed, the intensity of the light, the range of the light beam, the color temperature each have their role to play. Note that the more precise and meticulous the work, the higher the number of lux required: there is about 300 lux on average, it goes to more than 1500 for a watchmaking job.
- MAKE THE CHOICE OF AN ARTICULATED ARM LAMP
To work in good conditions, whether it is writing on paper as well as typing on the computer, you will need to pay particular attention to the choice of your lamp. If the desk lamp is clearly preferable to a simple decorative lamp in the workspace, check beforehand that it has an articulated arm and an adjustable head. Two very practical characteristics for carrying out very precise work and which will allow you to tire your eyes less.
Choose the right light: choose desk lamps with articulated arm and adjustable head. They are the ones that provide the best directional lighting. They allow you to direct the light in the desired direction, to benefit from diffused or accent lighting. Handling a flexible or articulated arm, handling an adjustable head, enlarging or reducing a telescopic arm… All of these technical features are highly appreciated in a work environment.
Today, desk lamps have many popular high-tech functions: variation of light intensity (dimmable), RGB color change, integrated Bluetooth speaker, “touch” function with tactile lighting, dashboard (control panel). ) built-in, USB charging, etc. Everything is done to make your life easier!
6 CHOOSE THE RIGHT BULB
It is important to choose the right bulb for your activities. And you are spoiled for choice between incandescent, halogen, LED, fluorescent …
In general, it is advisable to have a 15 watt bulb, largely sufficient for computer work. The ideal is to favor a warm, natural lighting and therefore not too white, with a color temperature between 2700 and 3000 Kelvin. For the most economical, it is an LED lamp that should be adopted. With its 5 watts, it will have a higher starting price but a longer lifespan.
Our advice: be careful not to choose dazzling lighting. Some LEDs, for example, give off an annoying blue light. Prefer lamps equipped with halogen bulbs for the quality of the light released or LEDs with white light. Avoid compact fluorescent lamps placed less than 30 centimeters according to ADEME recommendations. And finally, go for bulbs with a good CRI of 80 or more.
- CHOOSE NON-REFLECTIVE OFFICE FLOORING
Glare by luminance is very annoying: avoid lacquered desk surfaces and choose matt surfaces. Also pay attention to direct glare by not placing the luminous flux in your line of vision.
Good to know: the need for light increases with age, provide an adequate level of lighting.
8.ADAPT TO SPACE CONSTRAINTS
It is easy to give advice on how to properly light your office, but sometimes the advice does not adapt to our space! So be imaginative in your work area and find satisfying lighting.
For example, there is no doubt that the clip-on lamp solves many problems when your worktop does not allow you to accommodate a real desk lamp. Easy to fix on a shelf edge, easy to move according to your work, it gives off a powerful light very practical especially for working on a computer.
Another nice solution: a decorative garland that you can hang on the shelves or on a steel pole if you have a loft decoration.
Also think of the arc lamppost, or the reading lamppost which are great luminaires for creating indirect lighting, but also directional when your activity requires it.
Good to know: don’t neglect the age factor!
Last but not least, the lighting of a child’s desk will not be the same as that of a grown-up. With age, sight decreases, and therefore a 20-year-old user will need half as much light as a 50-year-old. It’s up to you to adapt the lighting of the office space according to the age of the person using it.