Lighting for the Office

When work life throws a better office job your way every few years, you take it. A new job or more experience looks good on your resume, and new office stories are fun to share. One recent story is actually insightful, and reveals a lot about people. During small-talk with coworkers, the fun topic of “where would you move your workspace” came up. Responses were surprisingly similar. Everyone just wants to be by a window. Why? Because sunlight through a window makes a bad day feel like it’s going to be okay.  

Companies today typically seek office space in buildings with large, open floor plans. Businesses can create the office layout that suits their needs, and have plenty of flexibility for growth. This type of environment offers plenty of versatility, but sometimes can feel cold, or confining. What does this mean for employees? For many of them, it means spending their day in the middle of the building, at a desk without windows or daylight. 

If companies could give every employee a window view, they would, but it’s not realistic, or even possible in most buildings. Many companies are finding ways to brighten dark zones in windowless office areas, and compensate for the lack of natural daylight. Replacing outdated fluorescent lights with healthy, energy-efficient LEDs is a simple solution with proven benefits. LED overhead fixtures produce light that’s similar to natural daylight – it’s crisp, bright, and creates good moods, too.       

Lighting for the Office

Because every office functions differently, and priorities could change quickly, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all lighting plan for every office space. There’s a lot to look at when redesigning lighting for an office – size of the space, height of the ceilings, number of windows, and if there are specific building code requirements. When you have a good grasp of these things, the next step is selecting LEDs that will work best at maintaining the comfortable, productive work atmosphere everyone wants. 

Starting with general office lighting, LED luminaires are a smart overhead light source due to energy efficiency and exceptionally long lifespans. They provide uniform, high-quality light in color temperatures appropriate for any office. Options and capabilities vary depending on the luminaire style. Notable features include edge-lit, or back-lit technology, flat-panel, and low-profile designs, flush mount, or surface mount, dimming options, and more.

If your office still relies on dim and flickering overhead fluorescent lights, make the upgrade to LEDs. They’re healthier for employees by improving well-being, plus they’re safer for the environment. LED luminaires may cost more than fluorescent lamps upfront, but with the money you’ll save on energy bills, your initial investment cost will be back in your budget sooner than you think.     

Office Areas Require Good Lighting

Every hidden section and space within the maze of an office needs close inspection to determine what is the best lighting solution. Even small offices can have hard-to-find, and tucked-away conference rooms, computer labs, or workspaces. Ideally, the lighting needs to be appropriate for the function and purpose of each specialized area.  

Large overhead fixtures for the general space typically serve ambient lighting needs. And a variety of smaller fixtures, including pendants, linear chandeliers, and swing-arm lamps fulfill task lighting purposes for small multi-use work stations, or individual desk spaces. 

When shopping for LED office lighting, there are three big things to consider – intensity, efficiency, and placement.  

Bright & Balanced

Comfortable, productive work environments rely on well-balanced lighting that’s bright, but not overwhelming. Dim lighting can cause eye strain and fatigue. Excessive lighting can cause visual discomfort and glare. Finding the right balance can lead to a healthier workplace. 

Energy Efficient

High-quality LED lighting can help businesses save energy and money. LEDs last much longer than fluorescent bulbs, and typically run on lower wattages, so you can save on utility bills and maintenance costs.

Proper Placement

Fixtures need to be placed in the right spots, so they can properly illuminate a room. Evenly spaced overhead LEDs ensure well-balanced ambient light. Aligning small pendant fixtures above individual workspaces provides extra task lighting.

Office floor plans range from spacious, and open-air, to sectioned, and somewhat cut-off. With so many unique and unusual office sizes and shapes, a wide range of LED options is helpful when you’re designing a lighting plan – whether it’s for one large space, or lots of small areas within a large space.  

Lighting designers have a few top choices when it comes to popular and reliable LED office lights. These LEDs are hard-working, efficient, and adaptable to virtually any space – including most offices.  

LED High Bay Lighting

If your office is in a large space with high ceilings – we’re talking 20 feet or higher – then high bay LEDs may be the most sensible option for providing enough light. High bays have the capability to illuminate large areas efficiently, and effectively. They’re typically used to light warehouse spaces, but are becoming more common in new, modern office spaces designed with a spacious, open-air feel. 

Lots of unique and innovative office spaces are popping up in renovated warehouses, converted industrial factories, and other one-of-a-kind commercial properties. In these cool, rehabbed spaces, high-bay lighting may be the only option if the ceilings seem to reach for the sky.  

Commercial LED Troffers

All offices require a mix of lighting sources for general functionality, specific tasks, or simply to  set a mood. If you want your office to operate smoothly and without eye strain, the first step is to install high-quality overhead ceiling lighting. 

LED luminaires are like powerful indoor workhorses. These commercial-grade, typically large-panel lights are installed directly overhead in the ceiling, and provide endless hours of bright, even illumination. Featuring advanced LED technology, and innovative, yet easy-to-install designs, luminaire panels are worth the investment because they provide years of service with low energy bills, and little to no maintenance cost.  

Commercial LED Downlights

When it comes to versatility, nothing seems to top the all-purpose downlight, or recessed light. They can be installed almost anywhere – hallways, conference rooms, display cases, board rooms, and directly above individual workspaces. Offices today rely significantly on downlights because they’re incredibly multifunctional, reliable, and affordable. Once available only in fluorescent fixtures, downlights are now a top-selling LED choice for offices everywhere.  

Money Saving, Energy Saving

Smart companies are always looking for ways to save money whenever, and however they can. Replacing an outdated, inefficient lighting system with a quality LED system can help your company save money every month. How can LED lighting do that? By using less energy, LEDs decrease your monthly energy bill, so more money stays in your budget.

An important reason why LEDs are in such high demand is because they’re great at saving energy. The technology that allows LEDs to produce light uses far less energy than traditional light sources, such as fluorescent and incandescent, the types still used in many offices. If you upgrade your old commercial troffers with LEDs, the new system could use up to 75% less energy than the old one, which translates to substantial long-term savings.

Quality Lighting

Ever since LEDs were introduced, they’ve stood out because of their quality. To this day, the unrivaled quality of LED-produced light is why they’ve taken over the lighting industry. No other types of lighting come close to the smooth, crisp, clear, bright, and customizable light that LEDs effortlessly emit, all while using less energy, and lasting much longer. And they keep getting better! Continuous advances to lighting technology means that quality and functionality are always improving, too.

Quality lighting matters in every workplace. This is because exceptional lighting makes employees feel better, and allows them to perform their jobs better. LEDs are known for their range of color temperatures, from warm, golden-white, to cool, bluish-white. The best color temperature for office lighting ranges on the cool side, similar to bright, natural daylight. Quality lighting like this reduces eye strain, improves mental health, and increases productivity – good things for any office!

TCP Lighting Manufacturing

Is your office ready for a brighter future? If you think it is, the lighting experts at TCP can design a lighting system that’s the best, most brilliant fit for your office. We can help you find commercial LED troffers, discuss flush mount or surface mount, then move on to task and accent lights for a balanced, properly lit space. If you know exactly what your office needs in terms of lighting, we can mix and match, or completely customize any lighting for your intended plan. 

Whether you’re upgrading or retrofitting, we can easily assist you with both types of lighting jobs. How smart do you want your lights to be? If you’re interested in controlling the office lights from your phone, our SmartStuff technology lets you do that. Your office deserves the best lighting. And we have it! Want to learn more about luminaires? See what works for your office here.