How Can Lighting Enhance Your Workplace?

Lighting is increasingly becoming an integral part of the workplace. Further than treating lighting as just a functional utility, businesses are waking up to the benefits in productivity, welfare, creativity and health that a well-designed lighting scheme can bring.

 

While it can be tempting to settle for cheap and efficient luminaires to easily checkboxes and meet lighting standards, is vital that a lighting scheme is visually comfortable – especially in a workplace, where people spend long periods of time underneath the luminaires. This makes it very important to reduce glare and to make sure that the light is distributed evenly.

The GDS Arcturus range of linear profiles tackle this by introducing options for indirect lighting; bringing indirect uplighting into an office space helps spread light around evenly, eliminating murky shadows by filling the space with soft reflected light. The direct light from the Arcturus range is also designed for visual comfort, with the option of having a diffuser that achieves <19 UGR.

 

 

 

These are an affordable way to evenly light a space. However, to reduce glare it is important to use panels that can achieve <19 UGR, such as the GDS Deneb range. UGR (Unified Glare Rating) is a measure of visual discomfort caused by glare, and the standards set out by the Society of Light and Lighting call for a UGR of 19 or less for office spaces. Without a doubt, the most common way to light an office space is by using ceiling panels.

Many offices are lit with panels that use fluorescent tubes, or low-quality LEDs. Upgrading to a panel like the Deneb is a good way to solve issues with distracting flicker, poor light quality and to make the space more comfortable for the people working there.

 

One of the most important aspects of light quality is colour rendering, measured using the Colour Rendering Index (CRI).

CRI is measured on a scale between 0 and 100, with 100 representing the light spectrum of a theoretical perfect light source, like daylight. This is the kind of light that we have evolved under, and people experience a strong psychological preference for light with better colour rendering qualities. Colour rendering is also vital for workplaces that are used for intricate and detailed tasks. The GDS Alundra and Arcturus product families are designed for this purpose and are available with 90 or higher CRI as standard.

 

 

So far, we have discussed how to create a uniform, even spread of light for office spaces. However, some areas benefit from a little more drama. Breakout spaces, receptions, lobbies and foyers all present a good opportunity to make a statement, and with a little lighting design care, even spaces that would otherwise be bland can be made inspirational.

GDS designed the Alundra family for this purpose. Available in track, downlight, surface mount and pendant forms, the Alundra luminaires can be mixed and matched creatively to create inspiring spaces.

 

 

Lighting can have a powerful effect on people’s happiness, comfort and productivity.

Taking some time to consider how lighting can enhance a workplace will provide invaluable benefits and create inspiring spaces, both for businesses and the people that work for them. If you would like to learn more about how GDS can help to make your project a reality and to learn more about our company and products, please get in touch!