When you are at the office, you want to be productive. Various factors influence productivity and you will find thousands of tips online to improve this. However, one factor is often forgotten: the lighting in the office. Most of the time little importance is attached to lighting when setting up an office. Some consequences of poor lighting are tired eyes, headache, a lesser focus, a negative impact on the mind and motivation. Good lighting, on the other hand, has a significant impact on the productivity and well-being of people at the office. Moreover, it can also lower the energy bill.

What do you take into account when choosing lighting for an office?

1. Natural light versus artificial light

You might know it too? On nice days, you feel fitter and you are more active. The light has a major influence on your biological rhythm, your rhythm of sleeping and being active. In an office, the ambient light also influences our activity. Productivity and health improve with sufficient and properly balanced light. Daylight is and remains the best type of light, but not every working environment gets enough daylight. Usually artificial light is needed.

Choose strategic points for the lighting. Take into account the daylight coming in and adjust the artificial light. Daylight control can offer a solution for fluctuations on cloudy days. The lighting then automatically adjusts to the incoming light.

> Learn more about smart lighting for offices

2. Task lighting versus general lighting

Light is needed everywhere, but not as much in every place. Take into account the places where people work but also the surrounding areas. While performing tasks, the eyes are focused on specific areas. Both the task lighting and the adjacent areas have standards regarding the desired lighting levels. The lighting levels in the task areas also depend on the type of task being performed.

There are no immediate standards for the other areas in offices. Still, you should think about them. This not only benefits the atmosphere in the office but also the visual communication, the appearance of the building, the (art) objects in the corridors, etc.

3. Glare

If you are a car driver you have probably experienced this phenomenon before. You can also experience this in a poorly lit office. Glare occurs when a clear surface is considered to be disturbing. There is direct glare and indirect glare.  Direct glare is caused by a light source that shines directly in your face? For example, from a fixture or incident sunlight. Indirect glare is caused by reflection on a smooth surface such as on a computer screen. Glare at the office keeps you from working and can cause headaches. To avoid this, follow the guidelines for glare in the office task area. For both types of glare guidelines exist. These are expressed in UGR values (Unified glare rating). The higher the UGR, the higher the chance of glare. For offices a maximum of 19 applies.

>> Contact us for lighting advice for your office

4. Light distribution

When choosing lighting for offices, it is best to take a look at the light distribution of the fixture. An even distribution of light gives a more pleasant working atmosphere. Employees will be able to concentrate better.

With light lines for offices you often see prismatic plexiglass. These distribute the light better than a standard plexiglass. Prismatic plexiglass bends the light so that no glare occurs.

5. Light colour and colour reproduction

There are no specific standards for office environments for light colours. The choice of the light colour usually has to do with personal preference and the chosen interior. However, for offices it is recommended to use a colour temperature of 3000K or 4000K. Warmer light is not recommended. Warm light is cosy but has a less favourable effect on productivity. Depending on the tasks, the colour reproduction may differ but this must be at least 80.

> Do you want to experience the difference between 3000K and 4000K? Come to our showroom for a demonstration.

Demonstrations of different kinds of office lighting

• Do you want to learn more about office lighting?
• Do you want to experience the difference between the light colours 3000K and 4000K?

Come and visit our experience showroom. We demonstrate the various options in a simulated office environment.

Lighting advice specifically for your office?

That is also possible. Contact us for a visit to the showroom or an appointment at your office.

According to Wikipedia, smart lighting is a lighting technology designed for energy efficiency.  But smart lighting is more than saving energy. This is only a result of using a smart lighting system.

Smart lighting is a global term for lighting technologies that can control and manage light. Smart lighting makes your life easier and more pleasant.

What can you do with smart lighting technologies?

• Automatically turning on and off the light.
• Automatically dimming the light.
• Automatically adapting the lighting colours.
• Daylight control
• Dim-to-warm

What are the advantages of smart lighting?

• With smart lighting you can control and manage the light.
  • On command
  • Automatically with a timer of triggers.
• You achieve energy saving.

Are you planning to use a smart lighting system in a professional environment such as an office, shop or hospitality business? Then you get – depending on the purpose – some extra advantages on top, such as:

• An instant adaptation of the atmosphere
• A higher wellbeing
• A better day and night rhythm
• A higher productivity

Which triggers can be used to adapt the light with smart lighting technology?

• The presence of people in the room
• The amount of incoming daylight
• Time
• Sound
• The connexion with external data, e.g. a weather forecaster, your location, …
• …

Which smart lighting systems exist?

Commonly used protocols for smart lighting are wi-fi, Zigbee and Bluetooth.

Wi-fi and Zigbee

A frequently used solution for smart lighting systems is wi-fi. You have almost everywhere access to wi-fi. With a wi-fi-connection all your devices are connected with a central point and you can control these devices with your smartphone. A disadvantage is the possible slowdown that could happen when there are too many connected devices on the same line.

Just as wi-fi, Zigbee uses a central point to make a connection. The advantage of Zigbee comparing to wi-fi is that the devices aren’t only connected with the central hub but also with each other. The devices can now also communicate amongst itself. However, to make use of your smartphone to manage and control the light, you need next to the Zigbee-hub also a wi-fi connection.

Bluetooth

A third possibility for smart lighting is communication through Bluetooth. Bluetooth has the great advantage that you don’t need a central connection point. The controlling device communicates directly with the lighting fixtures. In addition, you can find Bluetooth standardly on every smartphone, tablet, laptop or PC, whatever the brand or operation system.

A reliable smart lighting system based on Bluetooth is Casambi. With Casambi the lighting fixtures also communicate directly with each other.

Smart lighting is more and more a common good in offices. It isn’t only energy efficient; it also has its advantages for the productivity and the wellbeing of the employees.

Licht aangepast aan het daglicht

You know a day with changing weather? The one moment there’s a clear sky with a lot of sunlight, the other moment big clouds. Wouldn’t it be great if the light in the offices adapts to the weather? With a smart lighting system, it can. The light adapts automatically. With smart lighting the unnecessary consumption of energy is finished.

Not only the amount of light is adapted to the sunlight, also the lighting colour can be adjusted to the moment of the day. On peaking hours, the light is a bit colder which enhances the productivity. Later on, the light is a bit warmer which makes the employee go home with a more pleasant feeling. When the lighting colours change with the natural change, the wellbeing of the employee is improving.

Licht aangepast volgens de personen op kantoor.

In cell offices it sometimes happens that everyone is in a meeting. Of course, we are all human, we forget to turn off the lights. Also in meeting rooms, this sometimes slips the mind of the last person in the room. With a smart lighting system, this problem is solved. There’s no light when there’s no one in the room. When the sensor doesn’t detect movement, the lights go out.

Also, for landscape offices, smart lighting offers energy efficient solutions. With smart lighting, the lights are only on in the zones where people are sitting down or walking.

Licht aangepast aan persoonlijke voorkeuren

Give your employers (limited) access to the system. When they are sitting at their desk and they want more or less light, warmer or colder light, they can adapt it to their personal preferences. Happy employees are more motivated, work harder and become better and better.

Voordelen van slimme verlichting voor kantoren

• Adapted work light
• Enhancement of the wellbeing
• More efficient working
• Greater productivity
• Energy saving

Casambi is a simple smart lighting system that uses Bluetooth to control the lighting. The Casambi system can be used in different environments, such as retail, offices, restaurants, hotels, public or private buildings. The connection is autonomous, the system will still work when there is a failure, or a device removed.

What do you need?

• Lighting with a build-in Casambi module
• A controlling device. Casambi can be managed with:
  • A classic wall switch or wireless switch with Casambi bluetooth chip
  • Smartphone
  • Tablet
  • Laptop or PC

The advantages of Casambi comparing to other smart lighting systems.

• Casambi can be used with any mobile device, independent of the brand or operating system
• You don’t need special wiring.
• You don’t need specific hardware to start the network
• Casambi has a free control app.

Download the brochure “Casambi for installers”
Download the brochure “Casambi for lighting designers”

Do you see the importance of good lighting? But is the investment too big to buy the perfect lighting? Lighting as a service offers the solution.

Lunoo’s LaaS solution gives you financial comfort and lighting comfort. Furthermore, you are completely relieved during the entire duration of the contract: from lighting design, installation to yearly maintenance.

Ligthing comfort

• You receive a sustainable and energy efficient lighting installation with the latest technology.
• As a result of a custom-made lighting study and lighting plan
  • you have the right light in every area.
  • you have the right atmosphere.
  • there’s more well-being in the workplace and employees feel better.
  • customers are feeling welcome.

Financial comfort

• You pay for the light and the service instead of a lighting installation.
  • No peaks in investment
  • No VAT pre-financing
  • Reduced administration costs
  • Less time spent on invoicing multiple suppliers.
    • Lunoo takes care of the installation of the fixtures and maintenance during the contract.

To whom can L.A.A.S. offer a solution?

For public administration, offices as well as retail chains can benefit from Light as a service.

Who usually chooses for light as a service?

• relighting projects
• new development with large surfaces.
• Projects with multiple establishments

More information about Light as a service?

Contact us by mail or give us a phone call 0032 56 676 105.

Click here for an appointment.

Do you also suffer from poor acoustics in modern buildings often? In the construction of these buildings you often find hard materials such as concrete, metal and glass. These materials reflect sound waves and are experienced as unpleasant.

Consequences of poor acoustics for humans

An excessive amount of noise has a negative impact on well-being and mental health. The reverberation leads to fatigue, irritation and stress. This reduces productivity in offices. In the hospitality business, the customer is less satisfied, there is a good chance that they will leave faster or will never return.

Solution

In practice, acoustic walls are often installed to absorb sound. But then you lose the initial look and feel of the building. In order not to affect the architecture of the building, acoustic lighting is a solution.

Rosa and acoustics

The Rosa combines lighting with sound absorption. The shape of the Rosa enables you to make your own composition. The shape of the Rosa can be compared to a petal and is available with or without a spot. The Rosa can also be perfectly combined with the Planet Air 700, which then forms the heart of the Rosa, as it were.

Do you want to know more about acoustic lighting?

Download the brochure about Acoustic Lighting and the Rosa