Complete Office Lighting Design Guide

Many companies focus on the design, cost, and integration of corporate culture when renovating their offices, but they often overlook the importance of office lighting design. However, since the office is where employees spend eight hours a day, the effect of office lighting design on work efficiency cannot be underestimated. Employees can create higher value in a comfortable environment. It also has important implications for employee retention.

Designing a high-quality and comprehensive control office lighting system can save up to 80% of office energy costs according a report, promote resource utilization, energy saving, and emission reduction, not only contributing to the sustainable development of enterprises but also making a contribution to environmental protection.

Types of Office Lighting Fixtures

Office lighting can be divided into two major categories: artificial lighting and natural lighting. Bright lighting environment can bring open and joyful work efficiency to people.

Artificial lighting refers to a series of lighting devices that consume electricity in the office, there are three main types of office ceiling lights used a lot today

Commercial Office Lighting Solution

Led flat panel light

Featured with good uniformity of illumination, soft and comfort light, different sizes and 4 installation methods, flat panel led lights are perfect replacement for traditional fluorescent light fixture and grille lamp panels. Now widely used in office ,hospital,shopping mall and school lighting….

After you determined the right size and installation of the flat panel LED office lighting fixtures, you’ll need to consider which illumination method meet your needs

Edge-lit led light panel : only 9mm ultra slim, good for transportation. LEDs are positioned at the edge of frame, the light may be not uniform. And because of complex craft, edge-lit panel LED office fixtures cost a bit more

Back-Lit Panels: featuring with Semi-automated production, the price of back-lit led panel are cheaper. And LEDs are positioned behind the frame instead of the edge, the light are uniform and soft. The more important is that light of backlit panels are not yellow with long time usage. So now led back-lit panel light is getting popular

Suspended linear LED lighting

If you think that linear light can only be suspended , you are wrong. GRNled offers you recessed linear led ceiling lights too. The application of recessed linear led lighting is as wider as suspended linear light.

Recessed office lighting

In lighting with a main light, downlights play the role of auxiliary lighting, such as installing downlights over a sofa, which is beneficial when reading a book or a newspaper on the sofa, so that you can see more clearly.

A large number of downlights will be used for lighting without main lights, so that in addition to meeting the basic lighting needs, it can also make the light more layered. So led recessed directional downlights is a must have for office lighting solution

Five factors you should consider for office Lighting Solution:

Make the most of natural light:

When designing lighting, natural light should be utilized as much as possible. After millions of years of evolution, the human eye is most adapted to natural light.

Employees who were exposed to natural light in the office reported an 84 percent drop in eye strain, headaches, and blurred vision, according to research by the department of design and environmental analysis at Cornell University. Research from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine also showed that exposure to natural light helps regulate hormones and keeps your circadian rhythm in check, helping employees sleep soundly at night and work productively the next day.

However, natural light is directly related to the building orientation, window position, weather, curtain shading of the office, and neighboring building obstructions,” in order to maximize the impact of direct sunlight. Areas with windows are typically designated for common areas rather than for private offices, so that as many people as possible can have access to natural light.

Different light colors create different atmospheres, and light colors closer to natural light are better. Combining artificial natural light lamp for office with sunlight can create a comfortable lighting environment.

Nowadays, under the concept of advocating green and energy-saving offices, natural light should be the main source of light, and artificial lighting should be used as a supplement to achieve energy-saving and emission reduction.  

Appropriate Illumination:

Illumination refers to the amount of visible light flux per unit area of the illuminated object. The unit is lux (lx), and the national regulations generally require a minimum lighting levels for the office is 300lx. Comfortable illumination in the office space is more conducive to employee work.

For general lighting, the ratio of the minimum illuminance value to the average illuminance value should not be less than 0.7, and the ratio of illuminance values around the working surface should not be less than 0.5.

For situations where general lighting and local lighting are used simultaneously, the average illuminance in non-working areas should not be less than half of the working area and not less than 200 lux.

For two adjacent workstation areas, the average illuminance ratio to the aisle next to the office should not exceed 5:1, and the illuminance in the lower area should be at least 150lux. Otherwise, strong contrast changes in brightness in the office lighting environment may cause visual fatigue for people working in it.

Following is a table about lighting standards for offices

Location	Reference Planes and Heights	Illumination (Lx)	UGR	Ra
Standard office	level 0.75M	300	19	80
Flash office	level 0.75M	500	19	80
Meeting room	meeting room table 0.75M	300	19	80
Reception	level 0.75M	300	—	80
Workplace	level 0.75M	300	22	80
Designing room	work table 0.75M	500	19	80
Document sorting,coping	level 0.75M	300	—	80
Archives	level 0.75M	200	—	80

Ensure that your office lighting design complies with local building codes and regulations, including energy efficiency standards.

Anti-glare:

Preventing glare is an important step. Glare is one of the enemies of office workers. It causes great harm to employees, causing disgust, fatigue, and even long-term exposure to glare, which can lead to irreversible damage to the eyes. Therefore, it is necessary to choose anti-glare lighting(UGR<19) and reasonably arrange the direction and layout of the lights.

Here is a picture for how to reduce glare

Maintenance Considerations:

Buy quality fixtures without customer complaints to save maintenance cost, and establish a regular maintenance schedule to replace bulbs or clean fixtures. GRNLED is your professional lighting supplier offering 5 years warranty.

Lighting Test:

Before finalizing the design, mock-ups or lighting simulations must be done to ensure the chosen fixtures and layout meet the desired objectives. Detailed lighting plans and documentation for contractors to ensure that construction is carried out accurately.

After installation, evaluate the lighting’s performance and make necessary adjustments.

Different Lighting Requirements for Various Areas in Office Design

In addition to considering the natural light and artificial lighting arrangements, we also need to pay attention to the different lighting requirements in various areas of the office during the actual design, in order to determine the illuminance and light color of the lighting.

Reception Area

As the first impression of a company, the reception area is of great importance. Generally, basic lighting combined with logo background image wall accent lighting is used, and point light sources are often used in lighting design to highlight the company image and demonstrate its strength. Led downlight or spotlight and strip light you may need

Workplace

As the largest area in the office, employee work behavior, interaction and communication, and even personnel negotiation and other functions happened here. Generally, a uniform spacing lighting layout is used, combined with corresponding lighting fixtures for ground functional areas. Each individual workstation area is equipped with a linear light to make the workspace lighting evenly and reduce glare. Energy-saving led downlights are used for corridor areas to supplement lighting

Conference Room

In addition to the conference function, the conference room also has multiple functions such as negotiation, activity, and entertainment. Therefore, the lighting design should be matched with different configurations to achieve free switching of scene lighting. For example, during a PPT presentation, a local light source such as led down light is needed; during a formal meeting, a surface light source such as a lamp shade is needed; and for entertainment activities, a line light source such as a led strip is suitable.

Corridors

As a public area connecting various departments, the lighting requirements for corridors are not high, and functional lighting is sufficient. Generally, hidden light fixtures (recessed led dowlight) or energy-saving downlights are used according to the structure and height of the corridor ceiling. Uniform configuration of the illuminance in each area, and appropriate variation in illuminance if possible, can effectively alleviate the lighting atmosphere of the entire office.

we discussed the modern office lighting types( recessed lighting and pendant lighting) , their benefits, and how to use them correctly for maximum efficiency.Wish this article will help you choosing the right type of led office lighting fixtures.

FAQ about office lighting plan