Table of Contents
Contractor Sees Direct Benefits of Indirect Lighting
Rules for Office Lighting Success

Rules for Office Lighting Success

How do you satisfy customers and win more office lighting jobs?
You must know what your customer wants. This article reveals what your customers expect from office lighting projects. We’ll show you how to create the well-lit offices your customers desire. By fulfilling customer needs, you will set your business up for long-term growth and success.


The Basics--A Balanced Environment
The best lighting fixtures provide uniform illumination. They don’t create a glare on computer screens. Uniform illumination gives an office a feeling of balance, which studies say is essential to worker productivity. If you want to score big on office projects, make sure your lights convey general uniformity and balance.

Desktop Light Levels
Employees in most offices work at desks or workstations, so their desktop should be the brightest surface in the room. The walls, ceiling and partitions should be about one-third as bright as the desktop.
Cubicle wall partitions, storage shelves and cabinets reduce footcandle readings on individual desk surfaces. Keep this in mind when you select and place fixtures. Think about adding task lights for each individual desk. This could supplement overall office space lighting.
Recommended maintained foot candle levels on desk surfaces:

• Open plan office (computers in use): 30-50 fc
• Drafting/Graphics (paper task): 50-100 fc*
• Private offices: 50 fc
• *100 fc typically achieved in localized areas with task lighting

Which Fixture is Best?
Not every office is the same. So you will need to make sure that you are using the right type of lighting fixtures for your project. Below is a list of fixtures you can use for your specific office type.

Open Offices
Pendant mount indirect luminaire with downlight component:

• Excellent employee comfort and visibility
• No glare on computer screens
• Can use in small, medium or large office layouts
• Reduces shadows by lighting ceilings and upper walls
• Easy installation reduces time and labor cost
• Require only one power feed at the end of each row (a large office may require feeds midway as well)

Private Offices
Pendant mount indirect luminaire with downlight component:

• Creates a bright, open atmosphere
• Minimal glare on computer screens
• Easy installation reduces time and labor cost
• Requires only one power feed at the end of each row

Recessed indirect/direct troffer fixtures:

• Good general illumination
• Provide concentrated and diffused light

Recessed direct lensed or parabolic troffers:

• Low-level general illumination
• Emphasizes horizontal surfaces and the floor

NOTE: For all of these office types, task lights may be needed if overhead cabinets or partitions create a shadow problem.

Lamps
Select lamps with:

• Color Rendering Index (CRI) of 80
• Color temperature of 4100K or higher
• Lamp lumen maintenance of 95%

Common Office Lighting Concerns
Glare
Get fixtures that provide good visibility without distracting glare. Lighting fixtures installed to the front or side of employees can cause direct glare. Fixtures located behind employees can cause reflected glare in computer screens. Excessively bright overhead fixtures cause overhead glare. Obviously, glare is a difficult issue to deal with. Control glare by decreasing the brightness of lighting fixtures or increasing the brightness of the surrounding area. Or do both.
One solution is to add more fixtures. You can also reduce the brightness of the light source. Do this by using fixtures that have more lamps with lower wattage.
Uniformity
Uniformity is the goal for any office environment. Fixture installations should avoid or minimize shadows and "hot spots." Install fixtures at least three feet away from a wall. Downlights too close to walls create a cave-like appearance, while indirect fixtures too close to walls create a "halo" effect.
Power Consumption
Office lighting must comply with energy power consumption limits of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999 and local codes. That includes task lighting. Determine how much energy your lights will consume before ordering your fixtures. Also, check to see if your fixture's controls, like multi-level switching, occupancy sensor and daylight controls, meet state and local codes.

We can help
Call us at (800) 236-7000 for assistance in your next indoor lighting project. We can help you with a quote, product selection, layout assistance or anything that will help you meet your customers’ expectations. To help us serve you more efficiently, record the following project information before contacting layout assistance: room dimensions, ceiling height, work plane height (typically 30 inches), cubicle layout pattern and dimensions, desired light level (maintained footcandles), bottom of fixture height and reflectances or colors of ceiling, walls and partitions. We look forward to helping your business grow!