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Lighting DesignCommercial LED Office Lighting
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Frequently Asked Questions
There’s a lot of questions around office lighting, so we asked new and existing customers what questions they wished they had asked before they made a purchase. Scroll below to find answers to our most common questions or call (888) 423-3191 to speak to an expert.
General
What Is the Best Lighting for an Office?
The best lighting for an office is the one that provides the proper balance of brightness and balance. There are many reasons why office lighting can be poor: too bright, not bright enough, creates shadows, flickering fluorescent lights or humming fluorescent ballasts. A lot of these issues can be fixed by converting to LEDs.
How Do I Improve Office Lighting?
It depends on the type of problem you have. Too bright is just as bad as not bright enough. Uneven lighting, shadows or unbalanced lighting can be fixed by redoing the lighting layout and choosing the right fixtures. Fluorescent fixtures that hum and flicker can be eliminated by converting to LED.
Does OSHA Have Office Lighting Standards?
They do. OSHA provides candle-feet breakdowns for various types of work as follows:
First-aid stations, offices, and infirmaries: 30 foot-candles.
General construction plants and shops: 10 foot-candles.
General construction area: 5 foot-candles.
More information can be found at:
https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1926/1926.56
How Do I Upgrade Commercial Office Lighting?
First, start with an office lighting plan. The plan will show the needed light levels, and also display how even and balanced the lighting will be in the entire space or room by room. Fixtures can be swapped in the plan before any purchase is made - solving all the issues in the planning stages.
Should Commercial Office Buildings Retrofit to LED Lighting?
Yes, expected energy savings can be between 50% and 75%, maintenance costs will drop dramatically, and quality of lighting will significantly improve. The work environment will also improve - problems associated with fluorescent lighting, like eye-strain and headaches, should diminish.
Before You Buy
How Bright Should Office Lighting Be?
It varies from office to office, and depending on the application of the office. Too bright is just as bad as not bright enough. We typically are asked to do office lighting plans achieving average foot candles in a range between 30 and 50 footcandles.
What Is the Best Type of Lighting for an Office?
There is no one type of best lighting for an office, only the lighting that works best for your space. It starts with a lighting plan, where combinations of lights are tried until the right option and layout is found. All problems are sorted out in the lighting plan before any commitments are made.
How Do You Determine Lighting Requirements Based on Office Square Footage?
The best way is to determine what light levels you want in your commercial office space. Send us the layout or floor measurements along with the mounting heights and let us put together a lighting plan for you. In general, you should expect to have one fixture for approximately every 64 square feet.
Why Would I Want to Use a Color And/Or Wattage Changing Fixture in an Office?
There’s a number of reasons. Lighting is not inexpensive, and deciding on a color temperature only to find it doesn’t work well can be a costly mistake. Color changing panels that allow you to select the right wattage / output allows you to customize your lighting post installation.
I Have an Office Lighting Plan from Another Company Telling Me I Need More Foot Candles. Why Is Your Recommendation Less?
The trend in office lighting is less lighting. The old standard was 50 foot candles (fc), and now offices are finding that 30-40 fc is enough and actually provides a better work environment for employees and customers. It’s more about getting the right levels of lighting than just trying to supply more lights.
Fixtures and Fittings
What Are the Types of Lights Used in Offices?
By far, the most common lights are 2X2 Panels and 2X4 Panels that fit inside a suspended grid ceiling.
How does a motion sensor work in an office setting?
It works well, if you set the motion delay large enough so that lights are not always turning on and off - causing distractions. A 5 minute delay before dimming should work well, but this is also tunable to find that perfect setting.
Led Panel 2x2
2x4 Led Backlit Panel
Can You Turn Off the Motion Sensor on Office Lights?
Yes, some can be set so that the motion sensor is disabled. We would suggest you set the interval to a longer period of time, so you can take advantage of times when no one is around, like evenings, holidays and weekends.
Can You Dim Office LED Lights?
Yes, we offer dimmable office lights. Our color changing panels are also dimmable with a remote control, no need to add a separate dimming switch.
Do You Sell Dimming Switches for Office Lighting?
We currently do not. You can use a standard LED dimming switch. Remember, for LED dimming you do need to run two low voltage wires to the fixtures you want dimmed. The fixtures can be daisy chained for any fixture on the same dimming switch.
Installation
How Do You Install LED Lights in an Office Ceiling?
Installation is easy for a qualified electrician. The existing fluorescent troffer lights can be removed and replaced with LED panels. There are three wires on the fixture - line, neutral and ground - that need to be attached in order to power up the fixture.
How Do You Install Troffer Lights in an Office?
An LED troffer is a more architectural style of panel light that we offer, but installation is the same. They fit inside the suspended ceiling of an office and wire up directly to the incoming wire as do the panels.
Need an Office Layout Lighting Plan?
If you are just replacing fixture with fixture, a lighting plan will help you select the right fixture. If you are creating a new area or building that doesn't have lighting yet, a lighting plan will lay out the light locations and show you how bright the lighting will be.
If you know how bright you want the space to be, we can pick the right office light fixture to meet your needs and requirements.
When we do office lighting plans, we use specialized lighting software that allows us to model your space, add lights, place them in your digital space, and calculate the brightness and how even the light will be.