Look up. Look around you. What do you see? If it’s anything less than a light and bright working space, you may have a problem.
Few people realise just how important the right lighting can be for our working environment. Even fewer realise how much money can be saved (and made) through choosing LED lighting.
In this blog, we explain how lighting can influence health, well-being and alertness, while also boosting business and saving money in the process.
1. Feel better. With better lighting.
Study after study has served up illuminating facts about how the lighting around us influences our mood. Perhaps the most fascinating of which, at least recently, has been related to the control of our biological clocks and the regulation of key hormones – such as cortisol and melatonin, through regular light and dark rhythms.
These hormones play differently with differing light. For example, blue-white artificial light can help concentration and boost productivity levels, while blue light is thought to lower melatonin, in turn making us feel more alert.
In contrast, warm yellow lighting can help people relax (so they’d be better placed in a residential or hospitality setting).
2. All about the money? LED lighting provides bang for your buck
LED lighting not only cuts your lighting bills by between 60 – 80%, the bulbs also have an exceptionally long lifespan, coming in at 50,000 hours (up to 50,000 hours which is the equivalent of being used 12 hours a day for 16 years). Some even have lifespans of up to 100,000. In case you’re wondering, this means that LEDs last, on average, 35 times longer than a halogen.
3. Getting to work – Brighter lighting fuels productivity
There is endless research out there to back up the importance of a properly lit working environment. Many of these studies focus on the problems associated to poor lighting, which can lead to eye strain, fatigue and aching, which can then result in a deterioration in performance (Parsons, 2000, Nave 1984).
It’s not all bad news however. On the flip side, better lighting can lead to tangible improvements in productivity. Take Juslen’s study (2007), which found that when horizontal luminance was alternated per work shift (between 800 and 1200 lux) the speed of workers in a factory assembling electronic devices increased significantly under 1200 lux.
4. LEDs are kind to the planet
As a business, you’ve probably become more focused on corporate social responsibility in recent years. So you may welcome the news that LEDs are completely free from toxic compounds or elements such as mercury. As well as this, they are fully, 100% recyclable.
Put this all together and you could be looking at cutting your carbon footprint by up to a third.
5. And finally… LEDs are highly functional
LEDs offer unrivalled design flexibility – they can be retrofitted without major disruption and they play nicely with even the most ambitious of layouts. They can be dimmable, come in different colours and can be fitted with a distribution to suit your business and the different areas within it.
LEDs are INSTANTLY bright. You can switch them on and off, on and off, and their performance remains consistent. They can also work in the most extreme of temperatures – such as refrigerated rooms or warehouses (thanks to the fact that they’re mercury-free).
All in all, LEDs can be used to create functional, bright spaces, as well as areas that soothe, uplift, or energise.
Hopeful this blog has illuminated why the switch is so beneficial. And if you want to find out more contact us for a no-cost to you site survey to learn how LED lighting can improve your working environment and save you money.
