What type of’lighting to choose for the office or cowork ?

To ensure the well-being and safety of their employees, companies are required to provide adequate lighting. This obligation has been regulated since August 1983. It is therefore necessary to choose the lighting used in workplaces, whether they are offices or coworking spaces.

Why choose the right light?

According to the Observatory of the quality of life at the office (Actineo), a poor lighting of the workspace is likely to result in a visual fatigue, a eye irritation as well as headaches. On the other hand, a adequate lighting If it is a LED panel, it prevents the deterioration of the eyesight and the fatigue caused by the excessive solicitation of the eyes. It also reduces the number of errors and avoids the occurrence of’accidents related to a degraded visual perception of the environment’work environment.

In other words, the use of a adapted lighting in the office is beneficial for workers' health and ensures their safety. Moreover, it can improve the profitability of an activity by increasing the efficiency of the work employee productivity.

In concrete terms, the’lighting of a workspace must allow for easy execution of a task and guarantee the visual comfort of employees. To do this, a average level of illumination must be respected. It is also necessary to pay particular attention to the quality of the diffused light, to the uniformity of the light and to the quality of the lighting’illumination as well as to the’balance of luminances to avoid glare.

What the regulations say ?

The regulation In order to ensure that the lighting of a workplace is adequate, it is recommended that you premises, their dependencies, all the outdoor spaces as well as the whole work area What type of traffic routes are used by employees?. For the interior spaces, The minimum illumination level required is :

• 40 lux for traffic lanes;
• 60 lux for stairs and warehouses;
• 120 lux for locker rooms and washrooms;
• 200 lux for blind rooms dedicated to permanent work.

For the outdoor spaces, it is necessary to provide at least :

• 10 lux for the traffic lanes;
• 40 lux for spaces where permanent work is performed.

The level of illumination of a workspace must also be adapted to the type of activity and to the precision of the tasks to be performed. It amounts to :

• 200 lux for office work and the average mechanical ;
• 300 lux for a drawing office and the work of small parts;
• 400 lux for engraving, the clothing industry and fine mechanics;
• 300 to 500 lux for work with a light background and 200 to 300 lux for work with a dark background;
• 600 lux for various controls, fine electronics and precision mechanics ;
• 800 lux for tasks in industry or laboratories that are very difficult to perform.

The choice of luminaires and lamps for work spaces

The luminaires and lamps to be installed in a workspace must be chosen according to the type of lighting to be installed. If it is a general lighting (aimed at providing light that will illuminate a room as a whole), it is possible to invest in a led panel 60×60. This type of luminaire will provide visual comfort and energy savings.

It is also valued for its ease of maintenance.

For thefunctional lighting (which allows the lighting of a specific area for activities such as reading, writing, computer work etc.).), it is recommended to get a desk lamp or adjustable spotlight. It is indeed essential to be able to direct the luminous flux as one pleases on one's work area. It is also advisable to choose a model with a dimmer switch to allow the user to adjust the light level’The intensity of the lamp according to its needs.

L’orientation of lighting sources’lighting and luminosity

L'orientation of light sources The ability to write on a keyboard in a workspace is essential, because the visual comfort of employees depends on it. For the right-handed, the desk lamp should be placed on the left to reduce shadows when working. For the left-handed, it will be necessary to adopt the inverse measure.

In both cases, the flow of light should be directed towards the center of the work area. On the ceiling, spotlights are not recommended. It is better to install a led panel that will diffuse a homogeneous light.

How to choose your light bulb

Desk lamps can be equipped with a dust collector in candes cent, halogen, fluorescent bulbs or even LED. It is recommended to choose a model that limits glare. Its color temperature should not affect the visual comfort.

In general, it should avoid blisters that will give you a blue light, because the latter is not adapted to work. It is preferable to opt for white light models.

The work medicine recommends to use a light bulb bulbs that emit between 2,700 and 3,000 kelvins. The idea is to adopt lighting that is close to natural light. Concretely, this one must be warm, but not too white.