Office Lighting
There are so many lighting systems out there - how do you go about choosing the right one for your office
environment. You need to balance cost against quality - that goes without saying - but what about the physical
impact of lighting on your staff (and yourself) - have you considered that? What if you could simply open a window in
the ceiling and flood your workspace with daylight - well I believe that you can and should and that is why this entire
page is dedicated to just one lighting system that offers benefits way beyond simply illuminating your desk. I am
asked to design lighting systems for all sorts of buildings - for example I have a commission on my desk right now for
one of the major oil companies in Aberdeen to design a complete lighting scheme for their whole 4 storey office
complex. I have done the Cymap lighting scheme using several manufacturers data and I keep coming back to one
truly innovative system - see below.
environment. You need to balance cost against quality - that goes without saying - but what about the physical
impact of lighting on your staff (and yourself) - have you considered that? What if you could simply open a window in
the ceiling and flood your workspace with daylight - well I believe that you can and should and that is why this entire
page is dedicated to just one lighting system that offers benefits way beyond simply illuminating your desk. I am
asked to design lighting systems for all sorts of buildings - for example I have a commission on my desk right now for
one of the major oil companies in Aberdeen to design a complete lighting scheme for their whole 4 storey office
complex. I have done the Cymap lighting scheme using several manufacturers data and I keep coming back to one
truly innovative system - see below.
| As an employer you spend £££££'s on your staff (salary, office equipment, cars etc) - but ask yourself how much do you spend on lighting? You may be overlooking a major factor affecting staff performance, because bad lighting causes all kinds of problems from headaches to eye strain to fatigue to lack of productivity - did you know that? |
| One solution in the modern office can be Virtual Daylight® - (from UK manufacturer Clearvision Lighting Ltd) - a system of vertical polarisation, coupled with daylight tubes (6500K output) and high frequency control that effectively reproduces natural daylight to 98%, creating a totally natural working environment. The superior quality of light is proven to substantially (70%+) minimise eyestrain and reduce both headaches and fatigue allowing staff to work more effectively throughout the day. (Note again - UK manufacturer - lets fly the flag eh!) |
| You will even save energy and money as this type of lighting is energy effective, friendly to the environment and inexpensive to maintain! And - close to my heart - you will lose those blummin' awful aluminium louvres (known as CAT2 or CAT3 reflectors) that gather dust, gather finger-prints and most important, target glare directly into the eyes of your staff working directly below. |
| Virtual daylight systems are something like 98% true to natural daylight - like working outdoors only indoors! This quality of illumination helps maintains a natural hormone pattern in the bloodstream helping you feel awake and alert. Conventional artificial lighting - such as my pet hate CAT2 louvres - can actually disrupt our natural circadian rhythms. Bad lighting can stimulate your body to produce hormones that try to send you to sleep, slow your body down and leave you feeling tired and irritable. Matching the quality of natural daylight means that visual tasks will become much easier. Colours will be clearly defined and the clarity of objects vastly improved. |
| Even more importantly - polarising the light will eliminate glare making your computer screen easier to see and paper less reflective and therefore easier to read. All this and it will comply with the office lighting guidance LG3:2001 and even LG7 - our lighting design scheme will ensure compliance. |
| Because Virtual Daylight is high frequency controlled - as any decent lighting system in an office these days should be - it also produces none of the distracting lamp flicker or hum commonly associated with more conventional systems helping to create a calmer and more relaxed environment. Lamp life is longer, lighting can be dimmable and just more flexible in providing a comfortable working environment. Oh yeah - it saves energy too! |
| Computacenter Sales Office (Edinburgh) Norwich Union Call Centre |
| Scottish & Universal Newspapers Astex Technology (Cambridge) |
| Where can you use a system that actually benefits your employees, can add to the bottom line by improving productivity, saves energy and money and adheres to the lighting guidance? Give us a call to discuss any potential applications. We have a lighting design service and can provide you with completely professional design schemes for any sort of office situation - in fact if you ask us we can provide lighting designs for all sorts of work-spaces. |
| Doesn't cost the earth either. Stewart can help you to procure these systems at trade prices owing to years of on-going relationships with all of the major manufacturers and wholesalers. No axe to grind, no commissions to earn, no middlemen to pay, just appropriate products at the best possible price. |
| A typical recessed modular fitting, Corona or Alta or CR inclusive of daylight lamps, high frequency controller and polarising lens will cost from £85-100 depending on quantity. The polarising lenses can also be retro-fitted where you already have HF control gear and at £28-30 each that's a cheap way of getting a similar result. Like most of the stuff I do I have managed to secure some special rates from the manufacturers that enable me to get these fantastic products into clients buildings with a minimum of fuss. So don't pay several tiers of mark-up's and resellers commissions - get these fittings direct from the factory through this office. We can also supply daylight lamps and again at just £2.50-ish a pop they are great value. Decent quantities will accrue a further discount. Here are a few of the Virtual Daylight products available. |
| Alta from £97 SR from £87.50 Corona from £92.50 |
| Beral from £55 Mezzo from £98 |