Interior lighting

One of the often ignored areas in an office is interior lighting. Most often, design considerations for interior lighting is often based either on functionality or aesthetics. However, poorly designed lighting can often cause health and safety issues in the office, resulting in errors, reduced productivity, and various health problems. I had a chance to work on a relatively simple project recently. It was a small office and the client had complained that the original down lighting was casting a harsh light on the work surface causing glare and other health related issues.

After discussion, I decided on a diffused light source in order to soften the interior. I surveyed the office, entered the dimensions into the lighting program, selected the appropriate luminaire and crunched some numbers. In the end, I settled on a large diffused pendant, with two 24 watt TC-TEL bulbs, giving an illumination level of 100 lux at the working plane with a gentle wash falling off the walls. Below are the illumination plot and lighting simulation :



Lighting measurements confirmed that the work plane was within the simulated output of 100 lux at working plane. The client was extremely pleased with the final result :
The diffused lighting eliminated the glare at the work surface and other health related issues.