Business owners often face difficult decisions when it comes to choosing the right lighting. There are a lot of factors to take into consideration, including design, energy usage, cost, etc., and the number of choices available can sometimes seem overwhelming.
Let’s take a closer look at what the options are these days for commercial LED lighting design and which features are preferable to others. Breaking down the components of lighting systems and looking at each aspect of them individually will help potential buyers make wise decisions.
How to Design Lighting for a Commercial Building?
Make it Human-centric
It is a well-known fact that poor lighting can negatively influence people psychologically. Having bright, well-lit rooms is one of the components that is critical to keeping people’s moods up. Business owners should ensure that their spaces provide adequate lighting for all their employees throughout the workday so that they stay alert and motivated.
Make it Smart
Thanks to continuously improving technology, commercial lighting is taking on more and more “smart” features. These features help ensure that lights can be accessed in different ways from different places to allow for maximum convenience and energy conservation.
Choose Energy Efficiency
It used to be the case that picking energy-efficient lighting meant sacrificing quality. But thanks to improved technology used in modern lighting systems, there are more and more options available for businesses looking to both conserve energy and also maintain the same level of brightness.
Use Natural Light
More and more people are using what is known as “daylight harvesting” to conserve light for later usage. There are specific lighting control systems available that allow for this. As heat is collected in solar panels for later usage, so too can light be with these systems.
Use LED Ceiling Fixtures
Overscale lights can be an effective way to create dramatic light unobtrusively, allowing the focus to be on your room.
Choose Features with Suitable Characteristics
When choosing lighting for a given room, you want to be sure you’re getting something that suits the room in as many different ways as possible. There are several characteristics of modern LED light fixtures that you should look for in this respect. Every light has a certain “color temperature” and it is advisable that you coordinate your lights to be of similar temperatures. Choosing lights from a single manufacturer can help ensure consistency.
The Color Rendition Index (CRI) of light refers to the effect that the light has on the objects it shines on and the extent to which those objects continue to appear natural underneath it. CRI is measured on a scale of 0-100, with better quality bulbs having measurements around 90.
Lights should be luminous. They should emit as much brightness as possible.
Illuminance is the intensity of light output and is measured in lux. There are certain degrees of lux that are recommended for different types of spaces, and lights should ideally fall within this range.
Luminaire efficacy refers to the amount of power used by a light in comparison to the total light output. Good-quality lights should have a high efficacy ratio.
Power consumption is the amount of energy used by a light, or the number of watts it uses.
Make it Layered
“Layering” is a technique in which different types of lighting are used together to create balance in a given space. This is becoming a popular method as people see the aesthetic benefits it brings.
Go for Modern and Sleek
Impress your clients with a modern look to your lights. Lights and the spaces that they illuminate should complement one another, so go for a sleek design and show people you’ve got great taste.
Lighting Design Principles for Different Business Spaces
Lobby
Lobby lighting should relay a particular degree of warmth, including a color temperature of approximately 3000K and a CRI of 85 or higher. It should emit a sense of welcoming and possibly illuminate certain items in the lobby.
Personal Workstation
Lighting for personal workspaces should be adjustable to the task at hand. It should include a range of color temperatures, from 2700-3500K, and include a CRI of 85 or higher.
Private Office
Private offices should include lighting from the ceiling, floor, and table levels and be adjustable to a wide range of degrees, depending on the needs of the executive. Lights should allow for important business conversations to take place or for an executive to focus on the task at hand as needed. Color temperatures should be between 2700-3500K, with a CRI of 85 or higher.
Meeting/Conference Room
Meeting and conference rooms should include adjustable lighting that allows people to focus on speeches, group conversations, or screens as situations demand. Lighting should be sufficiently bright that large spaces remain illuminated uniformly, and they should be capable of dimming when necessary for on-screen presentations or other situations requiring low light.
Color temperatures in meeting and conference rooms should be between 3000K-3500K, and lights should have a CRI of 85 or higher.
Collaborative Space
Collaborative spaces should be inviting and include a mix of lighting types to encourage free movement among people. They should include a blend of table, floor, and pendant fixtures, and incorporate a dimming element for evening gatherings or in other situations in which low light is preferable.
Color temperatures should be between 2700-3500K, with a CRI of 85 or higher.
Retreat
Retreat areas should relay warmth and comfort, and give people a sense of relaxation as they enter. Table, floor, and pendant lighting should be controllable by the user and sometimes incorporate soft noises, as well. Color temperatures should be between 2700K-3000K, with a CRI of 85 or higher.
Commercial Kitchen
Commercial kitchens need to include lights that will allow cooks to focus on particular tasks and not have to waste time figuring things out visually. Color temperatures should be between 2700K-3000K, with a CRI of 85 or higher.
Commercial Bathroom
In commercial bathrooms, color temperature is critical, and lights should allow for mirrors to be illuminated properly. Color temperatures range from 2700K-3000K, with a CRI of 85 or higher.
Conclusion
There are a lot of specifics to choosing the right commercial lighting. While guests might not consciously think about it, this combination of factors that go into creating the right balance for any given space is what makes lighting work for businesses. Choose your lighting wisely, and your customers will feel it. This is the key to success in your business.
