Working from home: 5 tips on how to work even better from home with the right light
The current COVID-19 situation is forcing many people to move their workplace from the well-equipped office workplace to their own four walls. Not everyone has a study with ideal lighting conditions. And not every study was designed to provide an optimal working atmosphere for 40 hours a week.
The right light plays an important role in this. The following are the most important elements when making the short-term choice to work from home. A few tips on how to polish up existing studies in terms of lighting technology are naturally also included.
Good work needs good light
Focus and efficiency play a special role in everyday office life. The right light can help you to focus on your tasks and complete the different tasks with the necessary efficiency. We will show you in the following sections how light can master this:


1. Create daylight
Daylight not only supports the release of endorphins. Its infrared rays also have a positive effect on circulation and performance. It is not without reason that workplace regulations propose a "ratio of translucent window, door or wall surface or skylight surface to room floor area of at least 1:10".
However, based on our experience, we recommend a ratio of 1:5. This allows the light distribution to optimally support the organism.To support daylight, we recommend supplementing it with artificial light.

Our product tip: KARPO TL. It enables optimum illumination thanks to its swivel and rotation ranges, which can be individually aligned via a joint. It also has a premium LED with a CRI value of over 90. The lamp can also be dimmed in 3 stages by a switch on the lamp head. This allows the brightness to be individually adjusted according to the incidence of light. Conclusion: An optimal solution that can be easily adjusted to the individual needs of the home office.

2. Ensure the correct basic brightness
With increasing age, the ability to see also decreases. Here too, the right light in the home office can help by providing the right basic brightness.
In concrete terms this means: Pay attention to high colour reproduction for lights & lamps. We recommend a minimum value of over 80 (CRI>80) for lamps and lights.

Our product tip: WORKLIGHT PLUS. A mobile workstation light which is particularly suitable for screen-based workstations. Thanks to the integrated presence control it also switches itself on and off automatically. This ensures a constant light level at the workplace. Another highlight: The background level can be adjusted (10% or 70% luminous flux). This also increases comfort. The combination of direct and indirect light output also ensures broad and uniform illumination.



3. Tune the light to room size & function
If you are still in the process of setting up your workplace at home, this is the ideal starting point. Good planning allows you to consider and implement all requirements for the right working light in advance. The size of the room alone plays a role in correct lighting design, coupled with the concrete application of light. With the help of these two points you can set the right standard for the lighting installation.
This is your orientation when it comes to the question of Kelvin or lumen output, i.e. colour temperature (cold/warm light) or brightness. These values can also help to optimise your mobile workplace.

Our product tip: Our 1-phase track is a good alternative for those who do not want to or cannot restructure their rooms. With this you can illuminate different areas in the room individually. If required, you can also very flexibly add further spots or pendant lights. Rotatable and pivoting high-voltage posts enable, for example, individually selected areas to be illuminated. The best choice for an uncomplicated extension of the lighting concept in a study.

4. Avoid light that dazzles
Kelvin and lumen are two of many key figures that give you orientation when optimising the work area. Whether the light is glare-free or shines into your eyes is not apparent from the two numbers. You influence this mainly when mounting the light.
As the length of the suspension in combination with the half scattering angle (also known as UGR value) of the light is decisive for this. Put very simply: Both together define the size of the light cone which the light generates.

Our product tip: The Q-LINE BAP fulfils all conditions for glare-free working light. With a UGR value of less than 10, the Q-LINE lights are not only suitable for use on computer screens. They are also dimmable and height adjustable. This way they adapt perfectly to the workplace and its environment.



5. Do not skimp on basic lighting
Sensible basic lighting is the basis of every lighting concept. Just like sunlight, this is mounted from above and thus creates an even basic lighting. It is essential to supplement these with other light sources, such as floor or table lamps. This means that the additional light source demands attention and supports the selective illumination.
In addition, the colour of the light plays a major role. Uniform light colours tire the eye and concentration decreases. Points of light and light-dark zones promote the mobility of the eye, as the surroundings are more attractive.

Become a lighting designer with SLV home office tips
Whether you follow all the tips right away, or only those that are within your possibilities in terms of space: Every little optimisation will make your everyday life in your home office easier and bring a little more focus and efficiency to your work.
And if we have aroused your interest in even more optimisation potential, our experienced lighting designers are at your side. Just send us a message: [email protected]
