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How well your office is lit will determine how productive your employees are, the risk of injuries in your office, as well as the mood of your employees and office visitors. If you inherited your office with its lighting design, it's a good idea to consult an electrical contractor, such as Williams Electric Supply, to go over the design and suggest areas of improvements. Here are a few tips you can use for efficient office lighting:

Maximize Natural Lighting

There are two main reasons you should allow as much natural light as possible – health and energy efficiency. Here are some of the health benefits of natural light:

• It reduces the risk of eyestrain
• It improves sleep quality
• It improves mood

In fact, your employees may be more productive when working under natural illumination than artificial illumination. Then there is also the issue of energy efficiency; natural light may allow you to reduce the brightness of your artificial lighting which inevitably leads to reduced electricity consumption.

Install Energy Saving Bulbs

If you have inherited an office with old and inefficient lighting systems, then you should consider replacing them with energy efficient bulbs. LED lights, in particular, are known to produce bright light while consuming lower electricity wattage as compared to traditional light bulbs, such as fluorescence bulbs.

Install a Lighting Control System

If you don't have a lighting control system yet, then its installation should also be on your to-do list. A lighting control system connects different light fixtures and controls them intelligently to maximize your lighting needs and eliminate lighting-related electricity wastage. Such a system can help turn off lights in unused rooms and ensure the lights come on immediately they are needed. There are various forms or solutions for lighting control systems. For example, there are motion sensors that detect movement and turn on the lights immediately someone enters an applicable area. Talk to an electrician to help you choose the best design for your office.

Install Layered Lighting

Lastly, you should also know that using layered lighting, which employs multiple light sources of various brightness, is better than relying on a single light for all occasions. This is because you and your workers' lighting needs to change with the occasion or with the type of task at hand. For example, you may need more light at night than you do during the day. The lighting requirements during a meeting may also be different from the lighting requirements when working at a desk. Layered lighting allows you to utilize the best lighting for each situation and work.