“Warm” and “cold” light have different effects on working conditions

Illumination of workplaces plays an important role not only in office interiors, but also in creating comfortable working conditions – light can excite or suppress the activity of employees. Some companies are already investing in smart lighting systems to make their teams more productive. Alexey Burykin, the founder of the QPRO lighting bureau, told the Biz360.ru portal about why office lighting should be associated with natural light cycles.

Dossier

Alexey Burykin, founder of the QPRO lighting bureau. Graduated from the Faculty of Robotic and Intelligent Systems of the Moscow Aviation Institute, received additional education in the direction of “Fundamentals of Lighting Engineering and Lighting Design” at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute, studied at the Skolkovo School of Management. Founded QPRO in 2013. Among the largest implemented projects are the interior lighting of the Stanislavsky Electrotheatre, the main public building of the Skolkovo Center MATREX, the Mediacenter and Zapovednoye Embassy pavilions in Zaryadye Park.

Reaction to light is physiology

For millions of years of evolution, man is accustomed to getting up at dawn, working all day in the daytime and falling asleep when it gets dark. Sunlight becomes more intense and colder by the middle of the day, and with the onset of evening it weakens, acquires warmer shades. A person is forced to work under the monotonous light of artificial lighting in the industrial era. And only recently there have been studies on the effect of light on labor efficiency.

These studies have shown that simulating natural patterns of color temperature and light intensity in an office lighting system affects employee productivity. Philips researchers believe that increasing illumination and changing the color temperature of light for a short period of time can provide an energy boost comparable to the effect of a cup of coffee. Reverse situation promote relaxation.

In 2016, a lighting experiment was conducted at the CBRE headquarters in Amsterdam. The introduction of a friendly dynamic lighting system tuned in accordance with natural cycles, has increased labor productivity by 18%. In addition, there was a 12% improvement in accuracy, and 76% of employees told the researchers they felt happier. An important fact: during the observation period, the number of cases of employee diseases has decreased almost twice. This experiment was one of the first practical proofs of the benefits of investing in dynamic lighting.

A year later data from an experiment was published at the Czech regional headquarters of the energy company Innogy, where the lighting system was also modernized during the renovation of the office, along with the introduction of new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

The scenario of color temperature changes during the day occurred in two cycles. The working day of employees began with high values ​​- the color temperature was 5500K (cold stimulating light), by noon it dropped to 3000K (warm light). Then the cycle of changing the color temperature was repeated with a decrease in the peak value of the illumination level. A survey of staff showed that more than 80% of employees were satisfied with the new lighting system and noted its impact on improving composure and work motivation. The 500 employees of Innogy’s Czech office did the same job as 600 people from other divisions of the company.

Lighting design and brand positioning

Now many companies understand that lighting affects the performance and quality of work efficiency. Many employers have become aware of the dependence of employee productivity on the level of illumination of their workplaces. Business owners with the help of lighting designers create a comfortable and creative space with functional lighting systems.

Change of color temperature and light intensity can be programmed considering the activity of employees during the day. The most popular scenario is imitation of natural cycles. In the morning hours the color temperature is high to stimulate employee activity. By the evening it decreases and turns into a warmer spectrum, setting employees to rest.

Lighting designers take in the project into account not only the technical standards of lighting, but also the creation of a comfortable working environment for the company’s employees. Solutions can be fundamentally different due to brand positioning.

For example the office of an IT company should translate flexibility and dynamism, and the headquarters of a banking structure – stability and prosperity. In the first case, most likely, employees are not tied to their workplaces, they often change locations and move freely in the office space. The right solution here would be to create general lighting for workplaces, as well as the ability to adjust lighting at each workplace. The cool color temperature in the working area of ​​the office space should be combined with the warm color temperature in the recreational areas. This will allow the employee to “move” from the work environment to an informal area for communication or relaxation.

In the case of a banking structure the best option in lighting is to emphasize the laconic interior design and the status of the organization. Warm colors created by decorative lamps can help to create an atmosphere of trust and comfort.

There are studies that prove that soft, warm local light creates a trusting atmosphere conducive to communication.

There have been no large-scale studies on the effect of lighting on labor efficiency in Russia. But there is already a request for the introduction of elements of “smart” lighting in interiors. Of course, initially, companies turn to a lighting bureau for functional lighting that would meet the demands of a representative identity. But they will learn about the effect of lighting on a person and his performance in the process of developing a project. Then they decide to invest in lighting control systems. Our QPRO bureau has implemented lighting projects for the Russian offices of OpenText, Booking, Avito, Oracle, Gazprom Neft – more than 40 projects in total.

Pleasant bonus

Do not forget that the introduction of intelligent lighting systems affects not only the potential increase in the work of employees, but also has a real economic effect in the form of energy savings. LEDs, presence detectors, circuit breakers allow the company to reduce its electricity bill by up to 40%.