Lighting for workplaces

In workshops, activities are always performed where good visibility is of great importance. That is why it is very important to have a correct workplace lighting. Attention must be paid to the light level, the regularity, the shadow effect and of course the quality of the light.

Better light is better visibility

What does better vision mean? We have put 5 points in a row that are of great importance in workplace lighting

Enough light level; Workplaces often work on and around workbenches. We recommend a light level of around 1000 lux on average. Especially when it comes to fine mechanical work, for example working with small bolts, nuts, and screws. In workshops where maintenance is carried out on machines, we recommend a light level of about 500 lux on average.

As high as possible evenness; a uniform light pattern over the entire workplace is even more important than the light level. In the world of lighting, uniformity is expressed by dividing the minimum measured light level on the average measured light level. If there is uneven lighting, then the human eye and thus the brain must adjust continuously. The pupils become larger and contract. That does not benefit sight and also causes fatigue and therefore a higher chance of mistakes and unsafe work situations.

For factory halls we recommend an evenness (Emin / Egem) of at least 0.4.

The correct light color (CRI); The color reproduction of the light source – which is LED without exception – is of great importance for light quality. If the LEDs used are not of the highest quality, this leads to fatigue among employees and therefore more errors and unsafe working conditions. The LEDs must have the correct Color Rendering Index (CRI) and that means a CRI of more than 80 (Ra> 80) for production work.

All LEDs that are used in the luminaires we offer are of a high quality from pure A-manufacturers including Osram, LG, and Cree.

The correct color temperature; The color temperature, expressed in Kelvin, is also important. This is mainly about the experience of light. Color temperature says something about whether there is “warm” or “cool” light. Research has shown that with warm light, more melatonin (sleep hormone) is produced in the brain. This makes people sleepy. A cooler color temperature, more in the direction of daylight, makes people more awake and therefore more alert. We recommend in workplaces a color temperature of around the 5000K.

Prevent shadow effect; It is extremely annoying for production workers to work in their own shadow. This can be the case, for example, if the work takes place around a machine that requires maintenance. This slows down work and promotes mistakes. The challenge is to get the light that the bright, small LEDs produce as evenly as possible on the work surface, without sharp shadow lines.

We have lighting solutions for workplaces with which shadowing is limited to the minimum.