The Best Office Lighting for Computer Work

Lighting has many effects on the feel of a room, and these can be very positive or negative. In an office, this is extra important since your mood and concentration levels are so crucial. While it may seem like a simple matter of brightness, avoiding creating too bright or dim of a setting is only one piece of the puzzle.

Getting the light right has as much to do with uniformity, color temperature, and eye strain. Otherwise, distraction, headaches, and tiredness are daily inevitabilities. However, it’s easy to fix with the right office lights.

Natural Light

There’s a reason why windows are highly sought-after in office settings, and why corporations typically award corner offices with abundant sunlight to executives while keeping most workers in cheap fluorescent light.

Natural light can improve moods and allows for better concentration than rapidly flickering artificial light sources. And as a result, it can stimulate higher productivity.

Photo by João Jesus from Pexels

If you have the option, make the most of natural light by positioning your office furniture accordingly. You don’t want the window right behind you or in front of you, as that will cause screen glare and eye strain. However, a window to your side helps produce even lighting.

Overhead Lighting

Even with ample windows, you can’t depend on the sun for consistent lighting since it depends on the weather and time of day. Overhead lights are a close second when it comes to spreading light in your office, and they offer even more brightness.

The old paradigm of fluorescent tubes is on its way out, and with it, the eye strain and headaches such lights tend to cause. You’ll want LED lights or classic bulbs to get the right light temperature. Furthermore, it’s best to get lamps with shades and lenses to provide diffuse, indirect, uniform light throughout the room. This helps you reduce eye strain and remove distracting light spots and shadows.

You’ll also want to pay close attention to the light color temperature, measured in Kelvin (K). Sunlight is around 5,000K. Lower values produce yellowish light that doesn’t provide the concentration-boosting effect of sunlight, but higher values can cause headaches and sleep problems. Therefore, lamps with adjustable temperatures are ideal, as are ones in the 4,000 – 6,000 Kelvin range.

Desk Lighting

Since your office is a place for tasks, you can’t neglect directed task lighting. These days, you can get ones that emulate natural light and draw power straight from your computer for extra convenience.

While the core purpose is to focus additional light on papers and points of interest on your work desk, shining some light behind your monitor during the darker hours also helps diminish the eye-fatiguing contrast between the glaring screen and the room.

The Best Light Sources for Your Office

• Lampat Dimmable Desk Lamp
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• TXYDLED LED Ceiling Lamp
• AUDIAN Flush-mount Ceiling Light

Lampat Dimmable LED Desk Lamp

The Lampat Dimmable LED Desk Lamp offers four lighting modes and five brightness levels for each, with a maximum output of 530 lumens. It covers a fairly natural frequency range of 2,500K to 7,000K using 18 white LEDs and nine yellow ones. Therefore, it’s gentle to the eyes, and the advanced optical material further minimizes glare.

Due to the touch control panel, both configuration and cleaning are nearly effortless. You can set its internal timer to 30 or 60 minutes for auto-off functionality. Also, the lamp is jointed so you can direct the light.

It’s built to last and energy-efficient, making it affordable and eco-friendly. There’s also a 5-volt, 2-ampere USB charging port for charging phones and such.

Pros

• Versatile light
• Adjustable
• Auto-off timer

Cons

• Lamp head doesn’t rotate
• Lacking instructions

Check price of the Lampat Dimmable LED Desk Lamp on Amazon.

TaoTronics LED Desk Lamp

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If you have a bigger budget for a desk lamp, the TaoTronics LED Desk Lamp could be an excellent pick for you. It has a large lighting zone for better light distribution, a highly mobile design, and the same general features as the Lampat. However, it only has four brightness levels and a maximum output of 450 lumens.

The neck, arm, and head of the lamp can rotate and bend to suit your needs. It’s a sturdy design with a heavy base and an all-metal arm and the individual LEDs line the edge to even out and soften the light for less eye strain. As for the light range, it goes from 3,000K to 6,000K. What’s cool about this desk lamp is that the compact, folding design makes it very portable.

Pros

• Strong metal build
• Large, even light area
• Very flexible

Cons

• Somewhat limited frequency range
• 1-ampere USB charger doesn’t do much

Check price of the No products found. on Amazon.

The TXYDLED LED Ceiling Lamp

The TXYDLED LED Ceiling Lamp is a new LED ceiling light for your home office that can help you save on energy costs as well as light up your workspace. The TXYDLED gives you a diffused but powerful light without the glare that goes from 2,800K to 6,500K at 1,600 lumens.

From installation to light adjustments, it’s very easy to use. Plus, it’s got a minimum service life of 50,000 hours, which translates to roughly 17 years of use if you have it on for eight hours a day.

Moreover, you can control it with remote control. In fact, you can control several of these lights with one remote. Plus, it’s compatible with virtually all commercial dimmer switches.

The main construction consists of metal and PVC, making it sturdy yet lightweight. It’s not quite a flush mount, but it’s very flat against the ceiling. Also, it comes with an installation kit and user manual.

Check price of the TXYDLED LED Ceiling Lamp on Amazon.

Pros

• Space-efficient
• Powerful light
• Durable build
• Energy-efficient

Cons

• Installation takes some work
• No yellow-light night mode

AUDIAN Flush-mount Ceiling Light

The AUDIAN Flush-mount Ceiling Light is another option for your office overhead light needs. It’s a flush-mount dimmable LED lamp with crystal beads that diffuse the light. It’s bright but not overbearing at 1320 lumens, and it’s color temperature is akin to daylight.

What’s more, it has the same 17-year expected lifespan as the TXYDLED. Also, it won’t rust or yellow over time thanks to its composition of stainless steel and PMMA.  Plus, it’s flame-retardant and free from hazardous materials. Due to the flush-mount design, it’s also very easy to install.

Pros

• Very high quality
• Easy to install
• Energy-efficient
• Natural light hue

Cons

• Only dimmable with wall dimmer switch
• Only emits 4,000K light

Check price of the AUDIAN Flush-mount Ceiling Light on Amazon.

The right lighting can really transform your work experience. Hopefully, this article helped you find the best option for your office.