Sustainable Lighting Design: Great for the Environment and Your Employees

The correct lighting can transform your company’s productivity and boost employee satisfaction, whilst employing sustainable business practices. Sustainability has never been so important and is a key area employees and customers look for in a business, before deciding to support them with their skills and expertise.  

The amount of lighting power allowed in new buildings has significantly reduced, following changes to section J6 (Artificial Lighting and Power) of the National Construction Code, in 2020. Just as legislation is moving forward in ensuring sustainability, so must your business. Through simple technological and design changes, your business can easily reduce its lighting power whilst maintaining productivity and saving the environment.

Lighting that understands human biology

Sleep, glorious sleep! Natural daylight helps manage our circadian rhythm, which is how our body knows when we should sleep and when we should be awake. Studies have found that exposure to poor artificial lighting environments negatively impacts our sleep patterns. This can increase our cortisol levels, making employees more stressed and tired – not exactly great for getting work done. To combat this, businesses can make small changes to their lighting design, which will directly correlate to increased productivity.

Whilst creating an office space that exploits natural daylight is important, it is not always possible. LED lights are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and boast long lifespans making them a perfect choice for any business, large or small. Many businesses opt for cool white LED lights, as these are the best at mimicking natural daylight.

Here are some easy tips to help you manufacture the perfect lighting environment:

• Dim those overheads! Bright lights are not always conducive to increased productivity and employee wellbeing. By dimming the overheads, especially near the end of the workday, this will benefit your employee’s circadian rhythm and allow their eyes to rest from the bright glare.
• Leave the blue light behind. Whilst the effects of blue light are mitigated by daylight, once the sun begins to set, it can have negative impacts on your employees. Blue light impedes employees’ sleep patterns, can cause eye strain, and is a trigger for headaches. Opting for other lighting alternatives is recommended, particularly for workplaces where employees are on devices for most of the day.
• Get nifty. Whilst we have recognised that getting daylight in office environments can be tricky, a simple hack to maximise its benefits is to move the furniture around. If there’s a sunny spot for most of the day, think about moving desks and workstations there. This will allow your employees to experience the benefits of natural light, whilst also reducing your energy costs.

A focus on what matters

Sustainability is no longer just a dream. With new lighting innovations, design ideas and technological advancements, businesses can ensure the future remains bright. Employees and customers demand sustainable business practices reflecting the need for holistic lighting methods; lighting that looks after your employees and the world.

Dimmers and sensors are your best friends. Sustainable lighting design is all about reducing energy output whilst maintaining workplace efficiency. It is important to assess where your office needs lighting and where reductions can be made. If areas are lit for most of the day, consider dimming overheads. Try and identify areas that are not used regularly or for parts of the day. If your office has meeting rooms, bathrooms or a kitchen area, utilising motion sensors will ensure lights are only being used when people need them. Think of lighting like a subscription service, if no one is using it, don’t pay for it. If areas aren’t being used, turn off those lights!

Make the switch to LED. Technology has improved significantly which has seen LED become more and more energy efficient. Simply changing your lights to LED will result in financial savings and a reduction in carbon emissions. Why wouldn’t you want to get the same amount of light for less money and fewer carbon emissions?

Pierlite is committed to its sustainability objectives and are signatories on multiple environmental initiatives:

• FluoroCycle is a national initiative to increase the recycling of mercury containing lamps. With a focus on the commercial and industrial sectors, FluoroCycle is committed to reducing the amount of mercury pollution within the environment.
• ExitCycle promotes sustainability through ensuring emergency and exit lighting batteries are properly recycled. Commercial signatories are committed to recycling a minimum 95% of emergency and exit lighting batteries.
• The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is committed to creating a circular economy for packaging materials. It aims to keep packaging out of landfill whilst ensuring the integrity of the materials are maintained.

Engineering a bright future

With people spending an average 80-90% of their lives indoors, getting the lighting right has never been more important.

Pierlite has many world-class products available that will immediately benefit the workplace environment and the natural environment. Products like our DOT downlight ranges, Oculed, and Momentum Troffers have been designed and developed to reduce energy expenditure and increase efficiency. Design ideas that exploit natural daylight and other lighting accessories such as dimmers and motion sensors are also great additions that ensure your business is powered sustainably.