The concept of ergonomics isn’t new. Many modern offices have standing desks to reduce neck and shoulder pain. Hospitals use patient lifts to prevent back injuries. Some schools include flexible seating to accommodate particularly wiggly students.

Despite this increased awareness, however, most people are still primarily focused on physical ergonomics.

They — and you — may not have heard of lighting ergonomics and how to apply its principles for better commercial lighting.

In this post, we’ll:

• Explain lighting ergonomics and discuss its benefits
• Explore how lighting ergonomics can create a healthier working and learning environment
• Suggest ways to resolve ergonomic issues and replace existing lighting with more ergonomic solutions
  
  

What Does “Lighting Ergonomics” Mean?

Ergonomics, defined in its purest sense, is “an applied science concerned with designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely.” Essentially, it’s understanding how people use the other elements in their surroundings and then optimizing the design and the systems for the best human well-being and the best performance. (Not hard to imagine how this applies to lighting, is it?)

There are three types of ergonomics:

• Physical: Typically involves workplace ergonomics and human anatomy/biomechanics. Lighting ergonomics would fit under this category.
• Cognitive: How easy is a product or system for its users to figure out? If you’re asking those questions, you’re talking about cognitive ergonomics.
• Organizational: This involves optimizing organizational structures like team makeup, processes, work hours, and any other policies or decisions that affect how the workplace functions as a system.

For sighted people, vision is the dominant sense by a long shot—more than 80% of new information is perceived that way. That means good lighting can play a critical role in preventing accidents and injuries, increasing efficiency, and reducing discomfort related to sensitivities and disabilities.

Whether you’re creating a lighting plan for an office building, a hospital, a university, or another institution, ergonomics should always be a consideration.

"Lights of different wavelengths also affect blood pressure, pulse, respiration rates, brain activity, and biorhythms. The role of lighting in our daily lives is essential to operate ideally in every environment. Thus, lighting directly influences every dimension of human existence."

— Mott, Robinson, Walden, Burnette, Rutherford, 2012

Why Your Customers Should Think About Lighting Ergonomics

We all know what it’s like to try and work under poor lighting conditions. From flickering fluorescent lights to computer screen glare, bad lighting has a distinct ability to get under people’s skin.

In a workplace, this is a productivity killer — after all, if an employee is irritated, they can’t focus. This doesn’t just apply to office workers, though. Schools and other educational institutions also need to create lighting environments that allow students to concentrate in order to learn.

Ergonomic lighting also plays a significant role in keeping people safe and healthy. Poor lighting can cause physical problems like headaches and musculoskeletal issues, and mental health concerns like depression. It also increases the risk of injury.

In these cases, workers and students suffer most. But workplaces and schools often pay a price too, in the form of lost productivity, reputational harm, increased sick calls, and even lawsuits.

For these reasons, a lighting plan that incorporates ergonomic best practices can be extremely valuable.

How to Recognize Poor Lighting Ergonomics — and How to Fix It

You know a lighting problem when you see it. But when you’re talking about ergonomics, it’s important to go a step further and consider the human impact.

Read on to learn how different types of poor lighting can affect people and to explore some possible solutions.

 1. Insufficient light

Like most lighting issues, insufficient light can cause headaches, back and shoulder pain (from having to shift forward to see), and other physical problems. Insufficient light also significantly increases the risk of injury — and even death, depending on the environment.

To prevent areas of insufficient light, ergonomic lighting designers should consider:

• How strong the user’s vision is (whether they’re a worker, patient, or student)
• The types of surfaces in the room
• The size of the room
• The tasks people will be carrying out in the room

To guard against insufficient light, install lighting with the right illumination levels for the environment. For instance, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America’s Lighting Handbook recommends using lighting with:

• 750 lux for office work
• 3,000 lux for precise assembly work
• 7,500 lux for precise machine tool work

Institutions and workplaces can also strategically mix localized-general lighting and task lighting to ensure people have enough light to safely and efficiently perform tasks.

 2. Glare and improper contrast

Improper contrast and glare can cause agitation, headaches, eye fatigue, and musculoskeletal problems. These lighting issues also cause our pupils to shrink and let in less light — which makes it harder to work in the dimmer areas of a room.

If that darker area is over a workspace, it can be harder for workers to see finer details, accurately gauge movement, and distinguish the edges of objects from everything else around them.

All of this can increase the risk of injury, manufacturing errors, and lost productivity.

Whether the issue is improper contrast caused by an overhead workspace fixture that’s dimmer than other lights in the room, or glare caused by a poorly positioned light that’s reflecting off a computer screen, there are plenty of possible solutions, including:

• Repositioning light fixtures away from reflective surfaces
• Reducing contrast by installing brighter lights in dimmer areas
• Providing flexible lighting controls that allow users to adjust illumination levels throughout the day
• Diffuse the light with indirect and shielded light fixtures

 3. Flicker

Flicker issues aren’t as common now that LEDs are the general lighting of choice — but they can still be a problem, especially because some people can detect flicker even in lighting with higher frequency levels.

For most people to detect flicker, the frequency has to fall below 100 Hz. When flicker is detected, however, it can be a significant safety hazard. Flicker makes moving objects look like they’re moving slower than they actually are, so it’s particularly important to prevent this lighting issue in workplaces with moving machinery.

Detectable flicker can also cause headaches and migraines, eye strain, and even seizures. For people with lighting sensitivities related to a disability, flicker can impact mental health and productivity by causing high levels of agitation, making it impossible to work in a particular area without experiencing distress.

To prevent flicker:

• Raise power frequency with an energy-efficient electronic ballast
• Advise clients to replace bulbs regularly
• Use high-frequency options like LEDs whenever possible

 4. Poorly distributed light

Like many of these other lighting concerns, poorly distributed light can be a safety issue for obvious reasons. People may fail to see an object or piece of machine that’s falling or moving toward them, they could trip and injure themselves, or they could make an error in judgment while using tools. Poorly distributed light can also cause headaches and eye strain.

To ensure consistent lighting across an entire room, consider:

• Adding overhead fixtures to increase illumination in areas that aren’t adequately lit
• Strategically incorporating indirect light fixtures
• Looking for areas where furnishings/partitions or dark paint colors absorb or block the light, so you can increase illumination

"During extraordinary conditions, lighting and acoustic systems also serve vital functions, as they provide guidance and enable egress for occupants and entry for first responders. For fire and smoke control, life-safety codes now require certain lighting and acoustic systems to be designated for this purpose and to be provided with emergency standby power."

— National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2005

Ergonomic Lighting in Specific Environments

Simply put, lighting exists for our comfort and safety. But different buildings serve diverse groups of people with a variety of needs and tasks.

For example, lighting that keeps students comfortable and safe might not be the same lighting that keeps a nurse or a factory worker comfortable and safe. In the following section, we’ll share some special considerations for schools, hospitals, offices, and government buildings.

Schools, Colleges, and Universities

Safety is the most important lighting consideration in schools. Generally, this can be achieved by avoiding the lighting issues we mentioned above: insufficient light, glare, improper contrast, flicker, and poorly distributed light.

Lighting should be designed to help students focus and learn—and recent studies show that correlated color temperatures (CCT) have a lot to do with that.

A recent Ball State University study highlighted two interesting takeaways:

• Higher CCTs increase alertness, attitude, and energy levels in students
• Adjusting illumination levels throughout the day improved moods and increased engagement

Give your customers an easy way to manage lighting levels throughout the day by incorporating microwave detection, Bluetooth switches, and other types of controls into your lighting plans.

Hospitals and clinical settings

Safety comes first in clinical settings as well — but hospitals come with an added challenge. Hospitals include many different kinds of spaces — and each space has its own requirements for safe lighting.

Hallways and waiting rooms, for example, should be brightly lit (to allow for accurate assessments and safe movement) and comfortable (as reduced patient stress can improve health outcomes). Dimmable lighting is important in exam rooms. While doctors need bright lighting to assess patients, certain tests require dimmer lighting. Adjustable lighting makes this possible.

Hospitals also require powerful emergency lighting that allows staff to continue providing patient care until power is restored.

Office and government buildings

At the office, productivity, employee engagement, and safety are the primary concerns. Workers typically spend hours every day staring at computer screens and reading documents, so good lighting is critical for efficiency and comfort.

In offices, the general setup will impact the lighting plan. If you’re planning for an open office, keep an eye on improper contrast and light inconsistency. In such a large space, these issues can pop up easily.

Cubicles — which are making a comeback — also require specific lighting considerations. Cubicle walls, shelves, and other obstructions can cast shadows and block light, but localized and task lighting can help.

As companies begin to embrace hybrid work, many of them are taking the opportunity to redesign their offices — including replacing old lighting with more energy-efficient LED lighting. This presents the perfect opportunity to improve lighting conditions for their employees at the same time by installing new fixtures with flexible lighting LED light panel fixtures and retrofit kits make these installations a snap.

No matter what commercial facility your lighting plan is tackling, if it involves human beings, it involves lighting ergonomics. And by having a better understanding of how lighting ergonomics works, how to explain it to clients, and how to optimize lighting for better productivity and happier, healthier humans, you’ll be set up for success.

Ready to start designing lighting plans with ergonomics in mind? Check out our Guide to Commercial LED Lighting Controls.