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covid compliant design lighting Office Design

Automate Your Office Lighting with Dusk to Dawn Lighting Controls

Dusk to Dawn Lighting Controls

It’s not often that people can “switch it and forget it.” But when they can, the benefits usually include improved efficiency, reduced costs and enhanced reliability. For offices, the benefits of dusk to dawn lighting controls and other automation extend well beyond the obvious ones brought about by today’s technologies: the data processing systems, self-driving cars and software programs, etc. They also include many facilities management tools that make managing the physical aspects of workplaces a much more efficient process. Consider all the benefits of just one of them: dusk to dawn lighting controls.

What Are Dusk to Dawn Lighting Controls

According to this article in Entrepreneur magazine, energy is often considered one of top three greatest costs for small businesses. And in the U.S., “small businesses represent 99% of all businesses,” meaning that nearly every office building in America would benefit by finding ways to reduce its electricity costs. Enter dusk to dawn lighting controls. Long known to homeowners as an outdoor security measure, dusk to dawn lighting controls also help companies better manage their electric energy consumption by automating the lighting in their office buildings. Dusk to dawn lighting uses a photocell to react to either natural or artificial light sources, automatically turning lights on as ambient light fades and off as it brightens. It can be used to illuminate exterior areas, but it can also be used interiorly to provide rooms with light as needed.

Dusk to Dawn Lighting is Efficient

Automated dusk to dawn lighting controls are beneficial because they eliminate the needless consumption of electricity. Rather than rely on employees, who may or may not turn lights on and off with any consistency, businesses can use dusk to dawn lighting to manage their office’s light needs. By “instinctively” understanding when light is needed and when it isn’t, dusk to dawn lighting controls are able to turn lights on only when its appropriate and off always when it isn’t.

Dusk to Dawn Lighting Reduces Costs

A happy consequence of being efficient, dusk to dawn lighting also reduces costs.

Since they automatically shut off fixtures when they are not needed, dusk to dawn lighting controls conserve electricity, enabling companies to save the money that they would have wasted on unnecessary energy consumption for other purposes.

Furthermore, because most dusk to dawn lighting features LED technology, they inherently consume less energy anyway, further facilitating the stretching of utility budgets.

Dusk to Dawn Lighting is Reliable

Finally, dusk to dawn lighting is reliable. You probably don’t think about light unless you don’t have enough of it. Dusk to dawn lighting controls make light available every single time light is needed, regardless of whether or not an actual person is there to flip a switch. In the mornings, for instance, dusk to dawn lighting ensures that every employee is greeted with a well-lit workplace — not just the ones arriving after the one who arrived first and turned all the lights on! In the evenings, it guarantees that everyone leaves from a well-lit building and during the day, it can be programmed to provide progressive lighting options, using automatic dimmers to further enhance reliable visibility for a number of other situations, such as during powerpoint presentations.

Want to Learn More?

Automating your office lighting with dusk to dawn lighting controls is just one way to maximize your office’s operating budget. To learn about other options for creating a physical space that yields actionable ROI, please contact Key Interiors.

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Office Design

The Dark Side of Home Renovation Shows: What No One Wants You to Know About Remodels and Renovations

the dark side of home renovation shows

Renovation shows are all the rage nowadays. Starting with “This Old House” in 1979 and then taking firm root in the mid-1990s with the creation of HGTV, they have blossomed into the wide range of programming options available today. Programs like “Fixer Upper,” “Love It or List It” and “Property Brothers” are widely known and popular. Unfortunately, however, they often leave viewers with unrealistic expectations, culminating in a pretty picture, but rarely a complete one. Let’s take a look at the dark side of home renovation shows; here’s what they don’t tell you about remodels and renovations:

Cost is Always an Issue

Perhaps the biggest problem with renovation shows is their misrepresentation of a project’s budget. Many times the actual price of materials and labor aren’t itemized for viewers; if they are, they usually reflect a generous discount, offered by manufacturers and contractors who provide their products and services at reduced costs in exchange for increased exposure. This sets viewers up to be disappointed as they begin researching their own projects and learn that $1,000, $10,000 or even $100,000 doesn’t cover nearly as much as they’ve been led to believe.

…and Time is Always a Concern

The dark side of home renovation shows also conspires to hide the realistic nature of time; instead of accurately displaying the extended time it really takes to design, build and accessorize a space (not to mention inspect it for safety), renovation shows

condense construction timelines to nicely fit a 30 minute or hour-long programming slot. They neglect to mention various steps of the design and construction phases and ignore possible (probable) delays that would extend the time needed to complete a project. In fact, most falsely depict full scale remodels that would take months (or even years) to finish as capable of being realized in just a few weeks (or sometimes just a day)!

Furnishing and Interior Decor Can Be Easily Sourced 

Watch a remodeling program and you’ll likely be under the impression that furnishings and other decor elements and materials are always at hand. The truth, though, is that sourcing the various elements that complete a construction/design project is never easy. Various obstacles can even make finding basic items like lumber, bar joists and installation a complicated and lengthy process. Couple that with the supply chain issues  that are causing at least a two month shipping delay for furniture and other decor items that really make a home or office space stand out, and you can get seriously frustrated pretty easily. 

There’s No Such Thing as DIY

The final fallacy of home office renovation shows is the idea that viewers can replace professionals. The reality is remodeling is hard. While there might be a few steps an average viewer could tackle alone, partnering with a professional makes renovation a much more feasible enterprise. Even when it appears that DIY could be or is an option during a renovation, shows always have professionals behind the scenes answering questions and helping the show’s guests finish their task(s). 

The Key Interiors Advantage

The dark side of home renovation shows doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever attempt a home or office remodel. You just need to be smart. If you realize that these shows create illusions rather than reality, you are better equipped to imagine and achieve realistic results. Of course, a professional design partner helps. The experience and expertise of our designers here at Key Interiors, for instance, enable our clients to design, build and furnish their spaces in a way that meets their budget and magnifies their personal aesthetics. And we do it according to a timely schedule. Please contact us to learn more about the positive — bright — side of good design!

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covid compliant design Office Design Office Renovation

5 Tips for Returning to the Office: Air Quality Testing, Ventilation and More

air quality testing

2022 is upon us and for many that means a return to a physical office. Whether you’ve been out since the beginning of the pandemic or just had a few weeks off for the holidays, the safety of indoor spaces is likely on your mind. Despite COVID’s seemingly lessening effects, the Omicron variant is more contagious than previous coronavirus strains, meaning it’s even more critical that businesses do all they can to ensure a healthy work environment for their employees. Indeed, there are many other kinds of contaminants (besides viruses) that make certain measures (like air quality testing and other precautions) a necessary responsibility of companies operating out of a physical building. Here are a few tips to help protect your employees’ health in an office setting even if — when — a pandemic isn’t raging:

Schedule Air Quality Testing

Pollutants are everywhere and include germs and other biological contaminants, as well as any natural or manmade substances that adversely impact the environment and those living (and/or working) within it. In fact, some of the most deadly pollutants exist in the air. Both invisible and odorless, these pollutants are tiny, capable of penetrating the lungs (or other bodily systems) and causing disease. Thus, it’s important that air quality testing is routine and ongoing within a workplace. Depending on the size of the office, companies should invest in either commercial or consumer air quality testing monitors that continuously measure the amount of certain pollutants. There are many types of air quality testing tools, capable of testing for any number of contaminants, including but not limited to carbon monoxide, radon, smoke and more.

Install Proper Ventilation

Of course, securing positive air quality testing results depends on proper ventilation. In plainest terms, ventilation is the purposeful transfer of outside air into a space. The delivery of fresh air lessens the concentration of indoor air pollutants, improving the overall quality of the interior air supply. Ideally, a good HVAC system should be installed during a building’s construction, but there are additional ways to enhance ventilation after occupancy, as well, such as regularly replacing and/or using HEPA filters; adjusting dampers so that more air is moved through heavily populated rooms; constantly running fans (either individual units or those incorporated within then HVAC system itself); and opening doors and windows when possible.

Hire a Cleaner

Of course, routine cleaning is paramount, as well. A dedicated cleaning person (or cleaning service) ensures that offices are regularly sanitized and as free of germs as possible.

Think about a Mask Mandate

You can also consider asking employees and visitors coming into your office to wear a mask. The CDC recommends using masks to help control the spread of communicable diseases like COVID-19, and it’s likely that many people will continue wearing masks while in public even after the pandemic ends.

Partner with a Professional Interior Design Team

Finally, there are many ways to enhance the safety of an office with simple interior design choices. Partnering with a professional interior design firm like Key Interiors makes it easy for you to improve your office’s air quality and better safeguard your employee’s health. With professional direction, you can choose low-VOC paints and fabrics; hypoallergenic furnishings; anti-microbial fixtures; and more. Our designers at Key Interiors, for instance, have decades of experience helping clients use design features that maximize both the utility, as well as the safety, of their spaces. Please contact us to learn more about using interior design elements not only to boost employee productivity and morale, but to protect the well-being of everyone entering your company’s doors.

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