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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.

Categories
Office Design

Office Lighting Design: The Best Options for Open Offices

 

office lighting design

COVID-19 has affected nearly every aspect of modern life, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that it has also caused business leaders to rethink their office design, layout, and –– yes –– even their lighting system. Indeed, though it may sound strange at first, the truth is that a business’s lighting system can have a big impact on employee productivity, utility costs, and even personal safety and well-being in the workplace. The choices you make in regard to your office lighting design will have meaningful consequences for your staff now and into the future. On that note, here are four lighting-related features you should always keep in mind: 

Maintaining Safe Distances

For at least the next few months, maintaining safe social distances within an office setup will be crucial for the well-being of your staff. Thankfully, connected lighting systems can allow business leaders to monitor the flow of traffic in the workspace. What’s more, employees can download certain apps that will let them identify free areas in their office. Data from sophisticated lighting systems will enable business leaders to manage their layout more effectively. 

Minimize the Spread of Germs

Decisions you make in regard to your lighting system can either act to minimize –– or facilitate –– the spread of germs in your workplace. In fact, some lights –– such as UV and Ultraviolet-C Radiation lights are capable of disinfecting air, water, and nonporous surfaces. (This includes “inactivating” the COVID-19 viral strain.) 

Additionally, moving away from manual light switches can be a great way to slow or prevent the spread of bacteria and germs in the workplace. It’s possible now for businesses to invest in apps and devices that allow for team members to adjust the lights using only their phones.  

Lighting Control & Environmental Factors

Lighting a large office area for 10+ hours every day isn’t just a massive expense for many businesses, it’s often inefficient and bad for the environment too. That’s why many businesses are switching to light systems with automated control features and motion-sensor technology. This way, when no one is currently working in an office area, the lights will go out automatically. 

What’s more, quality lighting systems will allow business leaders and managers to access key data points about their energy consumption habits. This data can also be used to create more efficient schedule choices and increase the flexibility of an office environment. 

Human-Centric Lighting

Ultimately, the lighting in an office will affect the mood and productivity of a company’s workforce. Subconsciously, humans require quality lighting in order to perform at their best on a regular basis. Investing in human-centric lighting devices –– particularly LED lights –– can help lift the morale of your team and help them focus throughout the day. Of course, it’s also important to remember just how valuable natural lighting can be as well. Though we’ve discussed many complex and advanced ways to use lighting to improve business performance, simply opening a window on a sunny day can do a world of good for your team. 

Contact Us

At Key Interiors, it’s our mission to help business leaders enhance their office setup during this very difficult time. We have years of experience creating office solutions for companies of all sizes and across industries. Contact us today to learn what we can do for your business.

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