While the COVID-19 pandemic is hopefully in the rearview mirror, many people have made permanent or at least long term transitions to working from home. Home improvement, especially on work-from-home offices, has boomed over the last year. Many of our clients at Piper Electric have asked our Denver electrician teams about upgrading their home offices during this time, especially when it comes to lighting. If you are thinking about improving your work-from-home setup, or starting from scratch with a home office, consider these four lighting tips as you get started.
Flexibility
When thinking about the right lighting solutions for your home office, your Denver electrician will ask you to keep adaptability in mind. You may spend the majority of time in this room working, but proper lighting flexibility can greatly increase your usable space. Consider light fixtures that can change their color from soft white to warmer colors during the evenings, or have the ability to shift into more relaxing positions. With the press of a button or the movement of a fixture, your home office can change from a focused work area to a relaxing den or reading room.
Screen Care
Work for the majority of us means time spent in front of a computer screen, so we should always be thinking about glare and shadows in workspaces. When setting up your home office, remember that light coming from behind you is going to cause the most problems for screens. Orient your office so that shadows and glare are minimized, and make sure to check for these at different times during the day as the sun shifts.
The Big and Small
One way to think about lighting sources is to differentiate between ambient and task lighting. Natural light is often the best ambient light, which will provide your home office with the majority of its illumination during the day. Depending on your work, and your preferred hours, specific fixtures and lamps may be needed for individual tasks and precision work. If you want to add another ambient option to your work area in addition to natural light, consider a decorative light fixture that will add some personality.
Upgrades from Your Denver Electrician
Creating a home workspace is the perfect time to consider basic electrical upgrades. Our certified Denver electrician team at Piper are happy to help with a quick and easy inspection of your new home office to help identify any outlets or wiring that may be in need of an upgrade. Getting things up to code is the easiest way to ensure a smooth transition to new and improved lighting fixtures.