FLOOR LAMPS FOR THE OFFICE
LED, DIMMABLE, WITH SENSOR
When do you choose an office floor lamp?
You choose an office floor lamp when the light at your workspace is not right and you want to fix it yourself, without building work. Think of a home office with a single ceiling light, an open-plan office where the light above your desk is just too weak, or a meeting room that is too bright.
Ask yourself a few questions. If you answer yes, an office floor lamp is a logical step.
- Is the ceiling light above your desk too weak, too bright or in the wrong place?
- Do you spend most of the day working at a screen?
- Do you want to dim the light and adjust its colour?
- Is drilling into the ceiling not an option, for example in a rented building?
If you only need extra light on your papers or keyboard, a desk lamp will do. If you want the whole workspace better lit, a floor lamp is the better choice.
Why is an office floor lamp different from a desk lamp?
A desk lamp is not worse than a floor lamp. They simply do different things. The difference lies in what is lit, how much light there is and where the lamp stands.
Direct and indirect light
A desk lamp only gives direct light on a small area. An office floor lamp sends a large share of its light up to the ceiling, which scatters it softly across the room, and a smaller share down onto your desk. That removes the harsh contrast between a brightly lit desktop and a dark surrounding, which tires your eyes.
Far more light output
A desk lamp usually delivers a few hundred to around 1,700 lux on the work surface. An office floor lamp such as the MAULsirius produces over 10,000 lumen and more than 3,000 lux of direct light at 85 cm. The standard EN 12464-1 calls for 500 lux for office work, so in practice you dim such a lamp well down.
Nothing on the desk
A floor lamp stands on its own base next to the desk. No clamp on the desktop, no base taking up space, no cable across your work surface. With a sit-stand desk the lamp does not move with the desktop, so the distance to the light changes slightly when you stand up.
Which complaints can an office floor lamp help with?
You often only notice poor light at the workspace at the end of the day. An office floor lamp with anti-glare LED and adjustable colour temperature can help reduce:
- tired, dry or burning eyes after a day of screen work
- headaches caused by glare or by too little light
- squinting and leaning towards your screen in dull weather
- a lack of energy in the afternoon from sitting under the same light all day
Light is not the only factor. If you still sit at your screen with headaches or eye strain every day, also look at the distance to your monitor and at computer glasses. Read more about complaints and causes under pain from office work.
What should you look for when choosing an office floor lamp?
Not every standing lamp is suitable as office lighting. Look at the light distribution, the glare, the adjustment options and the dimensions of the lamp and your room.
Light distribution and output
Check whether the lamp combines direct and indirect light, and whether you can control both separately. Look at the output in lumen and the illuminance in lux at working height. More than you need is no problem, as long as the lamp dims well.
Glare (UGR)
The UGR value tells you how much a lamp glares. For screen work, EN 12464-1 sets a maximum of 19; a well shielded office lamp sits well below that. The lower the value, the calmer the light is for your eyes.
Colour temperature and dimming
An adjustable colour temperature, for example from 3,000 K (warm white) to 5,700 K (daylight white), lets you match the light to the time of day. Stepless dimming goes with it. A touch panel on the column is more convenient than a switch on the cable.
Sensors and consumption
A daylight sensor keeps the light level constant, a motion sensor dims and switches off when nobody is there. That saves electricity. Also look at the energy label: since 2021 even efficient LED light sources usually fall into class D to F, so compare the consumption in kWh per 1,000 hours above all.
Height, base and cable
An office floor lamp is easily 195 cm tall and has a base of around 50 x 25 cm. Measure your ceiling height, the space next to the desk and the distance to the socket. If you work at a sit-stand workstation, bear in mind that the desktop rises towards the lamp head.
Tips for positioning an office floor lamp
- Place the lamp next to the desk, with the head above the work surface
That way the direct light falls on your desk and not in your eyes. Preferably place the lamp on the side opposite your writing hand, so you do not write in your own shadow.
- Keep the ceiling above the lamp clear
The indirect light only works if it reaches the ceiling unobstructed. A cupboard, shelf or pendant light above the lamp head blocks part of the light.
- Dim the lamp to a comfortable level instead of full output
An office floor lamp delivers far more light than the 500 lux in the standard. Start dimmed and turn it up until your screen and paper are readable without effort.
- Match the colour temperature to the time of day
Cooler light around 5,000 K in the morning, warmer light around 3,000 K at the end of the day. Follow the daylight outside.
- Let the sensors do their work
Switch on the daylight sensor and let the motion sensor dim and switch off the lamp when you are away. It saves electricity and you do not have to think about it.
Frequently asked questions about office floor lamps
- What is an office floor lamp?
A standing lamp of around two metres that stands next to the desk and lights the workspace with direct light on the work surface and indirect light via the ceiling. Office models are dimmable, shielded against glare and often have sensors and an adjustable colour temperature.
- Who is an office floor lamp suitable for?
For anyone who works at a screen a lot and sits where the fixed lighting falls short or glares: home workers, open-plan offices, meeting rooms and rented buildings where drilling into the ceiling is not allowed.
- How many lux do I need on my desk?
The standard EN 12464-1 assumes 500 lux on the work surface for office work. An office floor lamp delivers well above that and you dim it down to what is comfortable for you. Older people and people with reduced vision often benefit from more light.
- Is a floor lamp better than a desk lamp?
That depends on what you want to light. A desk lamp is compact and directs light at a small area. A floor lamp lights the whole workspace and the room around it, without taking up space on the desk. For a complete workspace a floor lamp is the calmer solution.