By understanding a few ways to add natural light to your workspace, you can reduce your company’s energy consumption and make your office a more appealing place to work
In a commercial setting, interior lighting is responsible for about 38% of all electricity consumption.
Electricity is an unavoidable cost because your workers need light to do their jobs, and customers need to be able to see, too.
So, what’s the solution?
Well, adding ways for natural light to get into your building is a great way to offset your electricity costs because it’s free energy. If you can accomplish this task, the interior of your structure will be brighter, and your electricity costs will decrease.
Here are some ways that you can make your office or commercial property brighter without increasing your electricity bills.
1) Move the workspaces
In an office setting, the location of your employees’ desks and workspaces determines how much natural light they receive. By reconfiguring your office, you can ensure that each desk has access to more natural daylight and, therefore, has less need for lamps and other lights.
When the desks are closer to windows and doors, your employees will have less need for artificial lighting, saving you money throughout the year.
In a retail environment, moving some bestselling items close to the windows is a great way to take advantage of any natural light you have in the building.
Look to see where you currently have an abundance of daylight in your building and make as much use of that space as possible.
2) Keep the windows clear
Many offices use the areas around the windows for storage and bookshelves. This trend is unfortunate because although it keeps books and other items out of the way, it prevents the natural light from being used.
If possible, make sure that the windows are clear of anything that could block this light because the result is a brighter workplace that uses natural light to its full potential.
Retail stores should also keep their windows free from large shelves and other items that prevent light from entering the building. Smaller displays in the windows allow the windows to do their jobs and eliminate the need for heavy lighting in those areas.
3) Add glass walls
If your office has various rooms or even cubicles throughout an ample space, installing some glass walls is beneficial for a couple of reasons.
For starters, these walls will let more light into the collection of different workspaces, so your employees will need less artificial light throughout the day.
The other benefit is that transparent materials like glass are reflective, which helps them to attract more light. The reflected light makes the entire office brighter, meaning, once again, you have less need for artificial light.
Glass walls can also separate different sections of a retail shop. Having walls creates a clear designation between departments without cutting light from the back of the store. The more natural light that can get throughout the store, the less you’ll have to rely on manufactured energy to light your building.
4) Install glass doors
Going hand in hand with glass walls is having glass doors on both the interior and exterior of your office or storefront, depending on your setup.
Glass doors let more light into the building, and between rooms within the building, so you’re relying on your lighting fixtures less.
If privacy is a concern, you’ll have the option of frosting your doors, at least in some spots, which makes it less likely that passersby will be able to see into your workspace.
Make the most of your interior lighting
In addition to taking advantage of the light that nature provides for you, installing new lighting fixtures can help reduce your energy costs. Using energy-efficient designs and installing your new fixtures in strategic locations are great ways to reduce electricity waste and lower your yearly power consumption.
Going with LED lights is also a significant help because they use 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs while lasting 25 times longer. LED tube lights, which replace the 32-watt fluorescent tubes that are popular in offices and retail environments, only consume 15 to 18 watts of energy, saving you money.
Universal Electric Services can help you get the most from your lighting configuration by upgrading your fixtures and helping you switch to LED technology. We can also provide better lighting coverage, so you don’t need as many lights on at any given time. The name of the game is saving money on your electricity bills, so contact us today to find out what we can do for you.
