Lighting for your home workspace

When working from home, light counts for more than in any other room. You look at it for hours on end, and you only notice the wrong light when you have a headache at the end of the day.

Not directly above the screen

A lamp behind or above your monitor causes reflections. A lamp directly in front of you causes glare. What works is light from the side, slightly past the screen.

If you sit with a window behind you, daylight competes with your screen. Turn the desk so that the window is to your left or right.

How much light

For screen work you want around 500 lumens aimed at the desk, plus general light in the room. Working in a dark room with only a lit screen tires the eyes, because your pupils constantly have to switch between bright and dark.

How much you need in the room itself is in how many lumens you need per room.

Which colour

Here you can go cooler than in the living room: 3000 to 4000 kelvin keeps you more alert. If you keep working in the evening, switch back to warmer, because cool light keeps you awake longer at night.

A separate desk lamp is still needed

A ceiling light lights the room, not your papers. An adjustable desk lamp or a wall light with an arm gives you light exactly where you want it, without making the whole room bright.

Working in the living room?

Then choose a fitting that also fits when the laptop is closed. A floor lamp with an adjustable arm serves as desk lighting during the day and as a reading lamp in the evening. See lighting a reading corner.

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