Results from a pan-European survey reveal that current lighting in the workplace is not satisfying end-users and their needs, while at the same time it has a big impact on productivity and human well-being.
The survey, conducted as part of the Repro-light project, engaged with 1100 workers across Germany, Spain, Italy and Austria. Participants were asked to consider their working environment’s lighting and what changes they would like to see that could improve their productivity, mood, and performance. The Repro-light is a European research project that aims to support the European lighting industry in moving towards a more sustainable and competitive future. The Repro-light project is set to harness innovative technologies and materials to design a modular luminaire architecture, with a smart production, scheme as part of the circular economy, a reconfigurable customised LED luminaire, the ‘Luminaire of the Future’.
56% of end users said they would like the better work place lighting. An astonishingly high level as workspace lighting should follow a strict lighting design code (e.g. EN. 12464-1), which guarantees, for instance, that a certain level of brightness is reached in a workplace. The survey showed, that the individual requirements for the lighting differ, showing that personalisable lighting is needed to satisfy all the users.
The results go to show that women significantly more often encouraged an improvement in workplace lighting, and the workers over 50 showed a greater desire for improvement of work place lighting. It is not only the need for improved light, over 50% said that the physical luminaire aesthetics where important to them, especially workers under 30. 80% of those questioned would like to have workplace lighting which automatically adapts to personal needs, with over 75% wanting their work light to change colour when it turns dark outside.
All of these factors play a role in the greater impact of lighting on the workforce of Europe, and not surprisingly over 90% of those asked said they believe their work lighting can impact their mood, 87% said it affects their performance, and 92% said it influence their vigilance in the work place.
As part of the Repro-light project’s first phase the survey, conducted by consortium members Bartenbach GmbH and Mondragon University, set out to investigate what end users really want in their workplace lighting in order to develop a user-centric lighting design solution for the future.
The result came back to prove that change is required in the working environments, both industrial spaces and in offices, and that people are now ready for the next large steps in lighting transformation. They are demanding personalisation, automation and adjustability to match their requirement and, most importantly, to boost productivity and general wellbeing.
The Repro-light project, as part of the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 work programme, will now be moving into the next phases of investigation and design iteration to develop a ‘Luminaire of the Future’ that will endeavour to meet all the user needs discovered in this recent survey.
The full report can be downloaded from the Repro-light website https://www.repro-light.eu/downloads