A large number of studies have demonstrated that workplace lighting has a considerable influence on people‘s productivity and well-being. The Austrian lighting specialists Zumtobel Lighting GmbH and LUMITECH Produktion und Entwicklung GmbH have been researching this issue for years now, and are continually developing pioneering products and strategies for office applications. For instance, in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institut Zumtobel has initiated a global study of users aimed at assessing the perceived quality of lighting in offices.

In 2010, when the BEWAG Netz GmbH office building was renovated, a comprehensive approach to cutting-edge, energy-efficient lighting in offices was demonstrated in a pilot project. The approach chosen was to light each of around 85 workplaces with a Light Fields floor lamp delivering an amount of light varying with the time of day. For this Zumtobel floor lamps were equipped with an LED technology (PI-LED®) which achieves excellent colour rendering. The integrated control device makes it possible to obtain light with differing colour temperatures (in the range 2700 to 6500 K) individually.

Whereas conventional fluorescent lamps scatter indirect light throughout the space in a pleasantly diffuse way, light from LED lamps is directed straight at the desk with no scatter or dazzle at all. The amount of light provided is regulated to follow the pattern of natural daylight; this is intended to improve well-being and productivity at the workplace.

Another advantage: with energy-efficient LED lighting electricity and expense are saved. With intelligent light control expenditure on electricity and maintenance can be lowered even further.The lighting in the offices is regulated automatically, and is switched on only where it is actually needed. To do this, all offices and corridors are equipped with occupancy sensors. On sunny days the lighting in corridors and stairways often stays off the whole day, as enough daylight gets in.