Office Lighting Design
By Dhruv Agarwal · · 2 min read
What we deliver
Lighting design and installation for offices — lux levels, layouts, fitting selection, controls and emergency lighting, integrated with the ceiling design rather than laid over it.
Most office lighting is not designed. Fittings get spaced evenly on a grid until the ceiling looks balanced, and the result is a floor that meets an average number while being uncomfortable to work under.
Scope of works
| Stage | What we deliver |
|---|---|
| Requirement | Task types per zone, target lux, ceiling type, daylight |
| Calculation | Lux and uniformity on the working plane, not the ceiling |
| Layout | Fitting positions coordinated with the reflected ceiling plan |
| Selection | Fitting type, optics, colour temperature, CRI |
| Compliance | Lighting power density against ECBC 2017 |
| Controls | Daylight linking, occupancy sensing, scene setting |
| Emergency | Escape route and exit sign lighting |
| Installation | Wiring, mounting, commissioning, focusing |
Typical design targets
| Zone | Working-plane lux | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open plan desks | 300-500 | Uniformity matters as much as the average |
| Meeting rooms | 300-500 | Dimmable for presentation |
| Reception | 200-300 | Feature and accent lighting |
| Circulation | 150-200 | Lower, with emergency coverage |
| Cafeteria | 200-300 | Warmer colour temperature |
| Detailed / drawing work | 500-750 | Task lighting supplements general |
Where projects go wrong
- Designing to average lux and ignoring uniformity. Bright pools with dark gaps read as a badly lit office regardless of the average.
- No glare control. Screen reflections and direct glare make an otherwise adequate floor unpleasant to work in.
- Lighting drawn after the ceiling. Fittings then compete with diffusers, sprinklers and detectors for the same tile.
- Mixed colour temperature. Fittings from different batches or suppliers on one floor are immediately visible.
- Emergency lighting left to the end. Escape route coverage is a compliance requirement and needs to be in the layout, not added afterwards.
Why Hagerstone
Customised lighting is part of our stated scope, delivered with the ceiling and the electrical installation by one team — so the lighting plan, the reflected ceiling plan and the circuit design are the same conversation.
15 electricians in-house, ISO 9001 / 14001 / 45001, 79+ quality checkpoints.
Standards referenced
Interior illumination levels and practice under IS 3646. Lighting power density limits under ECBC 2017.
Standards referenced
- IS 3646 — Code of practice for interior illumination
- ECBC 2017 — Lighting power density