In August 2019, the University of Oregon published a whitepaper, “The Impact of Lighting and Views in the Workplace of the Future.” The paper concludes that daylighted spaces with controlled lighting and views can improve occupant well-being, workplace productivity, and satisfaction by positively influencing various physiological and psychological processes. Lighting and views also impact property value and employee recruitment and retention, the researchers said.

A study by Zumtobel and the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering indicates that office workers prefer brighter light sources they can control in terms of both intensity and color temperature. LuxReview.com has the story here.

“If you boost the lighting at certain times of day, you’ll get a better performance from workers,” remarks Dr Martine Knoop, a senior lighting specialist at Philips Lighting, commenting on the study that took place at Bartenbach Lichtlabor in Austria. The scientists found in 2007 that if offices used more adjustable lighting, the employees working within them would work more productively.

What are the benefits of combining advanced lighting control strategies in the same space? Are the energy-saving benefits of lighting controls persistent over time? Can advanced lighting controls be successfully applied to open offices given concerns about jurisdiction conflicts, lighting uniformity, etc.? Can they enhance worker satisfaction? A new office lighting field study addresses these questions. Involving about 90 workers in a real-world open-office environment, the one-year study determined that occupancy sensing, daylight harvesting and individual occupant dimming control worked together in the building to produce average energy savings of 47% while correlating with higher occupant environmental and job satisfaction. The study demonstrates that sophisticated lighting control strategies can be combined successfully to generate persistent, large energy savings in open-plan offices while improving occupant satisfaction with their jobs and workspace.

A number of studies demonstrate that personal dimming can result in higher productivity—specifically in the metrics of vigilance, motivation and satisfaction—and also in energy savings. This dual impact can result in an improved bottom line and more satisfied employees and tenants. These advantages are resulting in a significant new trend towards adoption of personal dimming solutions among designers and building owners.

This white paper makes the case for personal control, in particular giving occupants the ability to control their own light levels through dimming.