If you’ve ever sat at your worktable/desk and struggled to make sense of your materials due to lack of good lighting, then you’ll know the importance of good desk lamp.
Desk lighting is important because it helps keeps your eyes from straining. However, most people believe that desk lamps are there to provide task lighting for dimly lit areas when the opposite is also true. A good desk lamp not only brightens up dimply lit spaces, but it also provides adequate illumination – not too bright and not too ambient. You didn’t know that, right?
Similarly, there are a lot of other things that you need to consider while searching for an ideal desk lamp for your office, study room, bedroom, etc. Let’s take a look at them all:
Clear Light
The most important thing that you have to consider while buying a desk lamp for your office is that it delivers clear lighting. Since desk lamps are used for reading, writing, studying, etc. they have to deliver crisp lighting that can accommodate all of these tasks. So always make sure that the lamp you’re considering has multiple light settings that can be adjusted according to the condition of your eyes. Pro tip: 400 lumens are an ideal measure of light for most tasks.
General Rule
The most important and well-known rule of desk lighting that helps choosing the idea desk lamp is that the source should be higher than your head. The basic idea is to keep the light directly out of the eyes. But here, you must also consider how high is too high. Even a focused light beam may dissipate, diffuse, or create shadows if the light source is too high.
Minimal or No Glare
Have you ever noticed how your eyes start to blur and strain when you work under consistent task lighting for too long? That’s because the glare puts a lot of strain on your eyes. Working in such conditions can cause an ache to develop in your head. You often find yourself rubbing your eyes to keep the strain away. A good desk lamp would provide minimal or no glare at all so that you can keep working in stress-free conditions. Pair a comfy office chair with your desk lighting to complete your work station. This is why modern lamps have regulated and adjustable beams. They help manage the strain such persistent lighting can have on your eyes.
Adjustable Design
A good modern desk lamp always comes with an adjustable design. This not only refers to the actual lighting adjustments, but also the physical design. Most desk lamps have standard components that include a base, a neck, and the actual lamp.
Many contemporary desk lamp designs have adjustable necks that can provide physical flexibility. This also helps alter the direction of the lamp when you need a break but don’t want to switch off the light. You can simply adjust the beam another way and take a breather. Other measures of adjustability include a swiveling head, boom arms, swing arms, and goose necks. All elements alter by design, so in the end it all depends on what style of a lamp you want.
Great Color Temperature
Color temperature refers to the general appearance of light. It’s either “warm” or “cool.” This is an important factor to consider in good desk lighting. Warm light is tends to lean in the direction of cold iridescence while cool light is more on the blue side. 2200-2700 K (Kelvin) is considered warm lighting. 4100-5500k is considered cool lighting. Anything in-between in neutral. Anything above is considered daylight. A good desk lamp features a lighting temperature that lies somewhere between 2700K-3000K on the measuring spectrum.
Good CRI (Color Rendering Index)
Color Rendering Index is a measure of how life-like your colors look under certain lighting. If your work involves differentiating between minute shades (such as architecture or graphic designing) then you’ll need to find a desk lamp with brilliant CRI. This will enable you to perceive the best contrast while pursuing your work. If you’re wondering what a good measure of CRI is, you can start looking at LEDs whose CRI ranges between 85 and 100 for best results.
Cordless or Not?
You might think that the answer to this question is a resounding YES for cordless, but what if the desk you like comes with a cord? You’ll need to resituate or buy an extension to plug it in. While there are many great modern desk lamp designs that come cordless (some even operating with a single touch mechanism), their battery also needs feeding, so you might want to re-evaluate how you’re going to take care of that. Some of these lamps even come with USB charging ports, so you must also take that into consideration as well.
Types of Desk Lighting
As far as desk lighting is concerned, you’ll find that most lamps come in 3 different settings: task lighting, ambient lighting, and mood lighting. Some of them come with all three. Task lighting features a focused beam that’s good for concentrating on a single work piece. Ambient lighting is good for people who work on computers or like gaming. Mood lighting is just there to provide some manner of illumination and is mostly just decorative. It’s best to find a lamp that delivers all 3 settings or choose one that suits your profession.
Sizing the Desk Lamp
The size of your desk lamp is also an important feature to consider while working on the best desk lighting. This depends on two factors: the size of your desk and your profession. If you’ve got a small desk, then a lamp with a compact base should be your first option. If your job requires a lot of reading, you can also invest in a clip-on lamp. If your profession requires adjustable lighting and long-reach like an architect, you can go for a swing lamp design.
Right or Left?
Lastly, which side of the desk you place your lamp on also matters a lot. If you’re left-handed, the lamp needs to be placed opposite your working hand to avoid creating shadows while you work, and vice versa. Similarly, you’d need to accommodate the desk lighting to illuminate the keyboard if you work on your computer a lot.
So, these are some major considerations that you must look for while searching for an ideal desk lamp. Some may be technical, but a well-educated selection is the best selection – especially where desk lighting is concerned.
