Best Office Lamps | Buyers Guide

The recommended luminous flux at the workplace is 500 lumen approximately to ensure there is no fatigue in the eyes.

The most efficient light source with the lowest energy consumption is LED. You can find LED in different colors and at an affordable price. For a multi-purpose workstation, it is best to use a combination of multiple lamps with different light colors or a lamp with an adjustable light color. So you can vary the atmosphere of the room depending on the situation.

Our Recommendation for Best Office Lamps

Buyers Guide for Office Lamps

What is Lumen, Lux and Kelvin?

To choose the best office lamps, it is important to understand various quality-related data. In this section, we will briefly explain the most important terms for the purchase of an office lamp.

Lumen is the unit of measurement for the luminous flux of a lamp. The value thus denotes the brightness of a lamp.

Lux measures the luminance, which refers to the light striking a surface. (Lux = lumens / m²) 

Kelvin indicates the light color of a light source and tells something about whether the light is perceived as “warm” or rather “cool”. Thus Kelvin contributes significantly to how the ambiance of a room is perceived.

How bright should an office lamp be?

The office should be bright enough that you can work without effort. Therefore necessary brightness depends on the type of work you are doing in the office. For example, if you are writing or reading on a screen or paper, the benchmark according to European and American standards is 500 lux.

In the home office, it’s less about guidelines than about your sense of brightness. In the end, according to experts, the best thing you do is not to have any tremendous brightness contrasts around your workspace and to have enough light to keep your eyes from getting tired too quickly when working.

As we mentioned above, the ideal luminous flux of 500 Lumen is preferable by many people. For lamps that exceed this value, however, you should make sure that they have a built-in dimmer to adjust the brightness to your personal preference.

Which light color should an office lamp have?

Experts recommend a universal white light for office lamps, which is 3,300 to 5,300 Kelvin. This color spectrum is essential and should promote concentration. When choosing the light color, you should make sure that you do not perceive the light as too bright as it can be uncomfortable.

If you have the home office, we recommend you to choose different lamps with different light colors. This way for working you can use universal or daylight white light and for relaxation, you can use dim light colors. 

Which illuminant is best?

The choice of the illuminant is directly related to brightness and light color. Also, another important factor is the energy consumption of different office lamps.

For example, a halogen lamp with approx. 2,700 Kelvin is very close to the warm white light of a light bulb. In the table below, we also compare the energy efficiency and average lamp life for you.

Based on power consumption

For office lamps, it is important to choose the right power connection. You can also use office lamps with options such as a USB port or battery. 

These are especially useful if you don’t have a power outlet in the room.

Socket: Classic and easy to handle with a very wide range of different designs.

Luster terminal: A direct connection to the power cable is also possible. This variant is used almost exclusively for the installation of ceiling and wall lamps. 

Note: We recommend you to have the installation by a professional electrician.

Battery: Because of the increasing cordless trend, there are also lamps without cable. The battery life of most devices is 3 – 5 hours. You can either use rechargeable batteries or charge them by using solar panels. 

USB Port – This option is another option if you can not directly power anything except a computer or laptop. To keep the power consumption low these lamps are equipped with LED bulbs.

How much is an office lamp?

The price of an office lamp depends primarily on the dimensions and the design. Factors such as the material and additional functions such as motion detectors, dimming levels, and touch controls also play a role.

The cost for an average desk lamp is around 20 – 40 Dollars. You should expect more than 40 dollars for a complete set of ceiling lamps due to the higher material costs. Ceiling lamps are available in various sizes and with different mounting mechanisms. Designer lamps or collectibles lamps are the most expensive ones. 

Where can I buy an office lamp?

You can buy your office lamp online as well as in various furniture stores and hardware stores. In stores, you have the advantage of being able to see and try the different lamps in their original size (even though most showrooms are heavily lit). If you buy online, it is easier to compare data and prices and will have a large variety of options.

According to our research, most of the office lamps are sold through these online shops:

• Amazon
• Walmart
• Bestbuy

And the following furniture stores offer their lamps both on-site and online:

• Ikea

All desk lamps that we recommend to you on shopbirdy.com have a link. This will allow you to purchase the lamp easily if you wish to.

Types of office lamps which one is right for you

If you want to buy an office light, there are 2 different basic models to choose from:

• Ceiling Lamp
• Desk Lamp

The different designs of lamps have their pros and cons. Depending on your work circumstances and personal preferences, one or the other variant may be better suited for you. 

To make the decision easier for you, we have summarized the pros and cons of different types in the following section.

Things to consider in office lamps

Below we will show you which aspects you should consider while choosing the office lamp.

The criteria that you can use to compare office lighting are:

• Luminosity
• Color of light
• Power consumption
• Design and construction

In the following paragraphs, we will explain what is important for the individual criteria.

Luminosity

The brightness and atmosphere created with the lamp have a big impact on the comfort of your workplace.

The choice of luminosity determines whether the light is sufficient to do the work without much effort. It also influences how long you can work in concentration without getting tired.

Regardless of influencing factors, such as the daylight, your lamp should have a luminosity of about 500 lumens.

Color of light

Which light color you choose is a matter of taste, experts recommend for concentration neutral to daylight white light (range of 3,300 – 5,300 Kelvin) is good.

If you use the room to work and relax, it makes sense to choose an LED lamp that can switch between neutral white light for working and warm white light for relaxing. Or you can simply install several lamps with different color temperatures in the room to create a different atmosphere depending on the situation.

Power consumption

The power consumption of a lamp depends mainly on the brightness. 

In principle, it can be said that LED lamps with a luminosity of up to 90 lumens / watt are very effective, while halogen lamps can give 20-60 lumens / watt.

Design and construction

Design is not just about finding a stylish lamp, but integrating it into the space you want to install.

For example, on a freestanding desk in big room, you can have one desk lamp and one ceiling lamp. It is also important to pay attention to the stability, material, weight and the base of the lamp.

Indirect lighting by ceiling lamps can be a great option especially in confined spaces. It is essential to consider the available power connection while selecting the office lamp.

If you don’t have any power outlet, it is best to go for office lamp with rechargeable batteries.

FAQ for office lamps

How do I change a fluorescent tube?

First, it is important to distinguish what is broken at the lamp: the starter or the fluorescent tube itself?

If the starter breaks down, the lamp does not emit any light pulse

Occasionally it can happen that both components are broken. This is the case, for example, when the starter breaks down with a loud bang.

How to change fluorescent tube:

1. Turn off the power, remove the plug of the lamp or remove the fuse from the fuse box.
2. Remove the cover of the lamp.
3. If available, remove the covers from the ends of the tube.
4. Carefully turn the tube forward by about 90 degrees. Note: For this step, it is best to wear gloves for safety in case the tube breaks while removing..
5. Pull the loosened fluorescent tube down out of the holder.
6. When inserting the new tube, turn 90 degrees in the opposite direction until you hear a low click.
7. Then replace all covers.
8. Reconnect the lamp or turn on the power. If the lamp does not work despite the replacement of the tube, you might need to change the starter.

How the replace the starter

1. Turn off the power, remove the plug of the lamp or remove the fuse from the fuse box.
2. Remove the fluorescent tube as described in the previous section.
3. Under the tube is a small round cap, unscrew to the left.
4. Underneath you can grab the starter and turn loose to the left and pull out.
5. Insert the new starter and tighten.
6. Replace the cover cap and tighten to the right.
7. Replace the tube and install all covers.
8. Reconnect the lamp or turn the power back on. If the lamp does not work despite changing tube and starter, please consult an electrician.

DIY office lamp

Of course, if you cannot find your dream office lamp, you can build it yourself.

Below is the video for a simple, modern lamp, but there’s no limit to creativity when it comes to choosing materials and design.