

Ask YC: What is the best lighting source for a room with no windows? - ACSparks

We moved to our new offices, and they are great, except for the fact that I now work in a room with no windows.  There is only an overhead fluorescent light.<p>I usually program for 10-12 hours a day, and have now noticed that my eyes hurt, and I am getting bags under them.<p>What is the best way to light the room so that my eyes are happy again?
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dualogy
I've heard about this problem repeatedly before. Why are people apparently
seriously building and renting offices without windows outside of Western
Europe? I mean, you're spending 10-12 hours a day on sophisticated things of
(hopefully) very high value that is (hopefully) rewarded accordingly in the
marketplace---and yet, such a simple and essentially free thing as daylight is
outside your scope? Why is this? What's the point of windowless offices? This
is just quite obviously a serious factor for potentially making your people
suffer in subtle ways. In tech, you don't want them to suffer, no? What am I
missing?

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mixmax
I didn't even know that anyone besides sweatshop workers and miners worked in
offices without windows.

Sounds totally unthinkable to me, I would never get anything done.

Guess I'm lucky working from my boat with 22 windows and a view of the sea
wherever I look :-)

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mosburger
I used to work for a fairly well-known manufacturer of disk drives. In their
typical paranoia, they intentionally ensured that our labs had no windows to
mitigate the possibility of corporate espionage.

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mixmax
Somewhat related:

Has anyone ever experimented with RGB LED's and some sort of controller hooked
up to a PC? That way you would be able to change the colortemperature of your
lightning source, and get a really cool way of lighting up your office or
home. You could even attach some light sensors so that the ambient light level
stays the same. When the sun goes down the lights slowly turn on to
compensate. Would be cheap in electricity too.

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migpwr
They make floor lamps that point up to the ceiling and reflect light off of
it... I personally like those the best. They're inexpensive and usually have 3
settings.

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iamdave
These are awesome, but be careful and place them strategically. Lighting
affects mood, and if you place them around a lot of plants, you'll end up
casting a lot of distracting shadows and productivity goes kaput.

On that same token, if you opt for these kinds of lights, it's best to place
them in a room with brightly colored walls that wont absorb the light, and
you'll only end up wasting money both on the lights, and on your energy bills
just trying to keep your office bright.

Otherwise, they are awesome fixtures.

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mechanical_fish
A reciprocating saw should get you through to daylight soon enough. They just
don't build offices like they used to.

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tim2
Ah yes, I know exactly what you need.

I too programmed for an uncountable number of hours in a similar setup at my
university dorm. What I did is keep those bright lights on while wearing a
baseball cap. This is very easy on the eyes and keeps you alert.

Why is this the best setup? Studies have shown that having lighting from the
sides but not the top, simulating somewhat of an artificial sunset in the
horizon, keeps people awake and alert for longer periods of time. Plus, that
narrowed field of vision seems to help with concentration. Don't dismiss this
until you try it.

I did have a window but I put my back to it. The view was pretty depressing
anyway.

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rrival
Full spectrum lighting, used to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder, is a decent
sunlight replacement, though it's sort of expensive.

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jsjenkins168
You can source a generic 6500k light (try to get close to 98 color rendering
index) for pretty cheap at most local hardware stores. My guess is this is all
what these "full spectrum lights" essentially are, re-branded and marked up.

I use 2 6500k lamps as a bias lights (reference white) when coding and also
for watching movies. The light will appear a bit "blue" at first (compared to
most other lights), but you will get used to it. Color temp is like you are
always working outside in the midday sun, its great.

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patrickg-zill
You should have at least 3 different light sources in the room. Try to have
diffuse lighting, as diffuse as possible.

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ken
Skylight. You don't even have to be near the outside, e.g., "Solatube".

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walter_b_marvin
Yep get more sleep. Take a nap in the middle of the day

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Tichy
Time to look for a new job?

