Desk Lamps: Product Overview

Office Desk lamps are a very popular type of task lighting – light dedicated to illuminating a particular work area, as opposed to ambient lighting that generally brightens an entire room. Desk lamps are inexpensive and give employees plenty of leeway to adjust the light for their particular situations.

However, desk lamps are best used as a supplement to ambient overhead light, not as the primary light source. Using a desk lamp in a dark room may look good in the movies, but it's bad for your eyes: reducing the contrast between your environment and the task you're working on will ease eye strain.

Types of desk lamp bulbs
There are three types of bulbs common to desk lamps. Some lamps can accept multiple types, while others are designed for only one. Consider which is best for your situation before choosing a desk lamp.

• Incandescent bulbs are traditional light bulbs. They're cheaper than other types of bulbs and produce a warm light that's easy on the eyes.
• Halogen bulbs produce a crisper white light than incandescent bulbs. They also use significantly less electricity – 30% - 40% – to produce the same amount of light, and last two to four times as long.
• Fluorescent bulbs have greatly improved in recent years. While they still produce a bluer light than other sources, better ballasts have removed much of the flicker and hum that used to be commonplace. They offer dramatically better performance: 60% to 80% less electricity usage and 10 to 20 times the lifespan of incandescents.

Desk lamp characteristics
Desk lamps should be easily adjustable to different purposes. For example, computer users need to be able to direct the light on their keyboard or work surface without getting glare on the screen. Look at the amount of flexibility a lamp provides, as well as the overall height, to find lamps that suit many purposes.

Lights with dimmer switches allow for employee preferences in light levels, as well as adjustment to changing conditions. Keep in mind that incandescent and halogen bulbs work well with dimmer switches, but fluorescents do not.

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