How to Improve WELL Ratings with Heat and Glare-Reducing Blinds
It’s no secret that healthy workers are happier and more productive. Ensuring workspaces are comfortable and fit for purpose is not only an employers responsibility to maintain but is also something that should be considered during construction to avoid some common issues with new builds.
The importance of daylight
Sufficient levels of natural sunlight during the day can lead to better sleep, less illness, better mental health and increased alertness during the workday. In fact, this report by the University of Oregon shows the quality of the view from a person’s desk and their exposure to natural light are interconnected with the amount of sick time they take. In the study, those who had nice views of the outside and received a sufficient amount of sunlight took 6.5 percent less sick leave than others.
The problem in most offices
The common theme amongst the design of new, modern buildings is multiple large or floor-to-ceiling windows. This design is great for making sure that enough natural daylight is coming in. As more workers begin returning to the office after working from home for the first time, they may suddenly realise that the lighting in their workplace is quite different to what they’re used to at home. When we’re at home, we have complete control over the lighting in each room. We’ve chosen the lightbulbs, we decided which blinds or curtains to fit, and more importantly, we control how often the shades open or close.
In a workplace with multiple employees and multiple windows, it’s unlikely everyone will agree on when to open and close the blinds. Or more likely, no one will remember to do open the blinds once they’ve been closed. On average, office blinds are only moved twice a week, and only 12% of people operate their blinds once a day. This can often lead to natural light and views out being restricted unnecessarily.
What is the WELL building standard?
The WELL Building Standard, delivered by the International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™), is the first global rating system to focused solely on the ways that buildings, and everything in them, can improve comfort, drive better choices, and enhance health and wellness.
On average we spend about 90% of our time indoors. The aim of the WELL Building Standard is to make people more productive, happier, and healthier in the workplace.
A building which has achieved the WELL Building Standard helps employees achieve more, increase employee fulfilment, increase the quality of work produced, decrease absenteeism and increase connection with the employer. Other benefits include recruiting better talent, reduction in staff turnover, increased revenue, reduced medical and healthcare costs, and increased perceived physical and psychological health.
The WELL Building Standard has become popular because it acts as a guide to designing, building, and operating healthier buildings with scientific evidence proving that the features incorporated in your building will pay dividends in the long-run. (via Content Coms)
How can roller blinds improve WELL ratings?
Choosing the right shading can have a huge impact on light and heat levels in the workplace.
There are a couple of ways to do this. One of the simplest fixes to existing blinds is to replace the fabric with something more reflective. A silver-backed screen fabric, like Spectrum 4060, reflects light and heat away from the room to keep internal temperatures consistent and eliminate glare on screens. A screen fabric also means that you retain the view out of the window even when the blind is closed, which is important for employees mental health. However, this solution may still rely on manual operation.
An automated shading solution is the most effective way to improve light and heat levels in a building as it means the blinds can react and operate in response to sunlight levels and temperature in real-time. It also eliminates the need for manual operation so you can ensure the office blinds are always in the correct position, even when there’s no one in the office. Sensors, pre-set sequences and reactive sequences can all be set up to control your shading.
Retrofitting an automated solution can be a costly exercise, especially if there isn’t already suitable wiring near the windows for the blind motors. That’s why it’s important to consider shading during the construction stage. Ensuring there’s suitable cabling at every window during construction will future proof the building should the occupants ever wish to install electric shades. Whilst it may be an additional expense initially, it will mean extra wiring, carpentry and plastering work can be avoided in the future.
For more information on how to future-proof your building, or on how to retro-fit an automated shading solution, get in touch. We are experts in motorisation and automation, we’ll be able to answer your questions and design the best solution to fit your needs.