Lighten the load for office occupants

If you’re designing, building or renovating commercial office space, adopting smart blinds and touch-free technology could add more value than you think.

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The Evolution of the Smart Office

Office design has been evolving for decades. From expansive, floor-to-ceiling windows to state-of-the-art meeting areas, businesses have become healthily obsessed with how their working environment impacts on productivity, drive, well-being, and focus. With new generations joining the workforce every year, it’s more important than ever to cater for individual needs and make sure that office spaces promote well-being and occupant comfort

Somfy helps you achieve this by giving unparalleled control over daylight, using smart shading technology; enabling you to manage its impacts on well-being, by helping to regulate temperature, reduce glare whilst also helping improve energy efficiency.

Research tells us that..

even minor changes to an office worker’s environment can have a profound impact on their productivity. Natural light is a key factor here, and by ensuring optimum control it can:

Improve function and memory by up to 25% (source Heschong 2003)

Increase processing capacity by up to 12% (source Heschong 2003)

Increase productivity by up to 23% (source Loftness 2003)

An Intelligent, dynamic approach to daylight management

Through automated and controlled shading, you can transform your building into an intelligent, reactive hub that works in harmony with occupants and their preferences.

Using advanced weather sensors, timers, central control units and individual controls, occupants can optimise daylight during the day and reduce the need for both artificial lighting and cooling, saving on running costs. They can minimise screen glare and use shading to cool down when the sun’s rays prove too much. Projector rooms can be kept cool and dark, meeting rooms can be transformed in an instant, and each individual workers’ office space can be tailored to their liking.

Did you know?

Almost 50% of all office workers admit they feel tired or very tired from the absence of natural light or a window in their office?

Boosting productivity

Taking a smart approach to daylight management isn’t just about comfort; it can also have a game-changing impact on productivity. Offering teams and individuals choice and control over their working environment has been linked directly to engagement, productivity and their overall effectiveness at work.

Measuring the cost of lost productivity

A research study carried out by the FMJ (Facilities Management Journal) in the UK in 2014 suggests that around 2% of office hours are wasted due to the temperature alone, potentially costing the UK economy more than £13 billion annually.

Smart, touch-free technology for a changing world

Our relationship with offices changed in 2020. In a post-pandemic world, offices and other professional settings will be doing whatever they can to minimise contact with others and stop cross-contamination in its tracks.

In May 2020, roughly three months into the pandemic, a CBRE flash survey found that 45% of business occupants were now expecting to adopt touch-free technology. That figure is only likely to have increased, with pressure mounting on offices to create safe work environments.

Thankfully, intelligent daylight management technology from Somfy can tick both boxes.