Custom lighting for University Senior Lecturer with visual impairment

Light that works

Javier works as an Associate Professor at a technical university and, thanks to a congenital eye defect, is visually impaired and severely nearsighted. He engaged Visio to assess his situation.

Jackie Nicholson, labor consultant at Visio: “For people with visual impairments, lighting is much more than being able to see well or not: it is a prerequisite for being able to function well. If it takes too much energy to perform your tasks, your vitality suffers and you can drop out. That’s what we want to prevent.”

Research light lab Visio

Jackie has over twenty years of experience counseling people with visual impairments in their workplace. Several preliminary examinations are conducted during the counseling process, which gives the counselor information about a person’s visual functioning. Factors such as light intensity, reflections, color temperature and brightness differences are taken into account. Different factors play a role for each condition. In the case of Javier, a lighting study was also conducted in Visio’s lighting lab. This involved examining the illuminance at which he could perceive or recognize objects, the influence of contrast and reflections, brightness and hedleright differences, color temperature and the degree of light disturbance and visual comfort. The measurements showed that Javier needed more light than is common in workplaces, especially when combined with proper shielding of the light source.

Jackie: “We look for solutions that ensure that the eyes are burdened as little as possible. After all: the condition itself causes enough strain.”

Lighting advice from Visio

Based on all investigations, a concrete lighting recommendation was then drawn up for both the workplace at the university and the workplace at home. There was a need for luminaires without glare, uniform lighting, sufficient lux value and an ideal color temperature. Jackie chose luminaires from Loerakker led line. For both the home workplace and the university.

Why Loerakker’s fixtures? Jackie: “They are easy and efficient to hang, scale well in a large space, are loosely controlled and dimmable, offer even lighting, choice of different lengths, variation in amount of lux and are also available in 4 or 5 color temperatures.”

Jackie: ” The world consists mainly of direct illumination. This often gives in different ways with the visually impaired group.”

Lighting plan by Loerakker

For Visio it is valuable that Loerakker thinks along and provides customization where standard solutions often fall short. Jackie: “We enjoy working with Maarten and the Loerakker team. They make lighting plans and come up with out-of-the-box solutions. We are always looking for manufacturers who offer indirect lighting solutions, but unfortunately those are rare. We are also very happy with the new floor lamp with indirect lighting. It will be a godsend for a lot of situations.”

Home lighting

For the living room and kitchen, Nanda van der Berg of Visio, a colleague of Jackie’s who advises clients regarding the home situation (WMO pathway), was called in. “Both the high light requirements and the high light nuisance experienced by Javier required custom fixtures. L1 for the living room, the L16 above the dining table and the L17 above the kitchen island. For all the lighting, I also recommended dimmers. So that even the rest of the family can manage the amount of light, when Mr. is not at home, for example. The fixtures are reasonably affordable and attractive to look at. Within the WMO we always look for the most economical and adequate solution.”

Looks good

Javier: “Visio’s advice was followed in both cases. I’m happy with it: indirect light is so much more comfortable, even in the home. I think the fixtures look good, it’s nice that there is more choice. For the living room I chose fixtures in white with oak, because I thought that was the most beautiful combination. For the kitchen, a combination of direct and indirect light was recommended for higher light intensity. The L16 above the dining table and the L17 above the kitchen island produce a huge amount of light: this allows me to work comfortably and safely in the kitchen.”

Installed fixtures at the workplace and at Javier’s home: L1, L16 and L17, reimbursement through UWV and WMO based on expert advice Visio.