Humanscale Horizon LED Lamp Review

Introducing Humanscale's Horizon LED Task Light

We're taking a look at the Horizon LED task light the latest lighting offering from Humanscale. In keeping with all Humanscale products it's a beautifully designed lamp with great looks and simplicity in use.

Where many LED task lights use multiple arrays of LED bulbs, Humanscale has opted for a single lamp. It has combined this with the latest in lighting development, Thin Film Technology™ and is the first lamp to use it. The film on the underside of the lamp allows the light to be spread evenly over quite a wide area. Its light output is based on a neutral white light (3000 K).

With a dimmer switch built into the base it's very easy to control offering seven different light levels. At maximum output it consumes just 9 watts. It's actually possible to drop the light level right down to the equivalent of a night light where it only consumes a single watt of electricity. The switch glows in the dark making it easy to locate at low light levels.

Adjusting the lamp is very easy as both the head and the base have spherical ball joints. You literally just move the head and arm to exactly the position you want to illuminate. And its compact design means it doesn't take up loads of space either.

There is a choice of three color finishes, black, silver or white. And of course Humanscale's commitment to the environment means it's highly eco friendly. It's made from 95% recycled content and ultimately if you do ever wear it out it's good to know it's 99% recyclable. Mind you with a 10 year 24/7 warranty it going to last a very long time.    

Below is a video of the Horizon in use. Click here for further details on this great lamp.

A Quick Look at Koncept's Mosso LED Task Light

Koncept's Mosso LED task light is yet another award winning lamp. Here are some of the accolades it has received in the past year.

• NGL Winner 2012
• Chicago Athenaeum's GOOD DESIGN Award 2011
• 2011 Spark:Pro Bronze Award
• Benelux Office Products Awards Nominee 2011

So what makes it such a great light?

It's beautifully styled in an all aluminum body made from 38% recycled materials. The sleek upright and horizontal arms are supported on a 9 inch diameter base. The light head sets it apart with its slightly curved rectangular shape. This holds an array of 42 LED bulbs giving a powerful light output yet only consumes 10.5 watts at full power.

The head is able to be swivelled through 360 degrees which is quite a useful feature as it means you can use the light as a form of ambient lighting to give a diffused lighting effect.

And of course the light can be dimmed. This is easily controlled through a slider on the topside of the light's horizontal arm. You can either slide it to gradually alter light intensity or alternatively just tap the strip. Both methods make it rapidly controllable.

The light is finished in either silver, black or white. It comes with a choice of light color output of either cool white (4500K) or warm light (3500K), either will work well with cool white giving more accurate color rendition.

The lamp has a 5 year manufacturer's warranty, however with the bulbs rated at 50,000 hours use it's going to last a lot longer than this.

Watch this short video to appreciate what makes the Mosso special. Here's where you can read more about this light.

Ergonomics 101: Neutral Reach Zone, Part II

If you missed Part I of our Ergonomics 101 post on the Neutral Reach Zone, check it out here.

How ergonomic accessories can make your neutral reach zone even more effective

Setting up you reach zone as we've outlined will definitely enhance your working comfort. However by adding some useful accessories it's possible to make your working comfort even better. 6G Keyboard System by HumanscaleOf course, adding a sit-stand adjustable desk brings ergonomics to a whole new level. If you're not ready for that quite yet, these tools will be a big help.

Let's take a look at the possibilities.

When you place your keyboard on your desk, even in what seems an ideal position it doesn't usually let you keep your wrists and hands in line. This is where a keyboard platform can really help. A good quality articulated keyboard platform attaches to the underside of the front of your desk. You pull it out when you need it and push it under the desk when you don't. However another key benefit of quality platforms is the ability to angle them backwards, what’s called “negative tilt.” What this does is to allow you too keep your hands and wrists straight helping to minimize unnatural angles which can cause repetitive strain injury.

Generally speaking keyboard platforms usually have a built in mouse tray which can be moved into the ideal working position. Some of the mousing platforms are more adjustable than others. In my experience having the mousing platform rotate and move up and down is a real bonus. So this takes care of your keyboard and mouse.

M2 Monitor Arm by HumanscaleAnother great accessory is a monitor arm which simply fixes to the rear of your desk. Its articulated arm makes it simple to move your screen to precisely the position and angle you need for perfect viewing. Of course, having the monitor up off of the desk makes room for other things you need to keep close at hand. If you want to share your screen content with a colleague it's as easy as swiveling the screen to a position where they can view it comfortably. And when you don't need your screen and you want to free up some desk space for other tasks, you can just push it out of the way.
Element by Humanscale
Lastly a task light can be very helpful in illuminating your work area. A good task light is highly adjustable and its LED light source helps to eliminate glare. It can be especially useful for reading paperwork as this requires about five times more light than needed for reading from a screen. For an example of a a stylish new LED task lamp, check out our Equo video review.

Adding these sorts of simple ergonomic accessories can really help to improve your working comfort.

Let's recap on the points we've covered.

Summary

• Setting up your neutral reach zone is vital for keeping muscles healthy
• You need to assess what key tools and equipment must be in you reach zone
• It's still important to move as your work, setting things up properly eliminates unhealthy stretches  
• Ergonomic accessories can significantly improve your work area

What next?

Just like driving someone else's car you wouldn't be happy without adjusting your driving position first. Nor should you approach your workstation without getting your neutral reach zone properly set up.  

And of course as we mention above, adding key ergonomic accessories can really help to improve working comfort and efficiency. Here's where you can find out more about keyboard platforms with inbuilt mouse trays. You can read all about monitor arms by following this link. Lastly here's where to find more about LED task lights.

LED Task Lighting Introduction

More and more often we’re talking to people who want to make the switch to LED task lighting from their tired desk lamp. Whether it’s for the minimal environment impact, the incredibly stylish options, or minimizing glare on your computer screen LED lighting has become increasingly popular.

Koncept offers contemporary, powerful LED task lighting. The Equo LED desk lamp has accumulated include Best of Year 2011 Interior Design award, Japan Institute of Design 2011 Good Design award, amongst others. It’s one of our favorites, and a great introduction to the many options in LED task lighting.

For more on the Koncept Equo click here, and to see our full selection of LED task lighting click here.