Posted by Rebecca Lathe 
On Wed Jun 18Key Insights on how energy-efficient lighting improves more than just visibility. It also:
Increases Safety: Proper lighting reduces workplace accidents by improving visibility in high-risk areas and enhancing focus during task-critical operations.
Boosts Productivity: Enhanced light levels and tailored task lighting reduce fatigue, increase accuracy, and support faster, more effective work performance.
Supports Morale and Well-being: Human-centric lighting aligned with circadian rhythms improves mood, mental clarity, and overall worker satisfaction.
If we can get our light right, we can get a sizable portion of our health right.
This may sound like a stretch, but after a decade of working with clients across a range of energy solutions initiatives, I’ve witnessed first-hand how an element as basic as light can completely transform today’s work environment.
Regardless of where we work or what we do, modern work culture increasingly emphasizes rapid results and high performance to keep pace in a competitive world. It’s up to businesses to uncover new ways to boost safety, productivity, and morale.
These are the levers that help to instill and promote what I’ll call, “health at work.”
Safety, productivity, and morale represent the aspirational work trifecta of positive physical, emotional, and mental health. It’s a tricky juggling act for business owners and executives to keep all three in the air at once. It’s also becoming more and more imperative for people to think about proper lighting as a true strategic initiative.
In this article I’d like to challenge you to think about commercial and industrial lighting in new ways:
The bottom line is we do our best when we’re at our best, and “controlling the controllables” such as light in the workplace is a smart way to manage both health and performance.
For every business, (public or private, large or small), its people are their greatest assets.
When organizations start seeing light as more than just an expected commodity and more like a true market advantage, you’ll be giving your greatest assets a better chance to thrive.
To best connect the dots between efficient lighting and a healthy workplace, human centric lighting makes for an appropriate jumping off point.
Light enables sight, but beyond that, light holds a significant impact on our overall psychological and biological well-being. This is especially true when it comes to our individual circadian rhythms.
Over time, scientists have continued to strengthen the links and understanding between how light impacts our bodies and minds. All of this was probably less interesting and thought-provoking in earlier societies when the majority of life and work was spent outdoors. As the industrial and information age were ushered in and technological developments brought our work lives indoors, we adapted as best we could.
Greater advancements in technology coupled with a higher scientific understanding of light’s effect have brought us to today’s modern work environment — an environment where capabilities exist to:
All of this might raise an eyebrow or perhaps sound a little woo, however there are many case studies that prove how thoughtful plans produce real-world outcomes.
It was all the way back in 1943 when American psychologist Abraham Maslow first presented his 5 hierarchy of needs, a framework that helped to classify human motivation.
You might recall pieces of this from a high school class, but the main takeaway is that: only after our basic needs are met (physiological), are we able to move up the pyramid to experience greater goals such as self-actualization.
In my time at Chateau Energy, partnering with decision makers and facility managers within these workstreams, I see a nuanced version of the Hierarchy of Needs for industrial workers, a version where light plays a role in helping us bring our best selves to work.
Some labor estimates report that as of April 2025, the manufacturing sector of the U.S. workforce represents 8% of the nonfarm workforce.1 These skilled workers are driven by Key Performance Indicators such as:
Business schools and boardrooms across the country have borrowed from Maslow’s framework above to highlight the relationship between needs, motivation, and goals.
As I think about today’s industrial workers and their work environments, I see how light relates to worker safety, performance, and overall health:
Physical stress, focus, and fatigue are all common occurrences in industrial settings. Workplace injuries, lawsuits, and damaged reputations are less common, but real.
While it would be an obvious stretch to say that proper lighting represents the “magic bullet, save all solution” for industrial workers, we have witnessed great strides at Chateau Energy from some of our valued clients.
Lighting upgrades aren’t just about light and energy savings; they’re about equipping people to do their best work.
Chateau Energy began working with the management of an industrial facility looking to improve lighting quality, as well as improved safety and security. The Client provides heavy equipment repair shop services within a giant 120,000 square foot facility.
After an extensive lighting audit, Chateau Energy pinpointed 2 specific areas where better lighting could produce positive ROI gains for the customer:
The Results:
Chateau Energy increased light levels in the shop up to three times the existing levels by replacing and upgrading more than 750 fixtures within the facility.
As a result of installing LED lighting upgrades in the critical bay and task areas of the shop, the Client experienced fewer line incidents as well as more positive feedback from line workers.
Finally, from an all-important financial lens, the program rollout saved the manufacturing facility more than $205,000 annually, decreasing energy consumption by 1.8 million+ kWh per year with a short 2.3 year payback.
In sum, energy savings coupled with workforce outcomes make lighting upgrades a powerful and timely initiative for businesses to consider.
My most recent work in lighting efficiency involves Sunbelt Rentals, a leader in the equipment rental industry with over 20,000 employees and 1,300+ locations across North America.
Chateau Energy partnered with Sunbelt Rentals and recently completed a major National LED Lighting Program across nearly 425 locations in 45 states. Their long-term goal is to achieve Net Zero operational greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions by 2050, and you can read the full case study here.
Part of the lighting plan we rolled out with Sunbelt involved increasing light quality in their warehouse areas. Where needed, we added task lighting for technicians’ workstations and highbays in open areas or between storage racks. As I was working with our client teams, walking the floors and observing technicians, I couldn’t help but notice that the employees appeared more effective, less frustrated, more focused, and likely safer as well. While we are too early in the completion to report on such metrics, I look forward to sharing more about safety, productivity, and morale, and how light creates a significant advantage.
The truth is, most of us take lighting for granted until something changes, and the best laid plans often come with cascading benefits.
Lighting may be one of the most underestimated levers in workplace design. Done right, it prevents accidents, fosters productivity, and promotes well-being, all while lowering energy bills.
Whether you’re running an industrial facility, a healthcare clinic, or a 10,000 square foot retail store, the principle is the same: light the space for both the people and the critical tasks they complete each day.
I hope you’ll continue to follow the exciting work we’re doing with lighting upgrades as well as other Chateau Energy customers who are making strategic investments and discovering the many benefits of proper lighting.
Rebecca Lathe
Chateau Energy Solutions
Program Manager
Rebecca serves as the Program Manager for Chateau Energy Solutions. She has more than 10 years of experience in the energy and lighting industry. As a Program Manager, Rebecca establishes goals and executes deliverables by coordinating audit and development efforts, oversees material and labor logistics, manages the utility incentive/rebate process, and reports progress to clients. She is central to the Chateau Energy team and works with all departments to ensure energy efficiency and lighting projects are completed correctly and efficiently. Rebecca has a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from Southern Polytechnic State University. When she’s not rolling out nationwide energy saving strategies for clients, she is with her husband and two daughters volunteering with local charities, attending neighborhood gatherings and events, or travelling the world. Rebecca can be reached on LinkedIn.
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