Light

How do I avoid glare at my desk?

Short answer

Avoid bright light sources in your field of view and strong contrasts. Office standards limit glare (UGR 19) and ask for even lighting (0.60).

Explanation

Glare occurs when a lamp or window is much brighter than its surroundings. The office standard expresses this as UGR: the lower, the less glare. The standard does not apply to homes, but its principles help at home too.

Rules of thumb

• Office reference: UGR at most 19 for desk work. [SW-S05]
• Uniformity on the work surface: at least 0.60. [SW-S05]

Pitfalls

• A bare LED lamp without a shade in your field of view quickly dazzles, even with a low lumen value. [SW-S05]

Search terms

These search terms are in Dutch; only terms that also find a topic in English are links.

verblinding UGR bureau scherm

Read also

• How many lux do I need for reading or working from home?

Sources

1. SW-S05 Praktijkgids voor verlichting van binnenwerkplekken (NBN EN 12464-1:2021) — IBE-BIV (Belgisch Instituut voor Verlichting) (Reference date 2026-09-27)

Reference date: 2026-09-27 · Translated with AI from the Dutch original.