At Office Next Moscow 2013, Philips and Saint-Gobain Ecophon presented their Soundlight Comfort Ceiling office solution. Innovative acoustic ceiling panels with built-in LEDs maintain optimal office illumination and minimize noise levels, creating a comfortable environment for employees in open-plan offices.
“Improving people's lives is one of the main aspects of Philips' mission. Research has proven that good lighting and noise reduction have a direct impact on employee well-being,”said Menno Kleingeld, Vice President and Director, Lighting Solutions, Philips Office Lighting Sector Europe. “Working with Ecophon has allowed us to expand our expertise in this area and create an innovative solution for offices.”
The sizes and layouts of office spaces are very diverse, moreover, companies themselves are striving to change the premises in order to make it comfortable for work in modern conditions and to reduce the cost of its maintenance. Nowadays, employees need to be mobile, which is why organizations opt for relatively small spaces with easily changeable open layouts. However, these offices are often overcrowded and quite noisy. Research has confirmed that the hum from phone calls and conversations is the main cause of poor concentration at work.
Soundlight Comfort Ceiling panels, by shortening the sound propagation distance, reduce background noise, but do not impair hearing if the interlocutors are nearby. This approach improves the office environment, where more than half of the work is associated with tasks that require focus and attention.
“Ecophon strives to improve its solutions for creating acoustic comfort in the office so that employees can communicate and concentrate,” said Gert-Jan van Doormalen, President and CEO of the Ecophon Group. - In traditional suspended modular ceilings, the acoustic and light modules make up two different systems. The symbiosis of acoustic panels with LED lighting is unique, and such a solution will not only empower architects and designers, it will improve the working environment for people in modern offices."
When turned on, the Soundlight Comfort Ceiling panels represent a uniformly luminous surface that occupies the entire ceiling or part of it. This solution allows you to visually expand the space, make the surface monolithic and create a calm atmosphere. The dimmability and quality of LED lighting in Soundlight Comfort Ceiling creates a pleasant, glare-free light environment that reduces fatigue during the working day.
The state-of-the-art LED technology used in Soundlight Comfort Ceiling outperforms conventional lighting systems in quality as well as energy efficiency. The solution also includes sensors and controllers that automatically adjust the brightness level based on natural light and the number of employees in the office. The panels can significantly reduce energy consumption.
Soundlight Comfort Ceiling is the second solution created by Philips, a global leader in lighting, and Saint-Gobain Ecophon, an international leader in acoustic solutions for a healthy indoor environment. In 2012, the companies introduced the Soundlight Comfort Unit, a stand-alone acoustic ceiling panel with integrated LEDs.
About Saint-Gobain Ecophon
Saint-Gobain Ecophon was founded in 1958 when the first glass wool sound absorbers were produced in Sweden to improve the acoustics of the workplace. Today the company is a global supplier of loudspeaker systems that provide good indoor acoustics and a healthy work environment. The company specializes in offices, educational institutions, healthcare institutions and industrial production facilities.
About Royal Philips
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a global health and wellness company dedicated to improving the quality of life for people through significant innovations in healthcare, consumer products and lighting solutions.
