Best Ergonomic Standing Desk For Home Office (Buyer’s Guide)

How To Choose The Right Adjustable Ergonomic Standing Desk That Suit You?

When it comes to finding a right adjustable ergonomic standing desk, there are a few features of the desk you should consider.

Whether if you are looking an adjustable desk for yourself or for your family members, having the right ergonomic features can make all the difference when it comes to promoting a work environment that is healthy and productive. Choosing the right quality standing desk with the right features is crucial.

Here are some criteria you may consider when choosing an adjustable standing desk for your day to day living at home.

Choose The Right Desk Size

Before a desk should be ergonomic that allows you to adjust the height accordingly, a desk should be of the right size that suit your needs.

A simple work desk should minimally able to put a laptop with some space for you to use your mouse, any standing desk smaller than that is too small to be a good working desk.

Minimum width of a desk should be at least 24 inches (60.9cm) with a depth of not less than 18 inches (47.7cm) which typically accommodate the width and depth of a laptop.

When choosing the right desk size, ask yourself these few questions:

• Will I be able to fit all my work supplies on my desk?
• Will I be able to place one or two extra monitors on my desk if I want to?
• Will there be sufficient space for me to maneuver my mouse on the desk before it fall out from the edge of the desk?
• Will I feel comfortable working for long hours on the desk?
• Can I position my monitor an arms length when I am working?
• Will I be able to place my arm in a comfortable position while I work?
• Will the new desk be too big or too small for my new workspace?

These are just some simple questions you can ask, and if you like, you can get a measuring tap when answering these questions.

Personally, as I am a guy who is one the bigger size as according to the scale, I find the dimension of 24 x 18in (60.9 x 47.7cm) to be too small for my comfort, and will prefer at least 30 x 20in (76.2 x 50.8cm) for a desk big enough for me to comfortably put my laptop and my mouse.

Height Adjustment Method

Height adjustment of a desk often can be made through of of these two-methods:

• Manual height adjustment of the desk using hand crank or trying to put something under the legs of the desk.
• Electric height adjustment of the desk using motorized system with a click of a button or through programmed memory presets.

Manual hand crank to to adjust the height of the working desk can be practical if you only need to make adjustment once or twice a year. With the manual adjustment method, you’ll need to remove all items on the desk before any adjustment can be made, oftentimes you will be spending most of your time trying to make micro adjustment to the height to find one that fits you.

Electric height adjustment let you changing the height of the desk with a simple click, allowing you to switch different working posture through the day (sitting, standing, semi-squatting). Adjusting the height of the desk is just in matters of seconds without the hassle of removing any items on the desk before changing the height.

With electric height adjustment, it comes with a different number of motors,

• Single-motor system
• Dual-motor system

Although the difference between them are quite insignificant, the lifting power of a dual motor is generally higher and is more stable when making height adjustments.

If you are like me who will be only placing 2 monitors, a laptop, some books and a rack on the table, I personally don’t think single-motor system and dual-motor system makes much of a difference.

High Level Of Safety And Durability

An adjustable ergonomic standing desk will only be a great addition to a home office, if the desk is sturdy and stable, able to withstand the loads that you will commonly put on the work desk.

At minimal, an office desk will have an weight limit of 15lbs (6.8kg) which is able to handle the average weight of an laptop which is 2 to 8lbs (1 to 3.6kg), a mouse and resting of our hands when we are working on the desk.

If you are going to add another monitor, some books, or adding a rack, most of these low-quality standing desk will collapse which can be quite dangerous.

For the long-term, you will probably need a desk which is more durable, stable and sturdy enough for you to put all the items you’ll need to work effectively.

Personally, I will recommends a standing desk that can handle at least 50lbs (22.7kg) which means I can easily put my laptop with two monitors, some books and a pot of plant without any issue.

High quality desk are checked to pass stability and durability test, where it is stable even when a lot of weight is pressed on the desk, durable to last for years, making the financial investment on a good standing desk worthwhile.

Height Of The Desk

Height is probably one of the main factors when choosing the right desk, and understanding the height range of the adjustable desk while you are sitting and standing is an important consideration.

• Optimal sitting height of desk is by dividing your height by 2.5.
• Optimal standing height of desk is by multiplying your height by 0.6.

Using the formula as recommended by the furniture retailer WayFair, I tried adjusting my height-adjustable desk accordingly while I stand and sit, I find this guideline quite accurate, with approx. half to 1 inch (1.27 to 2.54cm) difference.

With my height of approx. 7 feet (1.8meters), I find a setting the desk to a height of 28.7in (73cm) and a standing height of 41.7in (106cm) most comfortable.

For your ease on setting the right height for your desk, we’ve create a simple guide for different desk height for each person.

Sitting and Standing Desk Height Chart For Ergonomics

Of course, the most comfortable height of a desk will probably vary for different people, as all of us are different in many ways,

• Different torso length
• Different leg length
• Different arm length

There is no hard and fast rule, on what the height of the desk should be, just adjust your desk height according to where you feel the most comfortable an it is usually good enough.