UpDown Desks Australia Blog

How to Lower a Standing Desk: Tips for Electric & Manual Desks

how to lower standing desk

In today’s era, many of us find ourselves working in an office where we sit at our desks for long hours. Perhaps you’re tired of sitting for the whole day and you’re looking into a sit-stand desk to increase productivity, but don’t know if it's for you or how it works. 

Maybe you’re curious about how to lower a standing desk and need assistance. If so, you've come to the right place. At UpDown Desk, we're the premier choice for height adjustable desks in Australia. Whether you're looking for an electric corner standing desk or a traditional rectangular sit stand ergonomic desk - you'll find what you're looking for in our catalog. And, you can rest assured you're getting the most bang for your buck.

But today, we're not just going to tell you why our desks are so awesome and help you find the right one. We're going to teach you how to lower a standing desk the right way. You'll learn how to lower both an electric adjustable standing desk and a manual sit stand desk. The following guide will answer this question and show you how to properly lower a standing desk so that you can take full advantage of all its glorious benefits. First, though, we're going to help you pick your new desk if you haven't done so already.

    First Things First - Which Type of Standing Desk Is For Me?

    Let's get one thing out of the way first and foremost - standing desks are worth every penny. They are a great addition to your office furniture and have been shown to improve your work productivity, mental health, and decrease the risk of developing heart disease. 

    And if you already have a desk and just came here to learn how to lower it - you can skip ahead and read the section below this one. Because before we jump into the how-to aspect of today's discussion, it’s important to understand the different types of standing desks. You should also consider what peripherals you want to get along with your standing desk, like whether you need a balance board or a mat.

    Electric Standing Desk

    These standing desks can go all the way from being seated to fully standing. They are fully motorized and all it takes to adjust the height is a push of a button on the desk console. The console is usually fitted with 2 arrows, up and down, and usually comes with 4 preset height positions which makes it easier to quickly adjust to these positions.

    Manual Standing Desk

    Manual standing desks aren’t motorized. Rather, they rely on a winding handle or lever to change their height. These desks still provide you with the ability to switch between sitting and standing.

    Standing Desk Converters

    Sit stand desk converters, also called desktop risers or toppers, are adjustable units that are placed on top of an existing desktop. They usually have two paddles on the sides of the frame that are used to alter the height of the desk. They are usually made up of two surfaces, a desktop surface for your monitors and a keyboard surface. Consider getting yourself an ergonomic chair with your standing desk or converter to make yourself even more comfortable. You can take a look at our yearly review of the best standing desk converters here if you want to learn more.

    How to Lower a Standing Desk

    Ready to learn how to lower a standing desk? We're going to guide you through it below. Depending on the desk you decide on, it’s important to know how to correctly lower each type. So, let's start with how to lower an electric standing desk. Then, we'll walk you through how to lower a manual standing desk - which requires just a bit more work.

    How To Lower Electric Standing Desk

    Electric standing desks are easy to operate. All it needs is the push of a button to change the height position of your desk.

    Locate the height adjustment toggle on the controller. It’s usually located in the middle of the desk. Press the up-arrow button to increase the height of the desk and press the down arrow to lower it.

    Some electric standing desks come with a LED display that is fitted onto the console. The LED display on the controller will change as you alter the height of the desk. This number ranges from 0 to 100, where 100 represents the highest point that the desk can reach and 0 is the lowest.

    When you’ve reached your desired height, let go of the button and take a seat. An awesome additional feature of certain electric standing desks is that you can program 4 different height positions to the controller’s pre-sets. This would be located on the controller if the electric desk has one. This addition makes it easy to select your preferred height from the touch of a button.

    How To Lower Manual Standing Desk

    To lower a manual standing desk, you need to locate the winding handle. Some manual standing desks don’t have a handle, if this is the case then look for pressure paddles.

    Once located, twist the handle in the correct direction to lower the desk to your preferred height. If your manual standing chair has pressure paddles, then squeeze down on them and push the desk down at the same time to lower it.

    The moment you have reached your desired height position, you can let go of the handle and the desk will stay in this position. If you lower the desk using the paddles, let go and listen for a click sound. This will tell you that the desk will be locked in position.

    If you find that your standing desk won’t go up, remove some of the weight on the desk and make sure there are no obstructions in its travel path.

    how to lower standing desk converters

    Adjusting the height of standing desk converters is simple. To lower the desk, locate the handles on both undersides of the top section of the desk - this is usually where your monitors are placed.

    Once found, gently squeeze the handles and press down on the desk to lower it to your desired height. Both handles need to be squeezed to lower the desk. If only one handle is squeezed, the standing desk won’t go down.

    When you’re satisfied with the height, let go of the handles and lightly push the desk down until you hear a click. This indicates the desk is now securely locked into position and is ready to use.

    Final Thoughts on How to Lower a Standing Desk

    There are many innovations to give workers a healthy work life, such as standing desks, exercise balls and others. Standing desks have been shown to boost energy levels, increase mental health, and promote overall health and well-being.

    Making the switch to a sit stand desk has many advantages, and this article shows how simple it is to use and alter its height. Want to learn more about setting up your height adjustable desk? We have a complete guide on how to program a standing desk that will help you set your sitting and standing presets to perfection - check it out! If your desk isn't working properly, our article discussing reasons why your standing desk won't go up is another great resource. If you have any other specific questions you want to be answered, don't hesitate to reach out to us here at UpDown Desk. We're on a mission to help Australians build more productive and comfortable workspaces, and are excited to assist you!

    Previous
    My Standing Desk Won't Go Up: Causes & Fixes
    Next
    UpDown Standing Desk Pro Series Review by Impulse Gamer