Efficient Hospitals Thanks to LED’s?

Energy use constitutes as one of the largest costs in hospitals, but it is also one of the most controllable costs. Hospitals in the U.S. spend an average of $1.67 on electricity per square foot annually. Some estimates suggest that hospitals spend between 40% – 60% of their total energy budget on lighting alone. With U.S. Department of Energy studies confirming that lighting costs account for as much as 40% or more of the average hospital’s total energy expenses, upgrades involving high-performing, energy-efficient LED technology can be a quick and easy way to improve a hospital’s lighting quality while significantly reducing operating costs.

LED lighting is exceptionally efficient which pays dividends in hospitals where lights operate day and night. It boasts life-span more than twice the average span of a conventional bulb, and require far less maintenance. Moreover, as sticker prices continue to fall for LEDs, the cost-benefit analysis has shifted remarkably in favour of the companies making the switch.

In addition to their efficiency, LEDs are also noted for meaningful contributions to quality of care itself. Below are some such advantages:

• The first and the most obvious one being that LED lighting technology in hospitals lower the energy bill and reduce carbon footprint.
• Maintenance is another positive point. The LED lighting solution requires little maintenance and boasts long lifespan.
• It’s 70% more efficient than other forms of lighting such as traditional fluorescent lights and can last up to ten times longer, reducing man-hours and improving inventory control thereby increasing net operating profitability margins.
• They’re mercury free and therefore hazardous free. Disposal doesn’t cost anything nor do they need to be handled with care.

Additional benefits also apply in the operating room. In 2011, The U.S. Department of Energy, in its LED Surgical Task Lighting study confirmed that, compared with halogen lights, LED lights:

• Cooler to the touch and emitted less heat into the room.
• Promised greater life and a non-catastrophic failure mechanism.

A recent study released at the CleanMed conference revealed that U.S. hospitals can achieve a 60% overall energy reduction. This translates into annual savings of over $700,000 for a new hospital built to code. These large reductions in operating costs and improved efficiency allows hospitals to focus on what’s most important: patient care. If lighting expenses can be reduced by even 10%, that’s a significant savings in energy consumption and savings that can be transferred directly to patient care.

Imagine the impact on your business if you reduced your lighting related expenses by over

In addition to the operational benefits, the medical community has identified several other benefits non-monetary benefits of switching to LED’s:

• Proper lighting can help alleviate seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a condition related to the decrease in sunlight in the winter months.
• Elimination of flickering lights, which can have a deleterious effect on individuals who fall within the autism spectrum.
• Blue lighting, according to some research, may help patients with Alzheimer’s to sleep better.
• Dynamic lighting is one element of a multi-pronged approach to help put MRI patients at ease during the procedure.
• LED lighting is favourable for MRI diagnostic areas due to its light quality and its endurance within such an environment due to filaments unaffected by magnetic fields.
• LEDs conform to AIA Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospital and Health Care Facilities by eliminating mercury.
• LED lighting is being used as a healing agent to help ameliorate the side-effects of chemotherapy and improve infant skin diseases.
• CT and Ultrasound scan rooms have adapted dimmable LED bulbs and tubes for improved examination and patient comfort.
• The higher lumen output of LEDs helps reduce errors made by medical practitioners in examination and surgical rooms.

So let’s ask ourselves the very question that all of this was leading to…When do you want to make the change?

Contact us today for your LED requirements!