HCO News recently touched base with John Davenport, chief scientist of Energy Focus, on the positive aspects of LED lighting for healthcare venues and some of the recent advances in LED tech. Due to LED tech’s growing popularity, requests were put in place to have LED-based lighting installed in many medical centers and clinics in the surrounding area with the help of local services similar to the electrician bentleigh company, Fernee. To date, Energy Focus has facilitated the retrofitting of fluorescent lights with state-of-the-art LED technology at more than 60 facilities, ranging from the National Institutes of Health, Cleveland Clinic, and Mayo Clinic to the Mount Sinai Health System.

HCO News: How can healthcare professionals benefit from the visual acuity and actual color rendering light that LED lighting provides?

DAVENPORT: LEDs, in general, produce a closer match to the smooth solar spectrum which contains all the colors and do a better job making colors look more like they might appear under sunlight. By comparison, fluorescent spectrums are typically “spiky” and as a result are deficient in many colors – particularly red. Many healthcare professionals, particularly those who are sensitive to fluorescent’s “spiky” spectrum, find living and working under LEDs a welcome relief as fluorescent lamps’ light output can change as the AC power line goes to zero 120 times a second. Such light modulation or “flicker” can have serious negative health consequences including causing headaches as well as interfering with performing tasks involving rapid eye movement – such as reading. This is particularly important for critical health care reading tasks such as, for example, quickly selecting the proper dosage morphine ampoule for a patient who has just developed an acute pulmonary edema. While LEDs can also produce “flicker,” LED products incorporating advanced “flicker-free” LED technology effectively reduce flicker levels to zero.

HCO News: How can the health hazards of fluorescent lighting can be alleviated by LED lighting?

DAVENPORT: LEDs emit light in a continuous, non-spiky, spectrum – like the sun – so all the colors are present in a smooth and continuous way; LEDs don’t emit light in the UV so, unlike fluorescent, there’s no risk of UV exposure; LEDs are a solid state light source so, unlike fluorescent, there is no mercury discharge – and thus no mercury hazard; unlike fluorescents, LEDs don’t require a near vacuum to operate and therefore there’s no risk of a glass implosion if you drop one. While LEDs can — like fluorescent can — produce “flicker,” advanced products using “flicker-free” LED technology are now available that have effectively reduced flicker to zero.

HCO News: What are the advantages of flicker-free LED lights over earlier-generation LED technology?

DAVENPORT: Everyone is sensitive to flicker to some degree. It may contribute to headaches, eyestrain and fatigue; research also suggests it can exacerbate migraines. Certain individuals, such as those on the autism spectrum, experience visual hypersensitivity, where lighting triggers can result in heightened symptoms. Flicker can also induce stop-seizures-meds.com in people with photosensitive epilepsy. While there are no standards that require lighting manufacturers to remove flicker, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE 1789) indicates that having less than five percent flicker (at power line frequency) presents a low risk to these populations. LED Lamps incorporating “flicker-free” technology with flicker levels of less than one percent eliminate these risks altogether.

HCO News: Is there an effective way for LEDs to play a role in preparing healthcare facilities for emergencies such as power outages?

DAVENPORT: Since LED tubes use fewer than half the watts of fluorescent tubes and since most of the space inside a modern LED tube is empty, some of the space can be occupied by re-chargeable batteries. This means that the light can never “go out” in a healthcare facility. These “emergency” lights monitor the power line and automatically revert to battery operation in the event of a power failure. While the light might only be available for a few hours, they provide ample time for “back-up” power electrical generators to engage for a prolonged outage.

HCO News: Can hospitals save significantly on energy costs by utilizing LED lighting?

DAVENPORT: LED tubes use fewer than half the watts of fluorescent and have many times the life. As a result, hospital savings can be substantial. A Department of Energy Study has reported, for example, that The Cleveland Clinic has saved more than $717,800 in electricity costs annually after upgrading 49,900 fixtures from fluorescent to LED tubes. In addition, since LED tubes last much longer than fluorescent, the cost to maintain the lighting is also drastically reduced. Switching to LEDs literally pays for itself – often in less than a year.

HCO News: What is the process of retrofitting existing fluorescent lights with LED lighting?

DAVENPORT: Switching to LED tubes is a simple process of turning off the power, rewiring the sockets to bypass the fluorescent ballast and turning the power back on – something that might take 15 minutes per fixture to accomplish by a hospital’s maintenance staff or an external retrofitting company.

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Water Woes

Maintaining hospitals and health care facilities requires significant water and energy use. The water used in hospitals and other health care facilities represents 7 percent of the total water use in commercial and institutional facilities in the U.S., according to WaterSense, a partnership program with the Environmental Protection Agency. Depending on size, location and other factors, water use in health care facilities can range from 68,750 to 298,013 gallons per year per bed.

Restrooms are blamed for much of the burden. Domestic and restroom uses of water account for 35 percent of hospitals overall consumption of water beating out all other end-use categories, such as heating and cooling.

Hospital facility managers can benefit from environmental and efficiency standpoints by auditing water usage, making operational improvements and upgrading plumbing fixtures. A team of plumbers that specialize in hot water installation in Brisbane are also going to install a hot water system into the hospital restrooms.

Low-flow, water-conserving fixtures have become the standard in commercial restrooms. For example, while high-efficiency toilets use less water to flush waste, dual-flush toilets conserve water by using different amounts of water for various flushing needs. Most models use 1.6 gallons per flush (GPF) for solid waste and 0.8 gallons for liquid waste. This ensures that water isn’t wasted, as restrooms are using only what they need to. Some commercial companies even look to services similar to Robinsons Facilities Services (https://www.robinsonsfs.com) to help ensure that commercial facilities are equipped for repairs and inspections if needed, ensuring that they are able to save water.

For even greater water savings, ultra-low flow toilets and waterless urinals may be used, while sensor-activated flush meters are an option for controlling water use at peak times. The facility has been showing interest in changing to this new water-saving measure for some time, seeking the aid of a local plumbing service (visit now for more information). In addition to this, the plan may include tankless water heaters instead of the traditional water heater. Tankless water heaters concealed within the pedestal of lavatory systems are another way to increase efficiency. Much like your home, you’ll need to have a hot water tank to drive up efficiency, for more information, you may want to check out the Hot Water Heater Expansion Tank How They Work & Do You Need One. These tankless units to heat only the amount of hot water needed for each use, which eliminates wasting electricity to heat an entire hot water tank for restrooms.

Better Hygiene, Better Health

The CDC estimates that hospital patients in the United States acquire about 722,000 infections each year, which is equivalent to approximately one infection for every 25 patients. Germs that reside in restrooms exacerbate the situation, as a 2011 study at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville found that restrooms in three health care facilities yielded seven bugs that are responsible for two-thirds of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

Restroom design using updated and attractive hand-washing fixtures in addition to keeping a clean and well-maintained restroom environment can go a long way in helping to promote good hand hygiene by patients, staff and visitors.

Durable & Sustainable

Fixtures made of durable, natural and recycled materials are growing in popularity. One new example is a molded natural quartz material that can be sculpted into a range of design options and shapes. Composed of an eco-friendly resin made of soy and corn, natural quartz is Greenguard certified, virtually maintenance-free and doesnt require sealing or buffing. Its smooth, seamless finish also has a non-porous surface so it does not support microbial growth.

Hands-Free Fixtures

Touching conventional faucet handles, even after washing, recontaminates just-cleaned hands. Sensor-operated faucets, flush valves, soap dispensers and hand dryers help minimize touchpoints (faucet handles, door latches and damp areas) on germ-ridden restroom surfaces and reduce cross-contamination.

High-speed touchless hand dryers also promote hand drying with hygienic benefits but without excess paper waste, expense and extra maintenance. Newer models are also highly energy efficient, as they use 80 percent less electricity than older hand dryers, while drying hands in as little as 10 to 12 seconds.

Solid Surface

Lavatories made from smooth, non-porous solid surface material can help guard against dirt buildup, and the growth of mold or bacteria. Solid surface fixtures also feature an integrated bowl design that eliminates cracks and crevices in which microbes can hide and further helps prevent the spread of germs.

No matter what equipment is being specified for a hospitals or health care facilitys restroom, its essential to select high-quality durable restroom furnishings. Higher-quality washroom fixtures made of durable materials have hygienic qualities, are more resistant to wear and tear, and can significantly reduce upkeep and maintenance so staff can focus on other duties. While promoting hand-washing practices, these fixtures also save money on labor, materials and repairs costs over time.

Will Haas is product manager for Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based Bradley Corporation, a USGBC member and manufacturer of locker room products, plumbing fixtures, washroom accessories, partitions and emergency fixtures.

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