“Installing new, energy efficient LED lighting at our hospital in Goole is part of a larger scheme of works which aims to reduce our carbon footprint by up to 60%.”
Goole and District Hospital (GDH) is one of three hospitals that come under the auspices of the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG). It is home to an Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) and the Goole Neuro-rehabilitation Centre, which treats patients with brain injuries and other neurological conditions from across the country.
In 2020, the Trust was successful in obtaining funding via the Modern Energy Partners Pathfinder initiative. This allowed them to develop a decarbonisation programme at GDH. In addition to major heat decarbonisation upgrades, the Trust was aware that a substantial refurbishment to GDH’s lighting would not only deliver greatly improved levels of lighting for both staff and patients, but would also deliver significant energy, carbon, cost and maintenance savings.
Centrica Business Solutions (Centrica), were appointed by NLaG to deliver the programme of energy saving measures. Centrica then turned to Contrac Lighting in May 2021 to devise the optimum lighting solution required by the Trust.
The majority of fittings that needed upgrading were in offices, corridors and some public areas. After surveying the site and talking with the Trust, Contrac Lighting came up with bespoke versions of its Scout and Academy luminaires. These are energy efficient, surface mounted luminaire that designed to cover the existing mounting points. Within this is housed the LED, the driver and the microwave movement sensors.
Whilst it is too early to confirm the actual energy savings, it is estimated that the replacement of the old T5 and T8 fluorescent lamps with more efficient LED lighting may deliver up to a 50 percent energy saving. The use of microwave movement sensors (Tridonic’s smartSWITCH HF 5DP f), not only adds a further energy saving as lights are dimmed if no movement is detected after a set period, but it also eliminates the need for light switches, thus reducing the chance of spreading infection. Phil Stubbs, project engineer at Centrica, continues; “There were nearly 1000 units to be replaced and keeping the original dimensions saved us and the Trust a considerable amount of time and additional cost as there was very little making good required.”
Some of the new units have been installed in surgical theatres and wards, where the lighting requirements are slightly different. The surgeons have individual control over the light levels using dimming switches. On the wards, smaller LEDs have been installed which provide a much softer light during the night without compromising on the basic requirements of lighting for the care and safety of the patients. Despite the extra restrictions and precautions required because of the pandemic, the Contrac team completed the full refurbishment programme by the end of September 2021, and without the need for closing any of the areas within the hospital.
Jug Johal, the Trust’s Director of Estates and Facilities and Programme Director said; “Installing new, energy efficient LED lighting at our hospital in Goole is part of a larger scheme of works which aims to reduce our carbon footprint by up to 60%.
“This is really important to us, as environmental factors can have a huge impact on people’s health, contributing to the prevalence of conditions such as cancer and cardiac issues.
“By reducing our carbon footprint and implementing more energy efficient technology such as this new lighting, we ensure we’re doing our part to keep our planet healthy, as well as our local communities.” Next on the list for the Trust is an upgrade of the emergency lighting.
The Tridonic LED boards, (Module LLE 24mm 1250lm HV ADV5) which are fitted into each of the new luminaires, come with a five-year guarantee and an operating lifetime of 72,000 hours, which helps to deliver significant savings for the Trust in terms of maintenance costs and time. This is coupled with high colour rendering and colour consistency, a key consideration for the delivered lighting quality in this specialist environment. The luminaires also incorporate Tridonic’s LC 50W 250/300/350mA fixC Ip SNC2 driver, which has a nominal 50,000 hours’ lifetime.
Please visit www.tridonic.com to find out more.
