Replacing old T5 and T8 fluorescent lamps with more efficient LED lighting as part of a scheme which aims to cut the Trust’s carbon footprint by up to 60 per cent may deliver up to a 50 per cent energy saving at Goole and District Hospital.
So say recent estimates from the hospital – one of three under the auspices of the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG), and 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, funding received via the Modern Energy Partners Pathfinder initiative allowed the Trust to develop a decarbonisation programme at GDH. Alongside major heat decarbonisation upgrades, it was aware that a substantial refurbishment to the lighting would not only deliver greatly improved levels of lighting for both staff and patients, but also deliver significant energy, carbon, cost, and maintenance savings. Centrica Business Solutions (Centrica) – appointed to deliver the energy-saving programme – turned to Contrac Lighting in to devise the optimum lighting solution.
Most of the of fittings that needed upgrading were in offices, corridors, and some public areas. After a site survey and discussions with the Trust, Contrac Lighting came up with bespoke versions of its Scout and Academy luminaires – ‘energy-efficient’, surface-mounted luminaires designed to cover the existing mounting points. Within this is housed the LED, the driver, and the microwave movement sensors.
The Trust said: “While it’s too early to confirm the actual energy savings, it is estimated that replacing existing 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 also eliminates the need for light switches, thus reducing the chance of spreading infection.
Phil Stubbs, Project engineer at Centrica, said: “There were nearly 1000 units to be replaced, and keeping the original dimensions saved us and the Trust a considerable time and additional cost, as very little making good was 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 provide a much softer light during the night, without compromising on the basic requirements of lighting for patient care and safety. Despite the extra constraints due to the pandemic, the Contrac team completed the full refurbishment programme by the late September 2021, without having to close any of the areas of the hospital.
Next on the Trust’ list for is an upgrade of emergency lighting. The Tridonic LED boards (Module LLE 24mm 1250lm HV ADV5) fitted into each of the new luminaires come with a five-year guarantee and a 72,000 hour operating lifetime, also offering high colour rendering and colour consistency. The luminaires also incorporate Tridonic's LC 50W 250/300/350mA fixC Ip SNC2 driver, which has a nominal 50,000-hour lifetime.
