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PROJECT
lighting
D
ell Children’s Medical Center of Central
Administrators at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas had specific lighting and energy requirements for the facility’s new 85,000-sq.-ft., 72-bed patient tower and children’s hospital addition.
Texas, part of the Seton Healthcare Family in Austin, TX, needed specific lighting and
energy requirements for a new 85,000-sq.-ft., 72-bed patient tower and children’s hospital, an addition to its existing 500,000-sq.-ft. medical center. Hospital administrators wanted to install an LED lighting system that would perform advanced control functions seamlessly and with ease. “Because LED technology has progressed so much, we wanted to integrate it as much as we could into the new building,” said Phillip Risner, senior project manager at Seton Healthcare Family. The mission was to create a green hospital and con-
tinue to build on the sustainability accomplishments the facility had already achieved with the original hospital construction. Another goal was to achieve LEED for Healthcare Platinum certification for the new patient tower. “Healthcare buildings are so energy and water intensive, and under 24/7 operation, so becoming sustainable is a huge challenge,” said Risner. “But, we were up to it. Since health is holistically related to environmental issues, as well as personal issues, it meant a great deal for us—and to our patients—to try to achieve LEED for Healthcare Platinum certification for sustainability purposes.” There were various requirements for the lighting-controls strategy. Multiple dimming options were required to adjust the lighting for specific reasons, such as reducing light in the hallways at night. Additionally, the hospital’s team wanted the ability to track the energy savings achieved from controlling the lighting. Administrators enlisted the help of Polkinghorn Group Architects, CCRD Partners, Prism Electric, and the Beck Group, all of Austin, to identify lighting and controls solutions for the new patient tower. “The hospital set a goal to achieve LEED for Healthcare Platinum certification, so there was a push for the organization to be environmentally friendly and to be good stewards of sustainability,” said Brian Horras, project manager at Beck. “Because this is a
Hospital Addition Builds On Sustainability Children’s hospital wing uses lighting and control technology to help earn LEED for Healthcare Platinum certification.
new facility, and the client wanted the latest and most effective new technology, they advocated for better lighting and LED. Another bonus is from a maintenance cost standpoint; you don’t have to replace lighting as often with the LEDs.” AFFORDABLE LIGHTING AND CONTROLS
With the goal of installing more than 90% LED throughout the new tower, Lithonia Lighting VT-series LED fixtures and controls from Acuity Controls, Atlanta, calculated to be less expensive and more efficient than other options, were chosen for installation. LED lighting and lighting-control systems were
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COMMERCI A L BUIL DING P RODUC T S
OCTOBER 2014
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