Hospital Addition Builds On Sustainability

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.

Hospital Addition Builds On Sustainability Children’s hospital wing uses lighting and control technology to help earn LEED for Healthcare Platinum certification.

Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central 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 continue 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 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

installed throughout the building: patient rooms, corridors, nurses’ stations, and office spaces.

“We chose a lighting-control system based on compatibility with the LED lighting fixtures we were looking at,” said Horras. “We had it narrowed down to three manufacturers but the final decision was made by the performance specifications and the capability, compared to similar systems. These specific LED luminaires and controls, compared to the originally specified high-performance fluorescents, resulted in an initial cost reduction of $75,000.”

To achieve additional energy savings and maintenance costs, 2,878 nLight devices were installed. Motion sensors are now being used in 95% of the building and in the 72 new patient rooms. The controls are also being used to track energy use in the facility.

SEEING THE GREEN The VT-series LED luminaires deliver the majority of the lighting and energy savings for the new wing. The fixtures illuminate hallways and common areas. To match the look and light levels of the current hospital, the hallway fixtures are set to approximately 40% to 50% light output at all times. A time clock does not have the ability to manage all 72 rooms equipped with sensors. But, the VT luminaires in the hallways and corridors provide a simple solution because they feature digital lighting controls integrated directly into the fixture during the manufacturing process. The luminaires also integrate directly with a hospital nurse-call system to illuminate differently during a code-blue incident (cardiac arrest, breathing difficulties). If anyone touches a code-blue button, lights turn on in the entire corridor.

In addition to the LED fixtures and controls, also installed in the medical center were LED Step Lights from Winona, also an Acuity brand, as a nightlight in patient bathrooms. The unit’s amber light does not disrupt patient sleep cycles while offering enough illumination to provide quality lighting to help patients avoid slipping and falling.

The nLight-enabled luminaires, installed throughout the new patient tower, are helping to increase patient safety and reduce maintenance and energy costs. Between May 2013 and February 2014, the medical center reported a total savings of approximately 180,000 kWh from the use of controls, including occupancy sensors, photocells, dimming, and switching.

Dell became the first hospital in the world to achieve LEED for Healthcare Platinum certification. To do this, strict guidelines were followed, and at least 80 out of the 100 points possible had to be earned.

“It’s a high bar,” explained Brendan Owens, vice president of LEED technical development, U.S.

Below. The mission was to create a green hospital and continue to build on the sustainability accomplishments already achieved with the original hospital construction.

Above. Lithonia VT-series LED luminaires deliver the majority of the lighting and energy savings for the new wing. These fixtures illuminate hallways and common areas.

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Left. To achieve additional energy savings and maintenance costs, motion sensors were installed in 95% of the building and in the 72 new patient rooms.

Right. Nightlights with an amber light that does not disrupt patient sleep cycles were installed. The lights offer enough illumination to provide quality lighting to help prevent slips and falls.

Green Building Council, Washington. “LEED platinum, which means a project team has achieved at least 80% of the available points, requires a project team to take a highly integrated approach to building design, construction, and operations. Because of the importance of lighting from a whole-building energy perspective, USGBC emphasizes lighting efficiency as a key strategy to optimize operational energy use.” Hospital administrators worked diligently to achieve LEED Platinum certifi cation. “We have received great feedback because we have achieved LEED Platinum for healthcare guidelines,” said Horras. “That is very diffi cult to achieve. This is one of the few projects to get LEED under the new guidelines, and one of two medical centers that have achieved any level of certifi cation based on the new healthcare guidelines.” Even after achieving LEED Platinum status, administrators at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas are still working to improve energy reductions. Further energy savings are expected from adjusting lighting and controls strategies moving forward. CBP

DATA CACHE

Want more information? The resources below are linked in our digital magazine at cbpmagazine.com/digital/oct2014.

Circle 4 on the Reader Service Card.

Listen to our Commercial Conversation podcast to hear a panel of experts discuss the current state of lighting technology and what the future holds.

Learn about healthcare lighting solutions. Learn about healthcare lighting solutions.

Download a spec sheet on Winona’s STEP11 square step light.

Download a spec sheet for Lithonia VT Volumetric troffer.

LED Retrofi ts Light Up College Library

Terralux retrofit kits improve efficiency and lighting at Dartmouth College.

Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, administrators recently initiated a campus-wide project to improve effi ciency and make the college’s operations more eco-friendly. One major focus was upgrading existing light fi xtures to reduce energy use.

The Baker-Berry Library was one of the buildings targeted.

The library doors first opened in 1928. Over the years, the library was expanded with additions to accommodate the growth of the college and the library collection. A new library was completed in 2002.

The new facilities allowed the college to create new study spaces, office space, a media center, classrooms, a café, and to increase the library’s collection capacity from one million to two million volumes.

The library has a modern, sleek design that is aesthetically appealing but created challenges for maintenance staff as they prepared to update lighting in the building. Sections of the ceiling in the library are constructed with perforated metal and other areas are solid sheet rock. This made it nearly impossible for the maintenance staff to install new light fixtures that were more energy efficient.

To install new fixtures, the maintenance staff had to locate a fixture that would identically match the current openings cut into the ceiling. Even then, wiring the new fixtures was difficult because access was extremely restricted. Ideally, a solution was needed that would leave the current fixtures in place and retrofit them to be more efficient.

Maintenance staff began by researching LED can-light fixtures. During the investigation, it was discovered that there were no 8-in. LED can-light fixtures on the market. Only 6-in. fixtures were available. Realizing replacing the fixtures already mounted in the library ceiling would not be possible, the maintenance crew began to consider other upgrade options.

LED retrofit kits were determined to be the best alternative to replacing the fixtures. Longmont, CO-based Terralux’s LED

DLR7-H downlight retrofit kit was chosen for the project.

“We selected Terralux for the LED retrofit project in Baker-Berry

Library because its products could be installed so easily from below without needing access from above in the ceiling,” said Sam Zucker, electrical-engineering designer at Dartmouth College. “Once the old bulbs and ballasts were removed, we simply installed the Terralux units in the existing reflectors, twisted together a few wires, and the installation was complete, each fixture only took a few minutes.”

The retrofit kits are designed for fast installation and are rigorously tested to ensure long-term quality. The kit requires no rewiring or extra hardware. It connects directly to the mains, requiring no electronic driver, even in 277-V applications.

Kits are Energy Star certified and contain all accessories an installer needs, including mounting brackets, screws, wire nuts, and a UL 1598C Classified (LED retrofit kit) that allows any qualified electrician to retrofit any fixture on-site while keeping the UL listing on the fixture. In five minutes or less the DLR7-H LED retrofit kit can be permanently installed, transforming any existing fixture into a more energy-efficient unit.

Recessed downlights can be challenging to retrofit, as heat is a major concern for LEDs. The DLR7-H has LEDSense circuitry allowing installation in any fixtures, even sealed. The unique design of the engine transfers heat emitted from the LEDs to the metal fixture housing, providing further protection from the LEDSense circuitry. If the heat is too high, above 180 F, LEDSense will protect the LEDs and components by lowering the power until a safe temperature is reached, preserving the LED lifespan.

The kit can be set to be 120-V compatible with phase dimming or 100- to 277-V compatible with 0- to 10-V dimming. Available in five color temperatures—2,700 K, 3,000 K, 3,500 K, 4,000 K, and 5,000 K—color quality is improved even as energy is saved.

“Many modern buildings are designed with unique aesthetic features that make it problematic to upgrade lighting once it is installed. Electrical contractors simply cannot gain the access they need to replace a fixture with one that has up-to-date technology and is more energy efficient,” said Terralux’s Matthew Sallee. “But, more importantly, there is often no reason for a building to replace fixtures even if the job is simple. Too often fixtures and the raw materials they are constructed with are tossed into landfills when the light could have easily been upgraded with an LED retrofit kit.”

To install the retrofit kits in the Baker-Berry library ceiling can lights, Zucker and his staff began by removing the fluorescent lamps and the ballast from each fixture. Two 26-W G24 base lamps powered each can light in the library. These were replaced with the DLH7 4-in., 16-W dual units. Some of the lights were also retrofit for dimming capabilities.

The improved lighting quality of the LEDs, versus the fluorescent lamps, was so great that the maintenance staff was able to remove 100 light fixtures from the library ceiling. This reduction, combined with the reduced energy draw of the LEDs, has resulted in a two-thirds reduction of energy consumption. CBP

The DLR7-H retrofi t has LEDSense circuitry, allowing installation in recessed downlights.

DATA CACHE

Want more information? The resources below are linked in our digital magazine at cbpmagazine.com/digital/oct2014.

Circle 5 on the Reader Service Card. LEDs improved the lighting quality to the extent that fewer fi xtures were needed to light the library.

EDITORS’ CHOICE

High-bay LED fixture

GAU-48-160W-LED:

High-bay LED fixture Replaces T5HO fixtures Surface mount or suspend

LED luminaire Lumination BR series LED luminaire is a recessed troffer said to reduce glare in T-grid ceilings. The unit fits into existing drop ceilings and has an easy-to-access cover. The series is available in sizes 1 ft. x 4 ft., 2 ft. x 4 ft., and 2 ft. x 2 ft. with a lumen range of 3,300 to 5,000.

GE Lighting, East Cleveland, OH Circle 74

GAU-48-160W-LED fixture is a general use high-bay LED linear fixture said to provide 17,215 lumens in a 160-deg. beam spread. e low-profile fixture is a replacement for four-lamp T5HO fixtures. Housed in an aluminum casing, the LED assembly is protected by a polycarbonate lens. e unit operates on 110 to 277 VAC and has a 10-ft. line-in cable. A low-voltage model is also available. e unit uses no ballast, resulting in a slim profile. e fixture can be surface mounted or hung from cable or chain and includes built-in mounts.

Larson Electronics, Kemp, TX Circle 73

LED recessed downlights LED architectural recessed downlights for new construction are available in a variety of aperture sizes, color temperatures, and wattages. The luminaires install like a traditional recessed fixture and use a quick-connect LED module. The fixtures can be vertically adjusted as much as 5 in.

MaxLite, West Caldwell, NJ Circle 75

Compact LEDs HDL-LED series replaces linear fluorescent fixtures. With marine-grade construction, conformal-coated circuit boards, and a potted driver, the fixtures reportedly withstand the elements. For continuous row mounting, the series provides 30-, 60-, and 90-W configurations, delivering 3,000, 6,000, and 9,000 lumens, respectively. The fixtures have an AC or DC driver with a dimmable option.

Phoenix Products Co., Milwaukee Circle 77

Pre-fab plates Pre-fab plates are said to provide safe installation of hanging boxes. Four models are available and include configurations for larger boxes and horizontal and vertical mountings. Plates have stamped markings that provide installation guidelines. No cutting is required and pinholes and slots allow use of conduit straps.

Orbit Industries, Los Angeles Circle 76

Light sources V10 and V15 LED chips are part of the V series line of LED chip on-board light sources. Used in the Vero line of LEDs, the products are said to provide high flux density in small light-source-sized packages. Applications include downlights, track and spot lighting, and landscape lighting.

Bridgelux, Livermore, CA Circle 78