8 minute read
Florida Clinic Lights Way To Efficiency
Watson Clinic LLP of Lakeland, FL, is one of the largest multi-specialty medical clinics in the southeast, with more than 220 board-certifi ed physicians representing more than 40 medical and surgical specialties.
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Florida Clinic Lights Way To Effi ciency Medical facility enjoys energy savings and more light from a system that pays for itself.
Throughout the years, Watson Clinic LLP, at its main clinic in Lakeland, FL, and 17 other locations in Polk, Pasco, and Hillsborough counties, has initiated numerous facility advancements to ensure the quality and affordability of the care it provides. As advanced lighting technology has become more accessible and affordable, the clinic’s lighting system became a focus for improvement.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Washington, 250 healthcare organizations spend nearly $8.8 billion on energy each year to meet patient needs, so it is no surprise that the energy needs at Watson Clinic are significant. Founded in 1941, Watson is one of the largest multi-specialty medical clinics in the southeast with more than 220 board-certified physicians representing more than 40 medical and surgical specialties.
Realizing that inefficient lighting could play a significant factor in energy usage, Watson Clinic’s assistant director of facilities, Gary Picklesimer, sought to identify a lighting solution that would meet the clinic’s growing needs. He launched a study of the main clinic’s lighting infrastructure to assess how to cut costs while looking to improve operational efficiency.
Picklesimer identified LED lighting as a solution. Compared with the halogen lights the clinic previously used, LED technology offered energy savings, controllability, fixture efficiency, and maintenance savings due to the longer life of LEDs. Additionally, increased lumens/W is driving efficacy improvements, leading to significant operating and maintenance cost reductions.
Aside from energy and costs savings, LEDs are mercury free, unlike fluorescents. Users of LEDs don’t have to worry about proper recycling methods or potential fixture breakage associated with fluorescent tubes and lamps that could lead to hazardous mercury exposure.
In addition, healthcare facilities have rigorous lighting requirements. Doctors and nurses must have high luminosity and superior color rendering to make accurate diagnoses. The patient experience is another factor. Appropriate lighting can mean less stressed, more comfortable patients who have better outcomes and leave with a greater feeling of satisfaction.
After carefully evaluating a number of LED options, Picklesimer chose Cree Inc., Durham, NC, because the company, “offered the best product from a design, cost, and functional standpoint.”
Over a two-year period, Watson Clinic implemented an expansive lighting renovation that included the upgrade of more than 100 fixtures in areas spanning the clinic’s lobby, conference room, procedure room, X-ray room, and exam room.
Picklesimer chose to replace the clinic’s 75-W halogen lamps with Cree LR6 LED downlights that deliver attractive ambient light and energy savings to improve the look of healthcare spaces, along with their bottom lines. Powered by TrueWhite technology, the indoor LED fixtures can deliver the combination of efficacy, 90+ CRI (color-rendering index), and consistent warm or cool color temperatures.
Watson Clinic also installed Cree CR22 and CR24 troffers. The LED troffers deliver clean, crisp light, creating flush ceilings that offer low-glare lighting for patient and staff comfort and help reduce the operating budget. Also powered by TrueWhite technology, the CR22 troffer provides a minimum 90 lumens/W (LPW) standard efficacy, while the CR24 luminaire delivers as much as 5,000 lumens of 90+ CRI light at 90 to 110 LPW. Both fixtures are designed to last 50,000 to 75,000 hr.
Cree also enabled Watson Clinic’s introduction of 0-to-10-V dimming control as it rolls out daylight harvesting throughout its buildings. With daylight harvesting, as the sun rises the lights dim from the edge of the rooms to the middle, saving energy and providing consistent lighting throughout the day. Lighting, using the same fixture
CR22 LED troffers illuminate waiting areas at Watson Clinic and provide a minimum 90
lumens/W standard effi cacy. The fi xtures are said to deliver higher-quality light, longer life, and
greater energy savings than the fl uorescent luminaires they replace .
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Designed to last 50,000 to 75,000 hr. and backed by a fi xture warranty, Cree CR24 LED
architectural troffers now illuminate Watson Clinic’s patient check-in areas.
to achieve various light levels, can also be beneficial for patients as they can control light output as needed.
While advancing its efficiency objectives, the clinic also has more light in each space. Patients have noted how much brighter and cheerier the lobby areas seem, and staff has particularly appreciated the improved lighting in the clinic’s diagnostic exam rooms. “Our doctors love this new lighting system, and our patients love it too—most particularly, our older patients, whose eyesight isn’t generally quite so good. They notice something different, without knowing what it is, and comment on how much better the lobby areas look,” said Picklesimer.
Thanks to the improved lighting, the facilities team has been able to remove eight fixtures in one lobby and 12 in another. It’s estimated that the system can pay for itself in a few years. In continuing its commitment to quality care at an affordable cost, Watson Clinic staff continues to assess operations and enhance efficiencies.
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Want more information? The resources below are linked in our digital magazine at cbpmagazine.com/digital/janfeb2015.
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Download a healthcare lighting application guide.
Learn more about CR series troffers. Learn more about CR series troffers.
Watch a video about how and why Raleigh Orthopaedic Clinic chose a lighting solution.
801.805.6657 www.aquatherm.com
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