Throughout Huddersfield Royal Infirmary there are over 6,500 light fittings providing lighting to patients and staff. Previously these fittings were florescent light bulbs, which only have a typical lifespan of 4 years and are highly energy inefficient when compared to more up to date solutions.
Our team underwent a whole-estate programme of works to change these bulbs to LED (Light Emitting Diode) fittings as part of a major sustainability strategy.
Rationale
The transition from florescent to LED light fittings provides a significant increase in energy efficiency. LED fittings use less than half the amount of energy than florescent fittings, this allows for a vast reduction in operational costs whilst also promoting sustainability due to reduced energy usage.
Additionally, fluorescent fittings that have a typical lifespan of around 4 years, whereas LED fittings have a typical life expectancy of 20+ years. This substantial increase of asset life will reduce the burden on capital funding requirements over the long-term, as well as reduce the frequency of risk exposure to installation staff and users of the hospital, through maximising renewal/maintenance periods.
Approach
This vast programme of work was carried out in a challenging environment, most notably the pandemic. A detailed schedule was developed and regularly reviewed to allow the contractor to plan the works efficiently around clinical constraints.
LED factsheet
- Typically 80% more efficient than fluorescent / incandescent bulbs.
- Produce a white light similar to daylight, thus helping to reduce eye strain of fatigue by a person. The similarity to daylight can boost mood and alertness.
- More ability to have directional lighting.
- Typically cooler and produce less heat, thus lowering air conditioning costs.
- More professional appearance.
6,544 light fitting replaced
This resulted in £264k annual operational cost savings and 5823 kWh annual operational energy savings!
Challenges
A key challenge faced on the LED project concerned the site access required for on-site installation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and a challenging built environment.
Site Access due to COVID-19
Due to the hospital being a high risk area for virus transmission, further exacerbated by the volume of clinical inpatients, this impacted logistics throughout site especially the in-patient areas. There were numerous challenges around access due to bed pressures throughout.
The project overcame this through effective scheduling of installation works and personable stakeholder engagement, focusing on non-patient areas such as corridors and managing access to in-patient areas, such as wards with stakeholders as they became available.
Challenging Built Environment
Due to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary being built in the 1960’s there are assets throughout the site that are unrecorded and contain significant material and structural unknowns. To deliver the scheme safely, the project coordinated site works with adjacent remedial works, ensuring areas were surveyed and redeveloped by qualified persons, prior to the installation staff carrying out the works.
Results
The completion of this programme ensured CHFT stayed on track towards their 2040 target for Net Zero. Other outcomes included:
- £264k annual operational cost saving
- 5823kWh annual operational energy saving
