Energy Saving Hospital lights: Now That’s A Bright Idea

Hospital lighting during the medieval era left a lot to be desired, I think we would all agree that candle light and the good old fashioned scalpel do not make a great team! Thankfully for us all, Thomas Edison changed things for the better and since then hospitals along with the rest of the industry began the non-stop search for revolutionary lighting products that were either cost efficient, bright enough for intricate work or in recent times, energy saving.

Tony Baxter, Chief Executive of Steel City Lighting Direct, one of the leading providers of industrial and commercial lighting, said, “Hospital executives are faced with an extremely difficult job when selecting the right equipment for the job, nowadays there are so many lighting products on the market and selecting the right one inevitably depends on whether or not it is purpose specific.”

“Halogen lights for example, can give off a clean crisp light inside the examination room or operating theatre, for purposes such as these it is extremely important that no shadow is created, or costly mistakes could be made with the surgeon’s knife. One of the most important areas requiring purpose specific lighting is in fact the dermatologist’s examination room. A rash or skin infection may look like one thing in natural light, but in fact be something very different when placed under a lighted magnifier.”

With NHS budgets under close inspection, especially in the chancellor’s yearly budget, hospital chief executives and indeed the Government are finding ways to cut costs without compromising on their standards of care. One of the most obvious ways for many to achieve this is by joining the energy saving revolution and investing in one of the many environmentally friendly lighting products that have saturated the market in recent times.

Other public buildings have taken a stand by making attempts to reduce their carbon footprint and hospitals should indeed follow their lead. Due to increased demand new hospitals are being constructed and existing ones are being renovated from the ground up to provide better services to a much wider audience. Despite popular belief, incorporating green fixtures, lamps and controls to a ward, is not necessarily more expensive initially, but it is certainly cheaper in the long-term.

Mr Baxter, whose firm offer energy saving lighting products ideal for hospital environments added, “Modular lighting is ideal for the hospital environment and one of our most popular varieties is certainly our surface modular range. This range is extremely energy saving and comes with not only a high frequency control gear but there is also a three hour maintained version available.”

Another great range for the hospital environment is the category two recessed modular lights, as they too have huge energy saving capabilities. With their large four way loop inside the terminal block and the choice of maintained emergency versions if required, this means that they are not only hugely cost effective and safe, they will also allow your hospital to reduce its carbon footprint and give off the right impression.

Mr Baxter added, “We are all living in very forward-thinking times and protecting the environment for future generations has become very topical recently. We should all try to do out bit and conserve the energy we use and that should apply to huge buildings like healthcare centres and hospitals.”