By By Dan Hounsell

Pandemic or no pandemic, healthcare facility managers continue their efforts to enhance energy efficiency in their buildings. As they have for years, lighting systems remain a popular target for such efforts.

Consider the example of Mission Community Hospital, Panorama, Calif. The facility set out to reduce its energy costs, and the hospital’s health care consultant recommended that it tackle low-hanging fruit first, according to Health Facilities Management. Mission Community Hospital was spending $2 million annually on lighting for its hospital, acute care facilities, clinics, a medical office building and parking structure.

After switching from old fluorescent tubes to LED lighting, the hospital estimates it will save $350,000 annually, which will reduce energy costs by $1 million in less than three years. The hospital was able to take advantage of a rebate from the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power to get subsidized rates on the products and installation. 

The hospital and acute care facility were previously utilizing 28-watt fluorescent tubes, which were replaced with 12-watt LED tubes for energy savings and a brighter, more comfortable environment.