Intelligent Lighting Controls for Hospitals
& Healthcare Facilities
(30/07/2008)
A hospital’s primary mission is to provide seamless 24-hour/365-day treatment to patients – frequently in critical condition and extreme pain. Reliable and appropriate lighting control systems are essential in all areas of the modern hospital, and must offer centralized system architecture, multi-point programming and switching, the ability to operate with all types of standard and specialized lamps, as well as robust operation, ease of maintenance and superb product support.
There are many types of facility within the healthcare industry, and their lighting needs vary, with specific requirements for different sectors. Facilities for which intelligent dimming systems are applicable include general and specialized hospitals, clinics and consulting practices, and treatment/therapy centers.
Most hospitals will incorporate conference and seminar facilities, often including dedicated conference auditoriums with theater-style seating. These venues may require special programmable lighting controls.
A recent development is the ‘luxury healthcare’ option, with the advent of hospitals offering designer décor, private suites and personal service. Clinics & consulting practices: clinics may or may not provide patient accommodations, however those that do usually provide premium rooms and services, with appropriate lighting systems. Day clinics will typically include reception and nurse areas, examination and consulting rooms, and basic operating theater facilities for minor surgery. Smaller stand-alone lighting controllers and a mixture of standard and surgery switchplates are the norm for such facilities.
Intelligent lighting control systems are becoming standard in the hospital and healthcare industry where patient care and support services are essential. An intelligent lighting control system, correctly specified, installed and maintained, can provide programmable control of public area, sick room, and medical and surgical area lighting, as well as some ‘back-of-house’ support areas.
Futronix intelligent lighting control systems provide more than just centralized control of lighting throughout a hospital. Futronix also design and manufacture a comprehensive range of system accessories and options, designed to customize selected dimmer channels to allow specialized features for specific purposes and areas.
The recommended solution for larger hospitals is installation of stand-alone switching and/or dimming systems for each floor or ward, networked together with a centralized monitoring/control system. This effectively creates a whole-building lighting control system for controlling lights in all public and medical/surgical areas, augmented by stand-alone or networked dimmers in patient rooms and elsewhere. With stand-alone systems provided for each floor, single-point-of-failure vulnerability is minimized.
Functions, conferences and seminars are daily activities in most hospitals – especially so in ‘teaching hospitals’ – and these also have special lighting requirements. Enviroscene dimmers (see preceding section) are ideal for conference and seminar room lighting control. Contributing to hospital energy-efficiency, PIR Movement Detectors in conference rooms conserve energy when rooms are set up, then left empty for long periods before a meeting or presentation.
For larger auditoriums, installation of a dedicated PFX System scene dimmer rack is an option, with local switchplate and remote controls and (optional) monitoring/control from the building control center.
Enviroscene ‘scene’ dimmers for restaurants, conference & seminar rooms - if not designed as part of a centralized lighting control system, fully-featured lighting control for a hospital’s public restaurants and cafeterias – as well as conference and seminar rooms and other specialized areas – can be provided by a stand-alone Futronix Enviroscene multi-channel controller, which can also be networked to the building manager’s monitoring and operations center. With massive external heatsinks, the Enviroscene features power circuitry with highest-in-class noise suppression and protection. An Enviroscene dimmer can operate lighting in up to 128 circuits in 16 different areas, with up to 20 scenes per area.
Combining multiplex functionality with simple elegance, Futronix switchplates provide multi-location switching to select scenes in different rooms or areas. Switch-panel outstations for all Futronix dimming and switching systems are visually designed to complement each other in a range of styles and finishes, so networked and standalone dimmers can be installed in the same hospital. Eclipse switchplates made of surgically cleanable glass and polished stainless add elegance to any private hospital room. Eclipse switchplates operate with all Futronix scene dimmer systems. Switchplates throughout a hospital should be specified as high-grade stainless steel, or in some areas, non-lacquered brass.
Lighting hospital exteriors - typically the requirement is for switching of heavy duty non-dim loads, and Futronix PFR units are frequently specified for switching of exterior lighting. Networking lighting controllers with the Home-Icon Color TouchScreen - offering sophisticated remote control of networked PFR, PFS, PFX, Enviroscene and Hx dimmers and other automation systems, the Futronix Home-Icon Color Touch Screen controller provides an enhanced lighting control option for hospitals.
The Home-Icon TouchScreen unit links dimmers together, with one-touch macros programmed to run pre-set ‘environments’ adding multiple functions for hospitalwide ambient lighting control. A full-color TFT touch-screen displays pre-programmed graphics representing building layout, system components, performance circuit levels & other programmable settings in a clear and logical user-friendly format.
Lighting management, control & security: Typically, dimming and switching racks are installed out of sight in an electrical control room/s, with equipment, wiring and accessory components arranged for easy cabling, installation, programming, inspection and maintenance. The hospital engineer/manager can program and monitor all lighting and related operations either from a centrally-located PC, a Futronix Home-Icon Color TouchScreen controller in his office, or from a remote handset or laptop computer anywhere in the building. PC computers are typically used for engineering and maintenance functions, with an optional HI-C touch screen unit preferred for intuitive visual accessibility for programming and operation.
Whether a hospital is a large public complex or an exclusive private clinic, with appropriate intelligent lighting control systems installed, quality hospitals of all types and sizes can enjoy the benefits of more efficient and appealing lighting combined with operational simplicity and robust reliability. A planned combination of Futronix switching and dimming racks with selected accessories – together with medical quality switchpanels – provides any healthcare facility with 24/7 reliability, convenience, cost-savings, and hygiene in a seamless, professional lighting control system.
Related categories: Lighting control system Office and commercial
