The Client
Addenbrooke’s Hospital is part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, one of the largest and best known in the UK and a world-renowned teaching institution.
It is a leading national centre for specialist treatment, a government-designated comprehensive biomedical research centre and is one of only six academic health science centres in the UK.
The Brief
Addenbrooke’s Hospital has been at the forefront of NHS initiatives to reduce both energy usage and carbon emissions. SaveMoneyCutCarbon has partnered with Addenbrooke’s for more than three years on a range of lighting upgrades.
The brief is now to roll-out an extensive LED retrofitting programme for at least the next 12 months following the Trust’s successful grant-funding bid to the NHS Energy Efficiency Fund via NHS Improvement.
Addenbrooke’s is now embarking on the full large-scale LED lighting retrofit programme and SaveMoneyCutCarbon won the YPO public sector procurement competition as an approved provider for the framework.
Addenbrooke’s expects auditable energy savings of 867MWh a year with annual £148,000 savings in electricity and maintenance and payback on investment of no more than 4.8 years. Total annual carbon reductions are also expected to be 305 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
The Solution
The large-scale project includes scope, survey, design, cost and supply and installation of mainly like-for-like fluorescent to LED replacement of around 7,000 luminaires in at least 18 buildings.
This project is being phased over a 12-month period and includes detailed survey work, a high quality specification and out-of-hours installation (overnight and weekends).
SaveMoneyCutCarbon has developed a strong working relationship with Addenbrooke’s, and has already delivered 11 substantial lighting projects, with hundreds of LED lamps installed, as well as providing supply services for the hospital.
For each of these projects, comprehensive surveys and detailed reports were provided, showing energy savings, impact on spending, payback periods and carbon emissions reductions.
For the majority of the LED retrofits the work needed to meet Salix funding criteria, with sustainable and effective energy savings that ensured return on investment within five years, to qualify for implementation under this long term revolving fund.
Salix provides interest-free capital to public sector organisations for energy efficiency and carbon emissions reduction. Repayments are covered by savings through reduced energy costs.
The SaveMoneyCutCarbon installation team are fully DBS-checked and received a comprehensive Addenbrooke’s induction before starting LED retrofits.
A major feature of many projects was to ensure that lighting was not being left on in areas that were unoccupied for long periods, introducing motion sensors for presence detection where appropriate.
In some projects, there was a requirement for high-performance lighting controls that could deliver reductions of up to 70% in energy use. The user-programmable lighting control system installed does not require specialist attendance to repair and programme.
Where needed, the new LED lighting was selected to meet with anti-glare requirements, having a Unified Glare Rating (UGR) of less than 19 – particularly important in office and administration spaces where staff may have to spend many hours a day and are likely to be using display terminals for a significant proportion of that time.
And for every project there was an emphasis on the requirement for quality fittings and exceptional installation routines that would minimise ongoing maintenance costs.
The Challenges
Within the busy hospital environment, it is essential to work around staff and processes. The installation team worked closely with hospital managers to plan and carry out upgrades at the most appropriate times, which has included and will continue to demand out-of-hours engagement.
Lighting design is also a complex element of any work in the healthcare sector in order to balance the needs for most appropriate lighting levels combined with controls and sensors as needed to maximise efficiency and further reduce costs.