Boulder Community Health’s Foothills Hospital Campus

Litetronics LEDs Help Improve Operational Efficiency at Boulder Community Health

Boulder Community Health’s Foothills Hospital Campus in Boulder, CO provides safe, high-quality, and innovative healthcare in a patient-centered environment. Thanks to a recent upgrade involving LED lighting technology from Litetronics, the 178 bed hospital will enjoy significant energy savings and reduced maintenance while improving lighting quality for patients, staff, and visitors alike.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Boulder Community Health is an environmentally-responsible facility “where we compost, recycle, and are all about trying to save energy,” confirmed Director of Facilities Bob Gance. While the hospital’s former lighting – a combination of high pressure sodium, metal halide, and fluorescent lighting technology – was functioning and up-to-date, “the opportunity to drive greater energy savings and minimize maintenance activities by upgrading to LEDs was substantial,” he said.

THE SOLUTION

After seeing Litetronics’ LED fixtures at an American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) trade show in 2016, “we thought they could be a good fit for us,” Gance said. “I’d done retrofits that involved just bulbs before, but Litetronics’ technology was an integral system — a whole unit — and I thought, ‘finally, someone has the right idea.’” With sourcing by distributor QED Electric in Longmont, CO and contracting installation from Montgomery Electric in Dacono, CO, the team upgraded the facility’s lighting throughout interior corridors, underground and exterior parking garages, and utility/generator rooms with nearly 600 LED Litetronics LED High-Bay and LED RetroFits.

THE RESULTS

According to Gance, he couldn’t be more pleased with the project’s outcome. “Our lighting upgrade is slated to deliver some $775,000 in energy and maintenance savings to the hospital over the next decade and pay itself back in just over two years,” shared Gance, noting that the hospital also successfully secured over $68,000 in rebates on the project from both Boulder County and local utility Xcel Energy. In addition, since maintenance professionals no longer have to dispose of mercury-containing fluorescent and HID lamps and ballasts, the LED upgrade has helped Boulder Community Health to enhance its sustainability and eliminate waste. Ideal for 24-7 operating environments like healthcare facilities, Litetronics’ patented system enabled the quick installation of linear LED retrofits within the troffer without needing to break into the ceiling plenum, accelerating the speed of the installation and minimizing impact on patient activities. The technology additionally allowed the hospital to avoid labor expenses for clean-up as well as the costly measures related to infection control that can occur when an upgrade involves breaking into the ceiling and wiring in new fixtures.

According to Gance, another benefit of the upgrade was the instant-on performance of the LED High Bays. “Our hospital’s previous HID lighting was subject to restrike periods of 10 minutes or more, which is critical time, particularly during a power outage or emergency,” Gance said. “Since our new Litetronics LED fixtures power on to full output immediately, we can now immediately see and safely access critical equipment and successfully perform facility operations,” he said. “Overall, our Litetronics LED fixtures deliver a cleaner and brighter light that will help us enhance facility operations,” Gance said, adding that the long life of the installed LEDs will reduce strain on the hospital’s busy maintenance crew. “We appreciate that the technology didn’t require us to break into the ceiling plenum and Litetronics’ warranty was phenomenal, which delivered extra peace of mind.” “LEDs are here and Litetronics truly figured out the technology and exceeded our expectations,” Gance concluded. “Installation was quick, the lighting quality is outstanding, and our whole project was pretty seamless.”

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Project Summary