Lighting Technologies & Controls: Applications - Healthcare Facilities
Integrative
Lighting Design
Core Lighting Standards
- IES Lighting Library & ANSI/IES standards: ANSI/IES RP-29 (Healthcare Facilities) and related IES Recommended Practices have been updated in the last few years to integrate LED, controls, and visual comfort guidance for exam rooms, ORs, ICUs, patient rooms, and behavioral health.
- CIE updates: CIE work on melanopic equivalent daylight illuminance and non-visual effects of light is increasingly referenced in healthcare lighting, influencing spectral tuning, night lighting, and patient room design (e.g., for delirium, sleep, and staff fatigue), although not yet codified in most building codes.
- EN / ISO / IEC
landscape:
- EN 12464-1/-2 (lighting of work places) inform design in European healthcare where spaces are treated as workplaces (clinics, labs, offices, etc.), with targets for illuminance, UGR, and uniformity.
- IEC 60601-2-41 (surgical luminaires) and IEC 62471 (photobiological safety) remain critical where surgical and examination luminaires are used.
- DIN 67600 (biologically effective lighting) is still influential for circadian concepts that are now being adapted into healthcare applications.
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Core sustainable lighting strategies
From the current literature on sustainable lighting design, the direction is clear: integrate efficient sources, daylight, controls, and health-supportive qualities in one coherent concept.- High-efficacy LED systems
- High lm/W, very long lifetimes, better thermal management, and reduced maintenance burden (crucial in 24/7 healthcare).
- Emphasis on flicker-free drivers, high color quality (CRI/TM-30), and optics tuned to minimize glare and veiling reflections on glossy surfaces.
- Daylighting and hybrid solution
- Architectural strategies: fenestration design, light shelves, light tubes, reflective surfaces, and daylight sensors to reduce artificial lighting needs.
- Healthcare: strong focus on patient rooms, family areas, staff lounges, and circulation spaces for daylight access (mood, circadian, and recovery benefits).
- Eco-conscious materials and product design
- Use of natural and recycled materials, low-VOC finishes, and modular luminaires designed for disassembly and repair.
- In healthcare, these need to coexist with infection control (cleanability, sealed luminaires in some areas).
Light quality & wellbeing technologies
- Tunable white and spectrally tunable systems
- Allow shifting CCT and spectrum across the day, aligning more closely with circadian rhythms and staff shift patterns, especially in ICUs, nurse stations, and wards.
- Often paired with control profiles for “day,” “evening,” “night,” and “exam/procedure” scenes.
- Glare, flicker, and visual comfort
- Use of flicker-free drivers, glare control optics, and layered lighting (ambient, task, exam, night) to avoid fatigue and headaches.
- Special attention to low-level nighttime lighting to reduce falls but preserve sleep
Lighting
Control Solutions Case Studies
| 1. Lighting Controls Health care projects (by CPElectronics) |
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| 2. Circadian Control Solution (by CPElectronics) |
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| 3. BMS for a Hospital Overview (by Fidelix) |
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| 4. Clean Room & Patient Room Lighting Fixtures |
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| 5. How to reduce air conditioning running costs in the healthcare sector (UK experience by CPElectronics) |
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