A Missouri continuing care retirement community (CCRC) will spend $250,000 each year from now through 2016 to update its campus with light-emitting diodes (LED) lighting, which it says will save the community big bucks in the long run.
John Knox Village, in Lee’s Summit, Mo., will be upgrading lighting at 15 of its existing buildings, and adding LED lights to a 56,000-square foot new building.
Providers say the product is a good fit for senior living communities because LED lights outlast other types of lights, which can save money long-term, in both energy and bulb replacement costs.
“It’s a no brainer,” says Billy Hammerly, director of operations and development at John Knox Village, adding that all light poles along the 450-acre campus’ 14 miles of roadway will also be retrofitted with LEDs. “It’s a significant upfront cost, but a very short-term pay back.”
LED lights will reduce energy consumption, lowering utility bills in the long run, Hammerly says, adding that the CCRC expects the difference in price between LED and regular light fixtures will be paid back within five years time. LED fixtures can be one and a half to twice as much as regular, or fluorescent, lights.
Some light solution providers are also zeroing in on assisted living facilities (ALFs), taking note that ALF’s supply and demand continues to outpace other sectors of senior living.
And demand for LED lighting among assisted living providers is increasing, says Scott Oldner, owner of Scott Oldner Lighting Design, adding that LED lighting is ideal for communities that need to be lit around the clock.
LED lights can reduce lighting costs for assisted living properties by 30% to 40%, says John Bruner, president of Managed Green.
“In California, the utility rate per kilowatt hour is approaching $0.15 cents. At that rate it would cost $1.50 to run a 100 watt light for 100 hours,” he says. “The 10 watt LED bulb produces the same amount of light and costs $0.15 to operate over the same 100 hours. As a result, the LED solution reduces the power, and the operational cost by 90%.”
A 75-bed assisted living provider in southern California recently switched all of its lighting — both indoor and exterior — to LED and now spends $11,200 less in lighting costs per year, Bruner says.
LED material costs over time are also less expensive, he says, because they last longer than typical lights.
As the assisted living sector has become a focus for Managed Green, it is also being pursued by international lighting solutions company Acuity Brands, Inc. In the last six months Acuity has launched an assisted living channel for its LED products, says Ryan Ramaker, senior value string manager for decorative products.
The importance of 24-hour lighting and need for lighting in all spaces make LED lights attractive to assisted living communities, Ramaker says, adding that some LED lights can last for 50,000 hours, or eight to nine years.
LED lighting is a trend that’s likely to catch on among all types of senior living providers, says Hammerly.
“It’s been a trend in construction of universities and other institutions over the past several years,” Hammerly says. “Senior living will follow.”
Written by Cassandra Dowell
Companies featured in this article:
John Knox Village, Managed Green, Scott Oldner Lighting Design
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There's no question that LED saves money. But there is not a word in this article about how that lighting is actually experienced by the residents. What frequencies does LED emit and what is the effect on brain waves? What does it do for spatial recognition? Does it help with color perception? How does it compare to quality full-spectrum lighting? Does it help senior's health given that many don't get outside all that often? Lighting is SO critical to health, energy and brain function but is LED actually the BEST lighting option for the seniors themselves?
When ideas like this are presented purely as an economic factor it gets problematic. Heck we could knock 50 cents off each meal too, we could buy cheaper laundry detergent, cheaper everything…but what does it do to the spiritual, physical, and social experience of the resident? IMHO lighting and water are the most overlooked variables in senior wellbeing.
Not only senior living facilities, but pretty much any place that operates lights for 12-24 hours a day is a good candidate for switching to LED. The up front cost, as the article mentions, is large, but cost savings in energy bills make up the cost in sometimes less than a year!
The only thing I'd add to the article is that LED bulbs also usually come with 3 or 5 year warranties, which can make them even more attractive. Along with local rebates for switching to more efficient lighting technology.
I've been involved with the LED market for several years. For the most part, what you commonly read about LEDs (e.g. in this article) is correct. However, there are a few tricks to beware of: 1) it is possible to "overdrive" an LED by applying more power to it than it is designed for. This allows the mfg. to use lower cost components and you will not get the expected lifespan. 2) while they consume very little energy (I have them almost exclusively in our home) they generate a lot of heat; therefore, you won't find many beyond 90watts today because the heat sink (aluminum "fins") has to be too large. This means those 250W lights you might see in a church ceiling or auditorium are not good candidates – yet. If you find someone selling them, be careful. 3) while LED streetlights save big-time (40% – 60%) and can be managed remotely for additional cost savings (e.g. dimmed w/no traffic @ 3 AM), many have a limited angle where they can shed light. 4) one of the most interesting aspects of LED lighting is variable colors. Today, that usually means a bulb has Red, Green Blue (RGB) LED chips. You can remotely change the colors. While apparently there has been much research on how colors affect people's moods, I haven't seen this work applied in the 'real-world' – yet. Here is your opportunity to shine, folks (pun intended.) One senior may feel better when their room is green, etc. It's all new, so "don't try this at home" until there is some professional research to guide you. 5) there is a system of 2' X 2' overhead troffer LED light fixtures called the Redwood system. These lights run on “ low-power” (which translates to lower installation cost.) Each fixture contains an infrared sensor to determine if someone is in a room, say during a fire during a fire, or, I suppose in the case of a terminally ill senior, if their fire fades. Finally, with all of that said, there is another lighting technology, at about the same price point, which lasts 2X as long as an LED (120,000 hrs. vs. 60,000hrs) called induction lighting. For a streetlight, this amounts to the initial cost (about the same as an LED) but, no labor costs for 22yrs.- 25 yrs. If you are in management, that might help you set your budgets until you, yourself, retire. Not only that, but induction streetlights, high-bays, and low-bays provide a wider spread of light and eliminate shadows. For more information, please contact me.