SMART BUILDING TECHNOLOGY
technology reduces energy use and saves costs. These cost savings are increased
at Treetops by adding sensors which monitor human movement in the room and turn the light off – or can reduce its brightness – when the sensors indicate that a room is empty. This means there is no chance of wasting electricity because someone forgets to turn the light off. This technology is not new, but it has yet to be adopted more widely in the UK healthcare sector, especially in hospitals, which are one of the few buildings in our communities which remain open 24 hours a day. This means large areas and their long corridors are kept illuminated at night when footfall is low, and lighting in the wards needs to balance the ability for staff to go about their work while creating a dark sleeping environment for patients.
Greater opportunities for use of smart lighting According to UK Energy Watch, electricity constitutes 50% of UK hospitals’ energy spend each year, representing a £400 m annual bill. If hospitals adopted smart lighting, using a combination of LED lights and sensors, then the energy costs could be cut by 90% compared with using standard fluorescent lighting, and 40% in comparison with LED lighting controlled by a simple electronic on/off switch. This would be straightforward to achieve. Instead of brightly lit corridors – or corridors that would be pitch black if the lights were switched off – human-motion sensors can keep the LED lights dimmed to the minimum prescribed safe level if nobody is present, and then switch the lights on full as they walk past. Then, when they have passed by, they can return to being dimmed again.
Among the other sensors at Treetops
are its air quality sensors, which are linked to the room’s scene controller, and monitor CO2
levels, air pressure, temperature,
humidity, and particulate matter. All of these environmental factors impact on staff and users’ health, often without them knowing. Often, they simply go undetected, leaving occupants vulnerable to the effects of poor ventilation, which can include general stuffiness and increased levels of carbon dioxide, both of which have been shown to affect people’s cognitive performance. Sensors can alert Operations staff to an unhealthy environment, while at Treetops, sensors which measure occupancy are linked to the facility’s building management system so that the air- conditioning can be adjusted automatically to create the optimum environment for however many people are inside. Our experience at Treetops has shown us the potential that exists in healthcare settings for smart technology, but also the work that needs to be done to spread the
An Indoor Air Quality sensor and human-centric lighting were installed inside the bereavement counselling and therapy centre.
word, not least about at what point smart technology needs to enter the planning process. While the filming schedule and the artificial nature of the build meant deadlines were tight, and everything took place over a far shorter timespan – all of which adds to the drama of the show, we learned quickly how smart tech needs to be considered at project management level.
Very much ‘the new kids on the block’ We were very much ‘the new kids on the block’. As IT installers, we are not a traditional ‘trade’, and not everyone was aware of where we fitted in, which meant that when it was our turn to fit our equipment, we could not locate our cabling, because it had been installed and labelled by another company. This meant there was a fair amount of troubleshooting for us to undertake, and was a reminder of how much more awareness there needs to be about the utilisation of ethernet cables – the so-called ‘Power over Ethernet revolution’, which offers savings in terms of installation time and costs, as well as the creation of safer and more efficient workspaces. Undaunted, we overcame the issues, and achieved our installation well within the deadlines, and in time to take part in the time-honoured reveal, when staff from Treetops were allowed to open their eyes and look around their newly created facility. Now, nearly six months on, with the celebrities and TV cameras having long departed, our work with Treetops is continuing.
Because the technology is integrated
into the facility’s building management system, we have an ongoing role to
monitor the data that the building is generating, and give real-time feedback on how it is performing and is being used. This will enable Treetops to truly understand how the building works, how it benefits the young people, and how they can all make even better use of their wonderful new building in the future.
George Pritchard
A trained engineer, George Pritchard is now Technical director at Scenariio, a Derby-based smart building and IT specialist. His role focuses on the integration of connected building services over structured cabling systems to create ‘intelligent infrastructures’ that can control and monitor the environment within workspaces – including lights, temperature, and air quality, ensuring a comfortable experience for staff, and helping companies reduce their carbon footprint.
August 2024 Health Estate Journal 53
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