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A lightbulb moment
As Jamaica prepares to install solar in three public hospitals, lightbulb retrofits are already saving energy, money and barrels of oil
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Just one energy-efficient LED bulb is enough to light up a formerly dark corner at the National Chest Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, where teams of health care workers take care of critical paperwork. Located away from natural light, it is one of several spots where bulbs must burn around the clock to power health care delivery in the island nation.
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A brighter, cooler light source using only one third to one thirtieth the energy of incandescent and fluorescents, the LED bulb is lighting up high energy-use Jamaican hospitals, cutting fossil fuel and energy consumption, while reducing costs to the public purse. This is good news for Jamaica’s health sector and for the country, as energy use contributes to an annual importation of 20.8 million barrels of oil at a cost of US$1.2 billion.
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100% LED retrofits
As part of an ongoing initiative to cut fossil fuel imports and public sector energy costs, National Chest Hospital, Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre and Bellevue Hospital have been completely retrofitted with energy efficient light bulbs as of mid-2020.
The three facilities are among six public hospitals participating in the “Deployment of Renewable Energy and Improvement of Energy Efficiency in the Public-Sector” project. Funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the Ministry of Health and the UNDP Multi Country Office in Jamaica, the project focuses on solar energy installations, energy efficient retrofits including bulbs, and capacity building through training for maintenance teams across the health sector.
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Less energy, less costs, less CO2
A post-retrofit electricity consumption analysis conducted in February 2021 sheds light on how LEDs are scoring savings in public hospitals despite a spike in demand on the health care system due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The three hospitals recorded cumulative savings of 40,754 kilowatt hours, amounting to 1.5 million Jamaican dollars (about $US9,600) over the six-month period from July to December 2020. This translates into a reduction of 30 tons of CO2 and 25 barrels of oil over a period when hospitals and related services were under increasing pressure due to the pandemic. Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre reduced its energy usage by 15 percent, and National Chest and Bellevue Hospitals by 19 percent each.
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"The three retrofits recorded savings of 40,754 kilowatt hours, a reduction of 30 tons of CO2 and a reduction of 25 barrels of oil in six months, despite spikes in health care demand due to COVID-19.”
– Post-LED Lighting Retrofit Electricity Consumption Analysis by Tenny Daley, UNDP Project Manager (Based on data provided by South East Regional Health Authority)
Return on investment in short order
UNDP Project Manager Tenny Daley says the retrofit analysis of Bellevue Hospital indicates cost savings of 896,066 Jamaican dollars in just six months on an installation cost of 3.6 million Jamaican dollars. He estimates that if current trends hold, Bellevue’s investment will be recovered in two years. For National Chest Hospital, he also noted that with an investment cost of 1.1 million Jamaican dollars and savings of 412,806 Jamaican dollars in just six months, recovery of investment should happen in one year and four months.
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While kilowatt hours and costs are trending down, workplace efficiency is on the up. Matron Nicole Brown of National Chest Hospital most remembers the frequency with which fluorescents went bad, flickering with rapid and unsettling bursts of white light. "This affected the work as we couldn't see so well when this happened. The new LEDs are bright enough to see, and I notice they don't have to change them as often."
More light, less fuss
“Since we changed out to LED, persons are more comfortable now. They can see when they are writing their notes,” confirms Damion Lawrence, Maintenance Supervisor for National Chest Hospital and Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre..
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The next big move for the project is to install solar energy systems at the hospitals. But already the LED bulb retrofits are also providing Lawrence and his maintenance colleagues at National Chest, Sir John Golding and Bellevue Hospitals their own illuminating moments.
“We now have less troubleshooting. All supplies needed to energize the fluorescents have been eliminated. LEDs require less maintenance.”
– Damion Lawrence, Maintenance Supervisor, National Chest Hospital and Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre
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Lawrence estimates savings of roughly 1.5 million Jamaican dollars within a six-month period at Sir John Golding and National Chest hospitals, simply by eliminating the purchasing of accessories to service the fluorescent bulbs.
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