Are you curious, what type of lights are used in hospitals? There are numerous visual tasks in hospital environments that require specialized lighting. As a result, the lighting should be designed to maximize effectiveness, cleanliness, security, and the general well-being of medical personnel and patients.
Table of Contents
What is hospital lighting and what type of lights are being used?
Hospital lighting refers to the artificial illumination of healthcare institutions such as hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes. Hospital lighting is divided into two categories: interior lighting and external lighting.
Interior lighting describes the lighting of indoor locations where medical activities and services are conducted or delivered, such as patient rooms, operation rooms, examination rooms, waiting areas, corridors, and so on.
Interior illumination should provide a comfortable, safe, and functional environment for patients and staff while also creating a welcoming and pleasant mood for visitors.
Exterior lighting illuminates the outdoor spaces surrounding a healthcare institution, such as parking lots, entrances, facades, etc. Exterior lighting should enhance the facility’s visibility, security, and attractiveness while also adhering to local standards and requirements.
Critical aspects for general hospital lighting
Color rendering
Lighting with a high CRI (color rendering index) ensures that colors seem true to life. This lighting component is significant in healthcare because the hue of a device, medication, or other object can be critical to determine quickly, particularly in fast-paced, high-stress environments.
Light levels
Each space in a healthcare facility will require a precise amount of light. Some places require extra brightness, necessitating the use of lighting with higher lumen outputs. Other places, particularly smaller ones with lower ceilings, will require a lower amount.
A lighting professional can best estimate the exact levels of light required for each location, ensuring that no light is wasted, no light is overly bright, and no black areas are formed.
Color temperature
A light’s CCT (correlated color temperature) has a significant impact on those who perceive it. Indoor lighting has typical color temperatures of 3500K (Warm White), 4000K (Neutral White), 5000K (Cool White), and 6000K (Cold White). CCTs with a lower value have more yellow as an undertone, whilst those higher on the scale lean blue. Warmer tones produce a more comfortable and pleasant environment, while cooler tones stimulate attention and focus.
So, what’s the different types of lights that are being used in hospitals?
Well, let’s try to give you an answer to which type of lighting is being used within the hospital walls. A luminaire is a device that directs light from one or more sources. It is made up of several components, including a housing, a lamp holder, a reflector, a diffuser, a ballast, and a driver. Different types of luminaires are utilized for different hospital locations depending on their qualities and performance. Some common types of lights used in the hospitals are:
LED lights
LEDs are used in bulbs and fixtures for general lighting applications. LEDs are small and provide unique design opportunities. Some LED bulb options may seem more like regular light bulbs. Some LED light fixtures may have LEDs that serve as a persistent light source.
There are also hybrid ways in which a non-traditional “bulb” or changeable light source format is employed and custom-designed for a certain fixture. LEDs provide significant opportunities for innovation in lighting form factors and are suitable for a broader range of applications than previous lighting technologies.
CFL lights
Compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs for short, contain argon and mercury vapor inside a spiral-shaped tube. They also include an incorporated ballast, which generates an electric current that flows through the vaporous mixture, activating the gas molecules.
Fluorescent tube lights
Fluorescent lamp, also known as an electric discharge lamp, is cooler and more efficient than incandescent lamps, producing light through the fluorescence of a phosphor coating. A fluorescent lamp is made of a glass tube filled with argon and mercury vapour.
Metal electrodes at each end are covered with an alkaline earth oxide, which easily emits electrons. When current flows through the gas between the electrodes, it becomes ionized and emits UV light. The inside of the tube is coated with phosphors, which capture ultraviolet radiation and fluoresce.
Metal halide lamps
Metal halide lamps are a type of high-intensity discharge (HID) light. Mercury vapor lamps are a type of HID lamp. Metal halide (MH) lamps have been employed as a viable source of light in a variety of applications, including lighting sports fields, parking lots, and street lighting, as well as ordinary indoor lighting in retail stores and factories.
Among the many benefits of metal halide lamps is their versatility in terms of operating temperature. They may also create a wide range of colors and have a long lamp life. They are also quite sturdy and available in a variety of fittings. This implies we can use them for a wide range of applications, even potentially dangerous ones, both indoors and outdoors.
Surface-mounted lights
Surface mounted lights are screwless and can be put directly on the ceiling. Surface mounted lights are ideal for healthcare, pharmaceutical, and sterile facilities and can provide a new dimension to any environment. These are luminaires that are directly mounted to a ceiling or wall surface. For example, seven and four reflector theater lights.
They are appropriate for situations that do not allow for recessed mounting or require additional lighting, such as examination rooms, operating rooms, reception areas, and so on.
Pendant luminaires
These lumineers or lights are suspended from the ceiling by a cable or chain.
e.g., operating theater luminaire.
They are appropriate for settings where a decorative or accent effect is intended, or where illumination directly is required over a specific area, such as waiting rooms, entrance halls, dining rooms, etc.
Track luminaries
Track luminaires are light fixtures that are installed on a track system and can be moved or changed along it.
For example, a lamp in the O.T.
They are appropriate for locations that require adjustable and directed illumination or that conduct numerous tasks or activities, such as examination rooms, operating rooms, and laboratories.
Mobile luminaires
These are lighting fixtures that are positioned on a moveable base or stand and may be moved or adjusted across an area.
They are appropriate for locations that require temporary or additional illumination, as well as precise illumination over a specific area or object, such as examination rooms, operating rooms, and dental offices.
Surgical headlights
Where pendant arm lighting is not available in an operating room, LED surgical headlamps may serve to increase the surgeon’s visibility and mobility. The surgeon’s head casts no shadows. However, they eliminate the trouble of needing to make minor modifications during a process.
Surgical spotlights are primarily used to give direct, concentrated light for delicate procedures in hospitals and specialized surgical centers. Other medical practitioners working in the disciplines of dentistry and veterinary medicine also employ surgical headlights. With a small specialized light spot that tracks the surgeon’s field of vision, a surgical headlight is either battery-operated or can be connected via fiber optic cable to a separate light source.
Heat therapy lamps
Infrared LED lights can help patients with inflammation, ulcers, wounds, and chronic pain heal
faster. Heat therapy bulbs can also help to ease the symptoms of mental illnesses including depression and dementia.
Office reading lamps
Doctors must be able to write and examine patient notes under appropriate lighting conditions. Desk lighting boosts visual accuracy throughout the procedure. The supplemental light may help to alleviate the pain caused by fluorescent lights.
Germicidal lamps
There is a greater risk of airborne and other infections in hospitals. Aside from having adequate illumination for doctor’s procedures and patient comfort, consider purchasing UV sanitizing light fixtures to use in the cleaning procedure. They will help remove biological pollution on surfaces and in the air.
Conclusion
Numerous visual tasks in hospital environments require specialized lighting. As a result, the lighting should be designed to maximize effectiveness, cleanliness, security, and the general well-being of medical personnel and patients. To sum up, the significance of specialized lighting in hospital settings cannot be emphasized enough.
Effectiveness, cleanliness, security, and the general wellbeing of medical staff and patients are all greatly enhanced by hospital illumination. Color rendering, light levels, and color temperature are just a few of the crucial factors that need to be taken into account when designing any lighting, whether it is for interior or outdoor use.
To further create customized lighting solutions for various regions within healthcare facilities, it is necessary to comprehend the many types of lights utilized in hospitals. Any type of light—LED, CFL, fluorescent tube, mercury vapor, metal halide, or specialty surgical headlights—has a distinct function in improving sight, encouraging healing, and upholding a clean and safe environment.
The general wellbeing and security of patients and employees can also be enhanced by implementing cutting-edge lighting solutions like heat therapy lamps, office reading lamps, and germicidal lamps.
