OR Lighting

Operating Room Lighting Retrofits

Operating rooms (ORs) are three to six times more energy-intensive per square foot compared to hospitals as a whole due more stringent requirements to maintain a sterile environment. Additionally, ORs use energy-intensive surgical and patient monitoring equipment.

In an effort to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, the University of California, Office of the President (UCOP) has tasked each UC Health System location to identify ways to reduce energy use in the Operating Rooms (ORs).

To pursue these goals, UCLA Health performed a preliminary investigation in each of the main operating rooms at four hospital locations. This included an overall assessment to determine the primary drivers of energy use in the OR and how they can be upgraded to improve energy efficiency.

The first area of improvement would be the existing lighting. All of the existing OR area lighting are florescent tube fixtures. Although florescent fixtures used to be appropriate, recent innovations have allowed for a significant improvement in lighting efficiency. LED replacement bulbs would halve the existing power usage for area lighting. In addition, the booms and other task lighting for the operating rooms could be replaced with efficient LED replacements.

The preliminary two ORs to undergo LED lighting updates will save an annual estimated 24,000 kwh or 5.6 MTCO2e saved per year and have paved the groundwork for further improvements. The total annual retrofit will save 194,490 kwh or 45.5 MTCO2e per year.