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Facilities Manager Peer Exchange Meeting

July 20, 2012

Participating Hospitals

  • Mt. Sinai Hospital & Schwab Rehabilitation Institute - Meeting Host
  • Advocate Health Care & Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center (IMMC)
  • Jesse Brown VA Medical Center
  • Norwegian American Hospital
  • Saint Bernard Hospital
  • University of Chicago Medical Center

NOTE: If you would like to learn more about any of the following peer exchange discussion topics, please contact the CGHI team and we will connect you with the appropriate hospital(s).

LED Overview

  • ComEd Lighting Program Manager John Delany (630) 437-3040 provided an LED industry overview.
    • The lighting industry has changed significantly over the last 5 years.  Previously there were 5 LED manufacturers. Now there are ~450 in the United States. Many have sprung up quickly and then disappeared when they encountered warranty issues. 
    • The big companies (GE, Philips, Sylvania) have been the last to get onboard because they aren’t making money on LEDs. 
    • U.S. DOE is trying to accelerate LED use but there are compatibility issues that need to be addressed.
    • To help mitigate the risk associated with purchasing substandard LED's, the utility industry, including ComEd, only provide rebates for LM-79 and/or DesignLights Consortium (DLC) certified products.
      • Lights need to earn LM-79 certification. Certification is conducted by independent third party labs. Ask vendor for test results.
      • Fixtures need to earn LM-79 and DLC certification.The utility industry funds and supports DLC.
    • DLC's Qualified Products List of over 13,500 fixtures is sortable by manufacturer, fixture, etc.
    • If you are in the market for linerar LEDs, currently only RedBird manufactures DLC certified linear LEDs. The lights remain expensive and don’t meet ComEd 7 year payback requirement for necessary for rebates.
  • Additional LED information is available in CGHI Light-Emitting Diode Overview or at ComEd.

Hospitals Current LED Projects/Experience:

  • Attendees have been retrofitting exit signs with LEDs; cost has come down significantly.
  • Grainger and other companies will fill out LED rebate paperwork and sometimes it is included in their price.
  • St. Bernard has had reliability issues with LEDs installed in a couple of test offices; The lights have also not provided much more energy reduction than CFLs.
  • UCMC has experienced reliability and durability issues w/ LEDs which could be the result of power surges that fry the circuitry.
  • Advocate IMMC has experience some flickering issues with LED's on very hot (100+) days. The LEDs are installed in outdoor pedestrian walkways, which require enclosure. Enclosure reduces airflow and increases temperatures. LEDs, which are a blue light source at the core, excell in cool tempeartures.
  • Advocate IMMC has been please with Philips brand LEDs and would give them a performance score of 9-9.5.  It should be noted that application is important.
  • The Electrical Union presses for more difficult things to install so only they can do the work vs. internal staff.

Chicago Code:

  • Chicago code requires exit signs to be made out of glass and aluminum or metal exit signs and does not permit exit signs with polycarbonate. Code complient retrofit kits cost $42-50 whereas polycarbonate plastic retrofit kits cost $24. Installed cost of code complient exit signs is ~$150. Other municipalities around the country permit polycarbonate exit signs.
  • Advocate IMMC has not yet found an LED product that can be used in psych units because the code requires red lights vs. white LEDs.
  • IMMC would like to convert to all mercury free lighting. City code is written so that CFLs or incandescent can lights are the only viable option in some applications. These code requirements add cost when a CFL is disposed ($0.40/bulb) and when one breaks - must comply with HazMat handling requirements due to the mercury in the bulb.
  • The city is adopting more national codes than they have before.
  • For reference, here is the Chicago Code regarding exit signs.
  • Also for reference, here is the Chicago Code regarding recessed lighting and recessed luminaires.

 Announcements/Next steps:

  • Grumman/Butkus Associates 2012 Annual Energy & Water Benchmarking Survey coming out early August
  • Discuss scenarios to collectively raise code change opportunities with the City in order to better meet the needs of the hospitals. Please contact Peter (773.551.0761) with code change opportunities.
  • Collaborate on LED testing and implementation. A draft LED Implementation Tracking speadsheet has been created. Please contact Peter with your LED projects.
  • Track NFPA 99 for 2012 reporting requirements.

Next Facilities Manager Peer Exchange meeting

  • Date: Friday, August 17, 2012
  • Time: 11:30 – 1:00 (lunch will be provided)
  • Location:  Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, 836 W. Wellington Avenue 773.975.1600
  • Conference Room:
  • Discussion Topics
    • Advocate Illinois Masonic will give us a tour of their new chiller condensate capture and reuse system. Initial results, based on flow meter data, look positive.
    • Dan Doyle, President, Grumman/Butkus Associates, will share a range of water conservation techniques for cooling towers (overflow from tower basin, piping configuration, drift loss, splash, and cycles of concentration), steam systems (condensate recovery and boiler blowdown), water treatment equipment, process cooling, and more.
    • We'll discuss specifics on the water and sewer exemption and rate changes that will phase in between 2012 and 2014. For your reference, here is the link to the City of Chicago Certification Application for Water and Sewer Charge Exemption.
  • RSVP

Future Meeting Discussioin Topics

  • Please review the Potential Discussion Topic List, indicate topics of most interest to you, note topics for which you would like to be the discussion starter and return to Debra Krause.
  • Please contact Debra know if you would like to host a future meeting and state the topic.
  • If you have any suggestions re: Peer Exchange meetings, online information sharing, etc.; we welcome your input.
  • If you would like to take the lead on a specific topic; but, don’t have a meeting space that would accommodate 20-30 people; Advocate Illinois Masonic has offered to provide their training room.