Wigan’s hospital organisation is first health trust in Europe to install intelligent lighting

Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust embarked on a long-term Carbon Management Implementation Plan (CMIP) in 2007, which sired a number of schemes to improve its energy performance.

Each of the 612 LED fittings and sensors, replacing 904 fixtures, that have been installed at the Thomas Linacre Centre (TLC) are equipped with Enlighted smart sensors, incorporating Bluetooth beacons that transmit and receive data, establishing an Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure across the site.

And as the Bluetooth is constantly monitoring and transmitting data, it can be used to tag and track medical equipment and assets, and for real-time space modelling.

Several visualisations providing heat mapping, motion trails, motion animation, time series and more can all be reported on, allowing the Trust to gain greater awareness of space usage – crucial when planning for future developments.

Senior operational estates manager Mark Hogan said: “When Enlighted came to us with a proposition that their technology could help reduce the organisation’s environmental impact through reduced energy consumption - and at the same time introduce many other key technological tools to help with asset tracking, space utilisation and many other control functions - we were very interested.

“All of the tools are built into one device which means that, although initially we installed the technology to control lights, which provided a very good return on investment, we have the ability to ‘Bolt on’ at a click of a button, the other features of this all-encompassing technology.

“TLC may have been the first NHS in Europe to install this technology, however, it won’t be the last.”

The project’s success has enabled WWL to secure an extra £800k from the National Energy Efficiency Fund for the installation of LED intelligent lighting at Wigan Infirmary within weeks, and is set to provide savings of around £200k a year in energy costs and CO2 emissions of around 900 tonnes a year.