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Healthcare Lighting History at a Glance
1920s and earlier
Operating rooms and patient rooms once relied on windows and natural sunlight for visibility, especially when electric lighting was insufficient. Buildings had to be constructed so windows would face optimal lighting. And even when optimal lighting was achieved, glare could keep patients awake and blind surgeons during operations.
1940s and 50s
Exposure to natural sunlight and fresh air continued to be a key component of the healing process in hospitals. When a design for a hospital wing without windows was published, it was considered radical.
1960s and 70s
In the 1960s and 1970s, electric lighting became part of the environmental controls that doctors used to promote healthy spaces for patients, along with air conditioning and central heating.
Fast Forward to The Present
Only a decade ago, LED lighting was shaking up the healthcare lighting industry for offering energy savings, improved quality of light and reduced maintenance costs as compared to traditional technologies, among many other benefits. It has increasingly been recognized as an important aspect of the patient and wellbeing experience, not just as a way of supporting hospital operations.
How Alkco Draws from Past to Deliver Today and in the Future
Signify’s Genlyte Solutions brand, Alkco, provides lighting solutions that are designed to support the needs of modern healthcare facilities, from the patient experience to staff’s ability to provide care, while enabling operational efficiency.
Alkco is connected-ready, so when integrated as part of a connected lighting or lighting controls system like Interact or Philips Dynalite, it can help hospitals achieve workflow efficiency – reflecting the goals of early 20th century healthcare environments.
Facility managers can optimize space usage, identify which patient rooms have been occupied and require cleaning, and reduce lighting-related energy consumption and regulate heating and cooling (when integrated with an HVAC system) based on occupancy levels.
Not Your Grandfather’s Alkco!
The needs of modern hospitals and healthcare environments echo those of the past.
Signify has taken what we’ve learned since Alkco first launched in 1946 and introduced modern lighting innovations to meet the healthcare and application needs of today and tomorrow.
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