LED Lighting for Adult Living Facilities
The WalaLight System offers revolutionary Kelvin-changing and dimming LED lighting for adult living facilities that substantially saves money on energy and maintenance costs, while also improving behaviors and health. WalaLight’s facility-wide LED lighting systems come in an array of sizes and shapes to fit any long term care or retirement home lighting need and can reduce energy usage in adult living facilities by up to 65% as compared to traditional nursing home lighting using fluorescent, incandescent or CFL bulbs. Additionally, our human centric LED lighting systems features a 100,000 hour lifespan and up to 10 year warranty so the need for maintenance of lighting fixtures in adult living communities is virtually eliminated.
Health and Behavioral Benefits
In addition to substantial cost savings, using WalaLight’s automated LED lighting systems in adult living communities can reap the following health, behavioral and other benefits:
- Promotion of healthy circadian rhythms and sleep patterns – Most people in adult living communities do not get enough bright white light (natural sunlight) during the day because they are stuck indoors. This lack of natural light disrupts circadian rhythms and results in sleep problems. Approximately 70% or more of individuals over the age of 70 have some type of sleep disorder. WalaLights’ automated LED lighting systems provide the ability to offer natural bright light during the day and a gradual adjustment to warmer light at night or when the situation warrants, normalizing circadian rhythms and sleep patterns and resulting in improved health, better behaviors and enhanced happiness.
- Reduced behavioral issues – When residents sleep better and can see better, their mood improves and the incidence of behavioral issues is reduced. Our human centric LED lighting systems can reduce costs for adult living communities and improve happiness of both residents and staff.
- Benefits activity programming – With proper senior living lighting, residents are more awake, alert and active and are therefore more likely to engage in programming activities offered by the facility.
- Reduces glare – As people age, eyes become more sensitive and are more susceptible to glare. Additionally, only about 25% of light gets through the lens of people over the age of 75, making it necessary for light to be brighter in order for older people to see as well as they used to. With traditional senior living community lighting, brighter light results in more glare, and more glare can cause annoyances resulting in behavioral issues. WalaLights automated LED lighting systems provide the brightness older people need to see effectively without increased glare.
- User-friendly controls – WalaLights are operated usinga pre-programmed automatic circadian rhythm schedule or can be individually programmed to meet the specific needs of residents, locations or activities. They can also be adapted at any time to change the brightness and dimmability of the light manually.
- Meet IES standards – The Illuminating Engineering Society of America (IES) has published numerous studies on the effects of light and defines lighting standards. All WalaLights have been designed in conjunction with IES standards for lighting in adult living communities.
Economic Benefits
All of our WalaLight products offer the following economic benefits for adult living facilities, as well as other types of health care living facilities:
- Substantial reduction in energy costs – WalaLights can save facilities up to 65% of energy costs as compared to other types of senior living communities lighting. Additionally, the lower wattage and heat reduces load on air conditioning systems, further diminishing utility costs.
- Drastic reduction in maintenance and replacement costs – Since WalaLights last 100,000 hours or up to 20 years, they virtually eliminate the need for lighting maintenance or replacement. This can dramatically increase cost savings far beyond what is recouped in energy cost savings alone.
- Short payback period – Many adult living facilities keep lighting on for 24 hours/day for operational and safety reasons, resulting in a very short payback period (typically 2-4 years). With a lifespan of up to 20 years, each WalaLight can therefore result in huge cost savings that reach hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollarsover its lifetime.
- Replace any type of light – WalaLight automated LED lighting systems are the perfect replacement for fluorescent lights, fluorescent tubes, high hats, down lights, can lights and sconces. The LED lights can be recessed, flush-mounted or suspended on ceilings or walls. Virtually any type of commercial lighting system can be replaced by an energy-efficient and cost-saving WalaLight system.
- Reduced personnel costs – With loaded labor costs at adult living communities, it’s easy to see how a simple inexpensive light bulb can become expensive to change. With so many bulbs to replace in a facility where lighting is on 24/7, personnel cost savings can be as much as one full time employee or more just by switching to long-lasting LED lights from WalaLight. Additionally, if residents sleep better due to improved circadian rhythms, it may be possible to reduce personnel staffing during third shift.
- Financing results in project being cash-flow positive – There can be no upfront costs with WalaLights. Just take advantage of our monthly financing plan and you can save more money on lighting costs in adult living communities each month than the amount of your finance charge. There is nothing to lose by replacing traditional lights with WalaLights because savings surpass monthly finance costs.
Adult Living Facilities That Can Benefit From the WalaLight Healthy Lighting System
WalaLights are appropriate for use in the following types of adult living facilities:
- Elder care facilities
- Independent living facilities
- Assisted living facilities
- Memory care units and facilities
- Long term acute care facilities
- Alzheimer’s facilities
Scientific Studies Identifying the Need for Kelvin Variable Low Glare Lighting In Adult Living Facilities
Below are references that indicate benefits associated with the type of LED lighting provided by WalaLights:
- “Lightning and the Visual Environment for Senior Living”, ANSI/IES RP-28-07, Illuminating Engineering Society (IES).
- Understanding Lighting needs of Older People, Human Factors in Lighting Design Symposium, February 12, 2013, Eunice Noell-Waggoner, Founding Chair, Center of Design for an aging Society.
- Circadian and Neurobehavioral of Solid State Lighting in Humans, Human Factors in Lighting Design Symposium, February 12, 2013, George C. Brainard, Ph.D., Department of Neurology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia.
- SIRT1 Mediates Central Circadian Control in the SCN by Mechanisms that Decays with Aging, Hun-Chun Chang, Leonard Guarente, Glenn Laboratory for the Science of Aging, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, CELL Vol. 152, Issue 7, June 2013.