SMART

BUILDINGS
FA L L E D I T I O N
Contents

3 — Construction industry struggling with inflation, changing

economic dynamics

6 — Grundfos Distributed Pumping A New Approach to

HVAC Design

7 — MEP Giants annual design revenue rises, bucking

certain trends

9 — Seven acquirers to watch (and learn from) in 2023

13 — Mixed Use building reduces pump energy use by 54%

using smarter chilled water system design

17 — How to design human-centric lighting controls

33 — Codes and standards drive industrial, manufacturing

building design

2
Construction industry struggling
with inflation, changing  Back to TOC

economic dynamics
The 2023 National Construction Survey reveals the construction industry
navigates rising interest rates and other economic challenges.

T he construction industry is grappling with the implications of rising interest rates,

inflation, and changing economic dynamics, according to Marcum’s 2023 National
Construction Survey.

The annual survey is conducted by Marcum, one of the leading construction account-
ing firms in the country. The survey covers various topics, from top priorities to prob-
lems, strategies, possible solutions, and the influence of a potential recession on the
industry. The 2023 edition is the fourth iteration of Marcum’s national industry study.

Among this year’s key findings, companies are struggling with rising inflation and in-
terest rates, with 50% expecting project delays or cancellations. Over half anticipate
difficulty in passing expenses onto customers.

More than most, construction firms feel the sting of higher lending rates. Respondents in
the survey pointed to a significant decline in the ease of obtaining financing, down to 4%
from 19% last year. The survey also indicates increased difficulty in obtaining bonding.
This issue is especially acute for firms with leveraged balance sheets and thin capital.

Despite the challenges, the industry outlook is far from bleak. The survey reveals that
the construction industry is showing impressive resilience. Just 32% of respondents 3
Construction industry struggling with inflation, changing economic dynamics

expect a lower backlog this year, and those wishing a higher backlog are at 41% this  Back to TOC
year, just a 7% drop from the previous year.

Additionally, supply chains have improved, and material costs are stabilizing, with
some sectors reporting declines. Sustained demand for skilled labor indicates underly-
ing economic robustness.

“The survey’s results confirm what we have long known – the construction industry
is not just about bricks and mortar but innovation, resilience, and adaptability,” said
Joseph Natarelli, national leader of Marcum’s Construction Services practice. “Despite
the current economic challenges, many firms view this as an opportunity to redefine
their operations and strategic planning. We are confident that this sector’s dynamism
and tenacity will enable it to emerge stronger.”

Other key findings of the 2023 report include the following:

• Increasing costs: 60% of respondents report higher general and administrative

(G&A) overhead expenses than in the past year.

• Taxes: Despite being the third-most crucial political issue, only 26% of compa-
nies leverage the Research and Development tax credit, suggesting potential lost
opportunities.

• Skilled labor shortage: 39% cite securing skilled labor as their biggest threat in
the coming year, up from 27% in 2022. Labor costs are also a significant threat,
doubling to 14% from the previous year.
4
Construction industry struggling with inflation, changing economic dynamics

• Pessimistic outlook: Just 37% of respondents expect more project opportunities  Back to TOC
in their regions in the coming year, down from 59% last year. Those expecting few-
er opportunities doubled to 26% this year.

• Recession preparedness: 80% are focused on managing cash flow, and 59% are
planning around a potential recession, up from 49% last year.

• Priorities shift: There’s a marked increase in companies focusing on cost-cutting

and sourcing skilled labor, with all-time highs of 47 and 50%, respectively.

• Healthy backlogs despite challenges: Companies are being more selective when
bidding on projects due to a reduction in the number of competing bidders.

Despite the economic uncertainties brought about by the interest rate environment,
our survey indicates a clear trend of resilience in the construction industry,” said Mar-
cum partner Roger Gingerich, who leads the Firm’s Midwest construction practice. “The
progress we’ve seen in areas like supply chain optimization and strategic planning is
particularly impressive. While it’s a challenging landscape, our survey demonstrates the
construction industry’s ability to navigate and adapt to these complex circumstances.”

Marcum’s 2023 National Construction Survey offers detailed insight into the industry’s
strategic planning and cost-cutting measures and the significant impact of fluctuating
interest rates and other economic trends. The Firm hopes this report will provide valu-
able perspectives for those facing similar challenges.

Marcum
5
Grundfos Distributed Pumping A New Approach to HVAC Design

 Back to TOC


Grundfos Distributed Pumping A New
Approach to HVAC Design
Accurately controlled cooling systems are crucial to maintaining
an efficient, comfortable building. But this accuracy can be difficult
to achieve with standard valve-based chilled water systems. These
systems face challenges with balancing and poor dynamic flow
regulation, which leads to severe energy loss, inadequate climate
control and uncomfortable occupants.

6
MEP Giants annual design revenue
rises, bucking certain trends  Back to TOC

While the economy sits at a slow burn, the 2023 MEP Giants firms continue
to do well

T he 2023 MEP Giants generated $11.96 billion in mechanical, electrical, plumb-

ing (MEP) and fire protection engineering design revenue, an increase over last
year’s MEP Giants’ revenue of $11.01 billion. This year, the 2023 MEP Giants earned
approximately $67.66 billion in gross annual revenue during the previous fiscal year,
a decrease of 4%. Gross revenue was down, however MEP design revenue rose 9%
over last year’s numbers.

Register and download the 2023 MEP Giants eBook, sponsored by Eaton.

Noticeably absent from the top 10 was AECOM, a regular to this list. There were also
some newcomers to the total of 100 companies. Several companies either joined the
list for the first time or returned after time away from reporting data (in alphabetical
order): AMA Group; Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers LLC; Burdette, Koehler,
Murphy & Associates Inc.; Cleary Zimmermann Engineers LLC; The Engineering Enter-
prise; Interface Engineering Inc.; Kimley-Horn; LEO A DALY; and Lizardos Engineering
Associates.

The list this year comprises 54% private companies (down from 59% in 2022), 28% em-
ployee-owned companies, 9% public companies and 9% limited-liability companies.
The 2023 MEP Giants are made up of consulting engineering firms (63%, up from 60%
last year) and architectural engineering firms (29%, even with last year).
7
MEP Giants annual design revenue rises, bucking certain trends

Several mergers and acquisitions occurred in the past year; 26% of the firms reporting  Back to TOC
acquired another company, a slight dip from last year’s 29% acquisition rate.

Table 1 shows the top firms based on MEP design revenue, which is how the MEP Gi-
ants are ranked.

Table 1: Top 10 firms are listed by MEP design

Amara Rozgus and Amanda McLeman
revenue. Jacobs topped the list yet again — as
Amara Rozgus, Editor-in-Chief, and Amanda it has since 2013 — with $2.4 billion in MEP
McLeman, Director of Research, Consulting- design revenue, a 33% increase from last year.
Courtesy: Consulting-Specifying Engineer
Specifying Engineer.

8
Seven acquirers to watch (and
learn from) in 2023  Back to TOC

Information on the seven most active industry acquirers in the U.S. and what
lessons other consulting engineers can learn from.

C onsolidation in the industry continues at a transformational pace. Year-to-date there’s

been 218 recorded transactions of U.S. design and environmental firms. The industry
is well on its way to experiencing a third consecutive year of over 450 transactions.

It’s in the interests of all industry stakeholders—project owners, firm shareholders,

managers, and employees—that consolidation at this scale happens in a professional
and continually improving manner thereby creating value, reinforcing reliability, en-
hancing client service, and improving resource allocation industry-wide.

It’s for these reasons that Morrisey Goodale created the Excellence in Acquisitive
Growth Awards series—to recognize those firms that are improving industry perfor-
mance through acquisitions and to share best practices. As part of our research for the
awards series, we keep a close eye on consolidation trends and activity—including the
most active acquirers globally and here in the U.S.

As of the mid-point of 2023, these are the seven most active industry acquirers in the
U.S. Collectively, they account for 14% of all acquisitions made this year. They are
actively consolidating the buildings, geospatial, civil infrastructure and geotechnical/
environmental services/construction materials testing sectors.

Bowman Consulting Group (Reston, VA) (ENR #87) (NASDAQ: BWMN): Year-to-date Bow-
man has announced five acquisitions, including, most recently, this month’s addition of
9
 Seven acquirers to watch (and learn from) in 2023

80-person infrastructure engineers  Back to TOC

(Brea, CA). Since going public in
2021, Bowman has been on an im-
pressive growth trajectory, jumping
31 places in this year’s ENR Top 500
Design Firms list. Acquisitions con-
tinue to be a core part of the firm’s
growth plans as Gary Bowman, the
firm’s chairman & CEO, stated in
this year’s Q1 earnings call, “We
continue to have a strong pipeline
of acquisition opportunities.” The
firm has added over 220 employees
in Maryland, Georgia, Florida, Texas
and California this year through
acquisitions.

Save with a Smarter SAM, LLC (Austin, TX) (ENR #88):

Chilled Water System The nation’s largest geospatial
Grundfos Distributed Pumping makes it easy to provide the perfect flow at the right pressure, and inspections firm has also an-
balance your chilled water system, simplifying automatically balancing the system and
operation, while maximizing occupant comfort. significantly reducing energy consumption. nounced five acquisitions in cal-
Our intuitive design replaces traditional balance and
control valves with intelligent pumps. This means See how Grundfos can help you increase your endar year 2023. Recapitalized by
your system is equipped with components that building efficiency and reduce energy costs.
Peak Rock Capital in 2021, SAM
most recently acquired 40-person
grundfos.us/distributedpumping
Axis Geospatial (Easton, MD) ear-
lier this month. Since the start of
10
Seven acquirers to watch (and learn from) in 2023

the year, SAM has added over 90 employees in Washington, South Carolina, Texas and  Back to TOC
Maryland through acquisitions. The firm jumped 15 places on this year’s ENR Top 500
Design Firms list.

IMEG (Rock Island, IL) (ENR #57): With a focus on the built environment, building op-
timization, infrastructure, planning and construction engineering-related services, this
national engineering and design firm—and recipient of the Morrissey Goodale 2023
Most Prolific and Proficient Acquirer Award—has announced four acquisitions this year.
Its largest acquisition in 2023 has been that of Lilker Associates (New York, NY), one of
New York’s most prominent MEP firms, in May. The firm jumped 14 places on the 2023
ENR 500 and has added over 270 employees through acquisitions this year in Pennsyl-
vania, Florida and New York.

RMA Companies (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) (ENR #146): This leading provider of technolo-
gy-enabled laboratory testing, inspection and quality management services for infrastruc-
ture end markets received a strategic investment from private equity firm OceanSound
Partners, LP in September 2021. Since then, RMA has gone on to make multiple acquisi-
tions, including four that it announced in calendar 2023. Its most recent acquisition was in
March of 15-person A.J. Edmond Company (Long Beach, CA). Since the beginning of the
year, the firm has added over 140 employees through acquisitions in California, Florida and
Washington. RMA rose 36 places on this year’s ENR Top 500 Design Firms list.

Salas O’Brien (Irvine, CA) (ENR #54): With locations across North America and 2,000-
plus employee owners, this engineering, construction management, technology and
commissioning firm has made four acquisitions this calendar year. The firm’s largest ac-
quisition in 2023 was that of 160-person Plus Group (Cincinnati, OH) in February. Salas
O’Brien has added over 270 employees this year through acquisitions in California, 11
Seven acquirers to watch (and learn from) in 2023

Georgia, Ohio and Florida. The firm jumped 24 places on this year’s ENR 500 list.  Back to TOC

UES (ENR #26) (Orlando, FL): This fast-growing, 3,500-plus-person geotechnical engi-
neering, construction materials testing, building code compliance, threshold inspec-
tions and environmental consulting firm with capital backing from BDT Capital Partners
and Palm Beach Capital has announced four acquisitions this year. The firm’s most
recent acquisition of 170-person Riner Engineering (Houston, TX) in June was also its
largest of the year. Since the beginning of 2023, UES has added over 300 employees
through acquisitions in Texas, Arkansas, Florida and Alabama. The firm rose six places
in the 2023 ENR Top 500 Design Firms list.

NV5 (Hollywood, FL) (ENR # 22) (NASDAQ: NVEE): This leading provider of technology,
conformity assessment and consulting solutions for public and private-sector clients sup-
porting infrastructure, utility and building assets and systems has also announced four
acquisitions this year with the largest being that of 340-employee Axim Geospatial (Sun
Prairie, WI) in February. This year, NV5 has added over 370 employees through acquisi-
tions in Wisconsin, Florida and Colorado. NV5 rose two places on this year’s ENR 500.

Not the same as it ever was: These seven leading design firms are not only really good
at serving their clients and creating opportunities for their employees, they are also
extraordinarily skilled at acquiring and integrating firms. One of the most remarkable
features of these firms is the cadence of their acquisitions. To illustrate that point, prior
to 2018, the most active acquirers in the industry each made an average of two acqui-
sitions a year. Each of these seven firms is operating at a pace at least four times faster
than that. It’s a testament to the competency of their M&A teams.

Morrissey Goodale 12
Mixed Use building
reduces pump
energy use by
54% using smarter
chilled water
system design
L ocated in Singapore, Block 22 at Ngee Ann Polytechnic
(NP) is a mixed-use building housing a cafeteria, sports
hall, student lounges and office spaces. The building was
finished in 2014 and runs on a third-party BMS with a con-
stant load profile. Its total cooling area is approximately
6000 m². The Singapore Building Construction Authority
has certified Block 22 as a Green Mark Platinum building.
HVAC is responsible for about 60% of the building’s total
energy consumption. To uphold its Green Mark Platinum
rating and achieve even higher energy savings, NP’s man-
agement, and the Environmental and Water Technology
Centre of Innovation (EWTCOI) decided to revisit its HVAC
system design, which is based on a chilled water loop. The
Mixed Use building reduces pump energy use by 54%

 Back to TOC

goal was to identify ways to push energy savings while maintaining a cool, comfortable
environment throughout the building.

With a constant load profile, it’s not possible to throttle the primary pumps sufficiently
during partial loads as it causes certain areas of the building to receive too little flow of
chilled water. This causes over-pumping, which reduces overall system efficiency. Valves
fundamentally control the flow by reducing pressure. Block 22 was using a conventional
fixed differential pressure control strategy, which resulted in too much pump pressure
and ultimately wasted energy.

Grundfos worked with EWTCOI to retrofit the system with Distributed Pumping, which
places smart pumps throughout the building to automatically adjust the flow for the
14
Mixed Use building reduces pump energy use by 54%

 Back to TOC

required cooling load. This promises to save at least 50% on the chilled water pumping
power and optimize system performance at all times.

Before the Distributed Pumping system was applied, a baseline measurement for cool-
ing tonnage and total energy consumption for the chilled water loop was made over a
six-week period. This included weather information to be able to normalize data when
determining a benchmark for the Distributed Pumping solution.

15
Mixed Use building reduces pump energy use by 54%

Solution  Back to TOC

Grundfos’ Distributed Pumping solution consists of 15 MAGNA3 Distributed Pumps,
4 TPE3 primary pumps and our unique solution expertise. The commissioning process
during installation was extremely efficient. Initial pump settings were configured via the
Grundfos GO REMOTE app and the flow limits were adjusted directly in the BMS for
each pump. This delivered significant time savings compared to using traditional bal-
ancing valves, control valves or PICVs (Pressure Independent Control Valves).

Result
During operations, the Distributed Pumps continuously measure the air duct tempera-
ture and automatically adjust their pumping speed to achieve the desired temperature.
The system auto balances any load, providing optimal comfort for tenants. Block 22’s
baseline system with balance and control valves had a Delta T of 5.3°C. The retrofitted
Grundfos system with Distributed Pumps increased Delta T by 28%. Avoiding the
valves reduced pumping power from 9.4 kW to 4.3 kW, resulting in a total pump
energy savings of 54%.

“The occupants’ comfort is high on our priority list – and so is maintaining our Green
Mark Platinum rating. Grundfos’ Distributed Pumping helps us achieve both.”

16
How to design human-centric
lighting controls  Back to TOC

As health care projects become more patient oriented, human-centric

lighting design and lighting controls are taking center stage

T o achieve the best lighting control strategies, it is imperative to look at each type
of space separately and define criteria that is useful for the design. For example, a
health care environment involves a plethora of different programs and the individuality
of each space affects the lighting control strategy dramatically.

As an electrical engineer or a lighting designer start on a new project, they are usually
faced with comments from clients and users about the importance of lighting controls
in a health care environment. The ease of controlling lighting is imperative for a great
patient experience.

In some existing facilities, the lighting can be harsh and directional. The ability to con-
trol the lighting while in bed can be nonexistent. Patients can struggle to walk through
a crowded room with the IV pole just to turn the lights on and off.

Human-centric lighting design could lead to a positive patient experience in health

care facilities. As building designers embrace technology and the need for net zero,
the careful balance between cost, comfort and energy efficiency is the way to the fu-
ture. Simply providing a lighting controls solution that meets minimum code require-
ments might not be the best approach, especially when designing state-of-the-art
health care facilities.

17
How to design human-centric lighting controls

How human-  Back to TOC

centric lighting
uses lighting
controls
How can a lighting de-
signer achieve a hu-
man-centric experience
using lighting controls?
The client and the users
must be on board with
the design and in tune
with the future facility. A
Figure 1: Caregiver station with central
health care project involves the interactions of multi- touchpad to control corridors. Courtesy:
ple experiences including the patient, visitor and staff HDR, Dan Schwalm PennFIRST

experiences. Each experience type carries a diverse

set of requirements from the code perspective, and also from the human or user’s side.

These requirements should be tailored to the needs of each facility. The complexity
of the design requires the proper layering of lighting and lighting controls to achieve
maximum comfort for the patient while maintaining a highly technical and functional
space for the caregiver.

Let’s study each category individually:

Patient experience: It’s important for a patient to feel comfortable when coming into
a hospital environment. Proper lighting design can play a key role in patient outcomes, 18
How to design human-centric lighting controls

which is augmented by the lighting control experience. When a patient has personal  Back to TOC
control, they can feel less stressed in an already-stressful situation. In fact, ANSI/IES
RP-29-22: Recommended Practice: Lighting Hospital and Health Care Facilities rein-
forces the need for flexible patient controls to assure patient comfort and satisfaction.

Increasing patient satisfaction is one important metric hospitals look for to achieve
the total performance score (TPS) managed and rated by The Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services. A low TPS can reduce Medicare payments to a hospital due to
poor satisfaction under the “person and community engagement domain” and due to
frequent re-admissions. Body of evidence referenced by ANSI/IES RP-29-22 conclud-
ed that patient comfort also aids in faster healing and a quick turnaround. This in turn
leads to better infection control as the patients’ stay in the hospital shortens.

Visitor experience: A visitor’s experience is similar, as the goal of controls for that
category is to provide intuitive, easy-to-use controls. Providing care for a loved one
should not come with the frustration of operating multiple keypads and complicated
controls. Incorporating intuitive localized controls into the lighting design for the vis-
itor zone provides localized lighting to the area without disturbing the patient’s sleep
and respite. This helps reduce the trial-and-error efforts for a visitor to adjust the light-
ing in the visitor zone.

Staff experience: Staff controls can be used to help increase their efficiency and ac-
curacy. For instance, lighting controls that turn on controlled beam task lights at staff
work zones are strongly desirable. These controls should be clearly defined and locat-
ed near their tasks as well as near the entrance to decrease the need for staff to find
the proper switches. Touchless controls for task lighting are also strongly encouraged
19
How to design human-centric lighting controls

to reduce staff contamination  Back to TOC

as described in the ANSI/IES
RP-29-22 Lighting Controls
Systems section.

How to achieve
these lighting
control strategies
To achieve the best lighting
control strategies, a health
care case study will be used:
Penn Medicine’s Pavilion at
the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The Figure 2: Patient room with lighting
keypads on the headwall and in the family
state-of-the-art facility was designed and construct- zone. Ambient, uplight, charting and family
ed by the integrated project delivery (IPD) team zone on. Shades are up for daylighting and
views toward the city. Courtesy: HDR, Dan
PennFIRST, which included HDR, Foster + Partners,
Schwalm PennFIRST
BR+A, L.F. Driscoll and Balfour Beatty.

The facility opened in October 2021 after six years of working through an IPD pro-
cess. During the design — which involved the colocation of the team, including client,
designers, engineers, construction managers, estimators and contractors — lighting
controls were at the center of multiple in-depth conversations focused on patient ex-
perience and comfort. Each area was discussed with the users, client and contractors
to achieve the best design solution possible.

20
How to design human-centric lighting controls

Patient rooms  Back to TOC

For the hospital, the
patient room had to
achieve maximum com-
fort: with zones for ambi-
ent illumination, patient
reading, night light,
charting, sink and visi-
tor zones. The IPD team
produced a solution that
integrated all lighting
controls via a bedside
touchpad. The touchpad
can do the following: control lighting and heating, Figure 3: Caregiver station to override
fixtures above patient rooms and linear
ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); achieve corridor lighting separately. Charting
digital visual communication with the care team; station window control is on transparent
enable patients to order food; control the TV; and mode to check on patient while the door
is on opaque mode for privacy. Courtesy:
enable communication with loved ones outside the HDR, Dan Schwalm PennFIRST
facility.

The controls depended on a visual screen that was easy to read and understand, so pa-
tients have an intuitive interface without the need to learn modern technologies. Most
lighting zones mentioned above could be controlled and dimmed from the touchpad
individually. Each zone is shown on the app, so the patient doesn’t have to guess the
appropriate zone.

21
How to design human-centric lighting controls

From the touchpad, the patient has control over their environment and they can dim  Back to TOC
the different zones as desired to achieve the best scenario possible for their comfort.
They can also control the shades, lowering and raising them as desired. The scenari-
os are unlimited and flexible so different lighting settings can be achieved when the
patients want to watch TV, read, order food, communicate with the care team or just
relax.

For the less savvy patients, the traditional integration with the nurse call system was
also introduced to control patient-oriented zones, such as the reading and ambient
zones. An “all off” button on the nurse call was also introduced in case the nurse
leaves the room with some lights on.

The caregivers also control a given set of keypads at localized areas around the room.
At the charting station, two buttons control the tight beam chart task light, to not
disturb the patient and the uplight in case more lighting is needed. In addition, the
bedside station controls the exam lighting, reading light for the patient, ambient illu-
mination and uplights.

At the main entrance, a keypad is divided into two clear sections: the upper section
offering easy access for the patients/visitors to control the ambient illumination and
uplights, while the lower section allows caregivers to control the charting lights so they
can see their way into the room without disturbing the patient with overhead lighting.

The visitor zone has its own keypad for local controls of the lighting in that zone, as
well as control for the window shades. All buttons on the patient room keypads are
properly labeled with a master raise and lower key to control the lights.
22
How to design human-centric lighting controls

Lighting controls in  Back to TOC

patient corridors
Patient corridors are criti-
cal spaces, where multiple
functions coexist. Patient
corridors are used by visi-
tors as wayfinding, for the
circulation of patients and
as a potential work zone for
caregivers in case of emer-
gency. The control system
must accommodate each
function. Figure 4: Charting station windows and
patient doors on opaque mode for privacy.
Courtesy: HDR, Dan Schwalm PennFIRST
The lighting in the space consists of a series of
linear lights on the core wall and a wall wash on top
of each patient room for wayfinding. The lighting control system schedules the lighting
to go on at 100% level in the morning, until 7 p.m. when the linear lights gradually dim
down to 30% and the wall washers dim down to 50%. This creates a comfortable, hu-
man-centric environment for the patients where they can sleep at night and avoid spill
lighting into the rooms.

For the remaining hours of visiting time, there is still ample illumination above the
patient bedrooms for proper navigation. In the case of clinical emergency at nighttime,
overrides are provided at each nurses’ station using an intuitive touchpad. The caregiv-
ers then can attend to a patient in need of care, in the corridor with ample illumination.
23
How to design human-centric lighting controls

Charting stations  Back to TOC

Charting stations are also
part of the corridor and they
are intended for the care-
giver to process information
and medication locally. One
charting station can moni-
tor two rooms at the same
time. A linear fixture with
regressed lens was used to
reduce light spill into the
rooms. Each charting station
lighting is controlled separately for maximum Figure 5: Main keypad at entrance for lighting
control and to avoid patient discomfort during control by caregiver and visitors. Windows and
quiet times. doors are on transparent mode. Sink lighting is
on. Courtesy: HDR, Dan Schwalm PennFIRST

The doors and windows into the patient rooms

include smart glass for patient comfort. The glass can be controlled by the caregiver
at the charting station, to turn the window and door separately. This ensures that the
patient can keep their privacy with the door on opaque setting, while the caregiver can
monitor the patient through the window on the transparent setting. The patient also
has control of both the glass and window from inside the patient room unless the care-
giver overrides that functionality.

Emergency life safety lighting in the corridors is controlled via a UL 924-rated device
that ensures the lighting in the corridors are dimmed and controlled together with
24
How to design human-centric lighting controls

the regular lighting settings. The days of having dedicated noncontrolled emergency  Back to TOC
fixtures in a patient corridor are gone. The patient’s experience is a primary goal in
ensuring their comfort, therefore controlling the spill light into patient rooms at night
is critical.

Lighting control challenges

What are the challenges that designers face to achieve a more human-centric expe-
rience for a health care environment? Electrical engineers and lighting designers are
faced with challenges due to updated, more stringent energy codes. Moreover, they
are also challenged with an ever-changing environment of technologies and health
care criteria.

The job of the designer is to assess those challenges and establish a set of priorities to
meet client aspirations, project goals, budget and code.

Circadian rhythm entrainment

Due to the advancement of tunable white technology, circadian rhythm entrainment
became a reality. Tunable white technology is the ability of changing the color tem-
perature of a source following the black body curve by mixing two or more different
color sources. Entrainment is a fundamental property of circadian systems by which the
period of the internal clock is synchronized to the period of the entraining stimuli.

Research cited in the health and wellness section of ANSI/IES RP-29-22 reinforces the
effects of entraining patient’s circadian rhythm on increasing patient outcomes, accel-
erating healing and creating a human-centric environment for the patient to overcome
the harsh clinical environment. Tunable white technology research cited by the health
25
How to design human-centric lighting controls

 Back to TOC

and wellness section of ANSI/IES RP-29-20 also suggests the Figure 6: Patient room
lighting control scenarios.
amelioration of the caregiver’s health and work environment
Courtesy: HDR
especially for the ones that work late and night shifts.

However, tunable white technology comes with a slew of challenges to the lighting
control system. There is currently little standardization of the technology which creates
different comparative color temperature between different fixtures depending on bin-
ning. LED binning is a practice carried out to ensure high quality and consistency in the
performance of LED light output and color. The technology is also still cost prohibitive
in most health care projects and the cost is added to both the lighting fixtures and the
lighting controls. 26
How to design human-centric lighting controls

To overcome some of these challenges, it is recommended to put different fixture  Back to TOC
types on separate zones to avoid the difference in color temperature. This way each
individual lighting type can be tuned separately to achieve the desired color tempera-
ture in the space. Another recommendation is to use the same manufacturer for the
tunable white fixtures so the technology and the dimming rate, as well as color consis-
tency, is the same.

Newer Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI) protocols such as DALI DT8 and
DALI-2 protocols also currently offer a solution for some manufacturers to provide a
good standardization to follow the black body curve and provide another level of con-
sistency.

Emergency lighting
As described in the case study, the future of health care lighting is through using con-
trollable emergency lighting. To provide a human-centric comfortable solution, emer-
gency lighting cannot be left on at night. This can be a burden to the budget, espe-
cially if every fixture is provided with a separate emergency module or if they need to
be circuited to both the normal and the emergency circuits.

A suggested solution is to put long run fixtures on the same zone and circuit to use the
same emergency module. Moreover, keeping the emergency lighting to the required
minimum by code and by facility requirements can reduce cost and keep the project in
budget. Some wireless lighting control systems can also be conducive since they re-
duce the amount of wiring.

However, one must keep in mind the requirements by NFPA 70: National Electrical
27
How to design human-centric lighting controls

Code, where some lighting control systems might not meet new emergency life safety  Back to TOC
requirements. It is also critical to consult with the client as some health care providers
do not prefer wireless systems as they can cause electromagnetic interference with
their systems and have batteries with short life spans which can also cause a mainte-
nance issue.

Electromagnetic interference
Hospitals are a living structure of devices and equipment. With the advancement of
newer wireless technologies, interference between different equipment in a hospital
can create a serious challenge. Some occupancy sensors operate on the harmonics of
newer real-time locating systems equipment and can interfere with them.

To use the advantages of wireless systems for a human-centric design, a careful investi-
gation of the system frequency and its harmonics is crucial. If the project timeline per-
mits, it is also encouraged to do a mock-up during the design phase with the various
hospital and lighting equipment, which can lead to specifying the appropriate lighting
control system early in the process.

Integration with BAS

A key element to achieving human-centric lighting controls is the capability to inte-
grate multiple systems together. Because the building automation system (BAS) is
often preferred by facility managers as an integration hub for a project’s major systems,
it is crucial to integrate seamlessly with it.

Standard BAS protocol integration — such as BACnet, Modbus or others — is a feature

in most lighting control systems. It is important to have a lighting control system that
28
How to design human-centric lighting controls

 Back to TOC

uses either no gateway with the BAS or minimal gateway. The Figure 7: Patient corridor
at morning time and
former can be achieved using a lighting control system that nighttime. Courtesy: HDR
uses the native BAS protocol.

Hence, control points between the two systems can be minimized and a direct two-
way communication can be achieved. If the integration is successful, systems such as
shades, smart glass, HVAC and others can be controlled from the lighting control sys-
tem devices that already exist in the space. Reducing cost and consolidating keypads
to lessen confusion in the space. In the case of a nurse call system, it can control light-
ing zones seamlessly as well.

A careful layout of the sequence of operations and how the system should operate
makes the commissioning of the lighting system easier and less time consuming. This
operational sequence should include the lighting zones and any integration between
these different systems.

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How to design human-centric lighting controls

Expandable systems  Back to TOC

Because health care projects are projects that last for a long time and since a lot of up-
grades can happen to the hospital, the lighting control system should be expandable
and future proof. The ability for the systems to receive new products and upgrades is
crucial. A distributed smart addressable system is a good approach.

Current lighting control systems are moving away from large, centralized lighting con-
trol panels toward more flexible plenum or fixture mounted lighting control modules.
Each strategy comes with its own advantages and setbacks.

For instance, integrated controls in fixtures can cause a higher initial fixture cost but
provides more flexibility in terms of future zoning. Fixture mounted controls and smart
drivers are the way to the future so devices can be added to the lighting control grid
seamlessly. A key approach to this is the standardization of both control modules and
drivers.

Plenum-rated panels can be challenging in health care environments for maintenance

above ceilings. This is why they are typically located in the corridors to avoid patient
room shutdown. Plenum-rated panels are great to reduce cost and to zone multiple
fixtures together in large areas such as corridors and lobbies. DALI and addressable
systems represent about 70% of connected lighting systems according to the EU Joint
Research Centre (JRC) and most European manufacturers have it as a standard offer-
ing. The technology is slowly making its way into the United States. If those are widely
available, a system can be expandable.

The key to standardization is contacting manufacturers early in the process and com-
30
How to design human-centric lighting controls

 Back to TOC

municating to them the importance of integrating specific Figure 8: Caregiver station

at morning time and
drivers into their lighting fixtures. If the quantity is available,
nighttime. Courtesy: HDR
manufacturers will certainly be open to use such products.

Given the above-mentioned challenges, the best way to achieve a great design is to
tailor it to the user’s needs. A strong understanding of what the client requirements are
is crucial. Clear communication between the users and the design team is imperative.
This communication can be visual, where different control scenarios can be shown or
be in the format of a schedule or a diagram to indicate how zones are controlled and
what type of devices are used.

Depending on the project timeline and delivery method, at least one meeting per
phase for lighting controls is encouraged so the client can see the progress and com-
ment on the changes. On larger immersive projects, the frequency of that review can
increase to a weekly basis to ensure proper understanding of lighting controls by the
client.
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How to design human-centric lighting controls

It is encouraged to show the different control scenarios to the client visually in the  Back to TOC
space. Renderings can be used to simulate them and to define how the space will look
when built. This accelerates the sign-off process and eliminates future questions and
requests for information.

It is also crucial to develop riser diagrams, schedules, details and sequence of oper-
ations that are reviewed by the client early in the process. The details and diagrams
should be generic in nature to allow showing the intent without locking to a specific
manufacturer and to make bidding easier. Documenting this information should be
clear and consistent. It should also indicate which zones are dimmed, on emergency
and the devices that control each zone.

Finally, a good lighting control system that provides a human-centric environment is

critical for patient healing and eventually a better patient outcome. Specifying touch-
less controls, providing the patient with more controllability and circadian entrainment
can promote faster healing, which can increase patient outcomes and reduce infection.
This helps having a better return on investment as patient satisfaction and TPS scores
increase. It also offers a viable solution for expanding in the future and adding the
most current version of the lighting control system.

Paul Daniel
Paul Daniel, LC, LEED AP, is a senior lighting designer and senior professional associ-
ate at HDR.

32
Codes and standards drive industrial,
manufacturing building design  Back to TOC

Building codes and standards aid engineers in designing industrial and

manufacturing buildings

Jason Gass, PE, CFPS, Fire Protection Discipline Engineer, CDM Smith,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Alex Engelman, PE, LEED AP, CEM, Associate
Principal, Syska Hennessy Group, New York, New York. Matthew Merli, PE,
Principle/Science & Technology Market Leader, Fitzmeyer & Tocci Associates
Inc., Woburn, Massachusetts.

33
Codes and standards drive industrial, manufacturing building design

Please explain some of the codes, standards and guidelines you com-  Back to TOC
monly use during the project’s design process. Which codes/standards
should engineers be most aware of?

Jarron Gass: Being on the constructing side of design in the MEP/fire protection
realm and specifically supporting fire protection and life safety, I tend to live in the
state or jurisdictions adopted fire code (typically International Fire Code and NFPA 1:
Fire Code) and then into the various standards that are adopted by those codes. NFPA
13: Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, NFPA 72: National Fire Alarm and
Signaling Code and NFPA 101: Life Safety Code and egress items.

Alex Engelman: NFPA for fire protection and life safety aspects and all recent local
legislation that fines building owners on their carbon footprint

Matthew Merli: Well, the big ones are always International Building Code, Interna-
tional Mechanical Code, NFPA 70: National Electrical Code and other NFPA codes.
NFPA hits a wide variety from sprinkler design to laboratory design. ASHRAE, ASME
are a few others in our industry as mechanical/electrical engineers. There are also more
and more sustainability or occupant well-being codes. LEED, WELL, NetZero and some
others are out there. Another, HVAC-related code, that is helpful on many projects is
the Industrial Ventilation Manual of Recommended Practice.
What are some best practices to ensure that such buildings meet and
exceed codes and standards?

Jarron Gass: For me, the goal is to prove the appropriate amount of protection for a
facility from both a code and an owner preference perspective. On one side, provid-
34
Codes and standards drive industrial, manufacturing building design

 Back to TOC

ing more protection than is necessary might not Conveyance systems were installed for
provide much of a return on investment when com- a biorubber facility in Mesa, Arizona, for
purposes of moving raw material into and
pared to the cost of implementation. On the other
through the manufacturing process to
side, not providing enough protection could lead finished goods. Courtesy: CDM Smith
to catastrophic results up to and including death
or loss of property. Finding the correct balance of protection for each project is always
the goal.

35
Codes and standards drive industrial, manufacturing building design

Alex Engelman: For some developers targeting end clients with aggressive sustain-  Back to TOC
ability goals; those projects and clients drive the design from an energy performance
standpoint and embodied energy standpoint.

Matthew Merli: With these types of buildings (manufacturing, industrial), they typical
have huge energy use. So, it is important to not only think about the building itself
(i.e., wall construction, HVAC systems, lighting design, etc.); but also important to think
about the process within the building. Working with the owner to see how energy re-
duction can occur is critical, as that is usually the biggest energy user of the building.
How are codes, standards or guidelines for energy efficiency impacting the design of
industrial and manufacturing facilities?

Jarron Gass: It seems to go two ways, depending on client, project, use, etc. One way
being that the adopted codes help streamline and guide the more traditional projects,
while on the other hand they will slow the process down when the desired or necessary
building or process is not able to be jammed into the mold. Efficiency is desired in the
design, building and lifecycle analysis of any facility. Trying to drive the narrative to-
ward increased sustainability while adding value by showing the offsets and gains long
term of increased upfront cost.

What new or updated code, standard, guideline organization or associa-

tion do you feel will change the way such projects are designed, bid out
or built?

Jarron Gass: I think that we need the ability to be more flexible in how we design
buildings that might not fit a particular mold that is prescribed in the codes. I think that
36
Codes and standards drive industrial, manufacturing building design

different engineering society groups, such as the Society of Fire Protection Engineers  Back to TOC
and their Guide to Guide to Performance-Based Fire Safety Design are going to be
instrumental in fostering the type of innovation and forward thinking that is already re-
quired to think outside the box while still meeting or exceeding the prescriptive goals.

Alex Engelman: DBIA is one organization that helps support design-build projects
though education and training and facilitation comes to mind.

What are some of the biggest challenges when considering code compli-
ance and designing or working with existing buildings?

Jarron Gass: Reuse projects present challenges to prescriptive codes simply because
you are seeking to use something for a different purpose than it was originally intend-
ed. In fire protection, we are often presented with water supply challenges when the
new use is considered a higher hazard than original use and existing infrastructure
cannot accommodate the increased supply without major modifications. The use of
performance-based design to find solutions that can provide the same level of protec-
tion through alternative means and methods using various tools such as fire and smoke
modeling is allowing the industry to outpace the prescribed codes and standards.

Alex Engelman: Life safety is paramount and closely examining the sprinkler and fire
alarm systems and how they may support the target tenancy is one of our early focus-
es. Next would be the electrical service to support the tenant needs and future electric
vehicle and potential for photovoltaics tie-in.

Consulting-Specifying Engineer
37
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