Electrical aspects of the 'Gasthuisberg' University Hospital relighting project

The lighting system of the 'Gasthuisberg' University Hospital is being replaced. The old system was in a generally bad condition. The benefits of such relighting projects are well known: better lighting quality, low power consumption and reduced maintenance costs. New lighting systems often use electronic power supplies to reduce size, weight, cost and losses. However, they sometimes inject a badly distorted waveform into the power grid. This aspect is often forgotten or neglected when evaluating the benefits of new lighting systems. In this project, the main goal is to assess the power quality of the local (i.e. inside the hospital building) low-voltage power distribution system, after the installation of the new light fixtures. It is shown that modern power electronic ballasts perform better in all the above mentioned areas, including mains current distortion. Additionally, computer simulations are performed to forecast the level of local voltage and current distortion when the relighting project is completed.