Recently, I was able to tour a building that has achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification. What a great experience! While this was not a dental office nor did I have any involvement on this project, the building has incorporated many great features that reduce its energy usage and its impact on Mother Earth: most, if not all, of which, can be incorporated into green dental office design.

For example, the ceiling height is higher than normal and finishing materials were kept to a minimum. Rather than install acoustical ceiling tiles everywhere, the drop ceiling and tiles were only installed where sound dampening was most needed. Elsewhere, perforated steel roof panels were left exposed with a layer of sound absorbing insulation above it to keep sound from echoing. A similar strategy could be used in operatories to only install acoustical ceiling tiles over the operatories and leave hallways and other areas open to the perforated roof panels.

The lighting along the exterior walls was installed with daylight sensors to dim the lights gradually based upon the amount of sunlight that was coming into the room. This keeps the volume of light steady throughout the day, but on a bright, sunny day, the electrical lights might be almost completely off – greatly reducing the energy usage. Even if this strategy isn’t used in the operatories, this is great in reception areas, consultation rooms, and staff lounges where the quality of the light isn’t quite as critical.

The parking lot was paved with semi-pervious pavers to allow rainwater to pass through and not all run off into the storm sewers. Parking spots were reserved close to the front entrance for those visitors driving alternative fuel vehicles. Both strategies can easily be employed by a dental office wishing to be more environmentally friendly.

Geothermal wells were drilled that direct air 300 feet down into the bedrock to either chill or warm it, depending upon the season, to heat and cool the building. Even in an urban environment this strategy was able to be employed. The building is totally self-contained for its heating and cooling needs, buying no energy from the local utility. Again, when planning a new dental office building, this is an approach that can be taken to save on utility costs for years to come.

My last example, again in the area of not using material where unnecessary, no carpeting or tile was installed in the hallways and other areas of high traffic. Instead, the concrete was stained with an attractive color and pattern. There are many areas in a dental office design that this approach can be employed.

Through these examples hopefully one can see how a dental office can incorporate green design principles and techniques to go beyond just the elimination of mercury from the practice to become more green. As there are more buildings achieving LEED certification all the time, there is probably a LEED building near you that you could tour to get even more ideas for your office. Typically, the owners of buildings that have achieved LEED status like to show them off.

Are you looking for the best lighting option to help you accent your business or your décor? There are plenty of options out there, including spotlights, colored lights, and more. What you may not know, however, is that recent advances in LED technology have created a vast improvement in the types of lighting display products available to consumers and business owners. RGB color changing strips offer remarkable versatility, and they may well be what you need to create the lighting that you have been looking for.

With most light fixtures, what you see is what you get. If you purchase a red light, you will always have nothing more than a red light. Likewise, the shape of the light fixture that you choose will always be the shape that you have to work with. While this works in places where the décor is static, most of us like to keep things changing and to keep things looking fresh, so why not find a lighting solution that can offer that same level of versatility? With RGB color changing strips, that is exactly what you will find.

When you install RGB color changing strips, you will find that they are quite flexible and easy to install and remove without damaging walls or other surfaces. They can be bent to almost any angle, making them ideal for framing a sign or display shelf as well as for lining hallways or illuminating decorative areas. These light strips also offer a very wide range of natural colors and can provide a single static color, changing colors, or even moving color and light patterns and sequences. When it comes to true versatility, this is an option that is hard to top.

You deserve a lighting choice that can adapt to your changing needs, and RGB color changing strips really offer it. LED lighting is incredibly energy efficient, and it offers the most vibrant, natural colors of any lighting option on the market. Taking the time to really examine the benefits of LEDs can help you see just why consumers and business owners the world over are starting to make the swap, and when you factor in both low energy use and low maintenance requirements, LED lighting certainly becomes even more attractive.

The bottom line is that RGB color changing strips are ideal for a variety of applications. There are plenty of colors and patterns to choose from, and you will find that flexibility and ease of lengthening and shortening the strips makes them even more versatile. Take the time to check out an informative video on all that these strips can do in terms of color and patterns, and you will have a much clearer idea of why so many people have gained interest since they were introduced into the public market. LED lighting is certainly the way of the future, and there has never been a better time to discover all that this remarkable lighting source is capable of doing.