The issue of global climate change is one of the most serious challenges that the world is currently grappling with. Businesses across all sectors need to act responsibly and take actions, no matter how small, toward promoting environmental sustainability. Therefore. as a dental healthcare provider, it’s your prerogative to not only focus on a cost-friendly dental clinic design but also pay equal attention to an eco-friendly and sustainable design for your dental clinic.
In this article, we will explore the different ways in which you can plan a modern dental clinic design that is environmentally conscious and sustainable and share tips for reducing your healthcare facility’s energy costs. But before diving into the specifics, it’s important to understand how sustainability can be incorporated into building design, fit-out, and refurbishment.
Incorporating Sustainability In Building And Design
When it comes to bringing sustainable design to your dental clinic, then numerous factors play a pivotal role in bringing it to fruition. These include optimum utilisation of natural resources like energy and water, renewable sources, and the use of environment-friendly materials.
An eco-friendly dental clinic design can go a long way in popularising you amongst people who genuinely care about the environment, especially your GenZ patients. This will also enhance your asset value for the coming years and minimise your running cost.
Now that you have a brief idea about why sustainability matters and how it can be included in building and design, let’s look at some practical ways to incorporate sustainability in your dental clinic design.
Tips for Sustainable Clinic Design
Below are some of the ways that you can use to plan for your environmental-friendly dental clinic interior design.
1. Use Of Daylight
If you have an independent dental practice, then it would be worthwhile to install an environmental-friendly apparatus like skylights and glass windows/doors. Also, there is no point in using artificial lights during the daytime. Hence, you can bring down their utility and use them only during the evening.
By doing this, you will be saving a reasonable amount on the power bill. Also, having natural light will generate a positive ambience for not only your staff members but also the patients. This will lead to an increase in productivity and also relieve your patients of any undue stress.
Harley Street-based Your Dentist has been relying on daylight and has significantly reduced its reliance on artificial lighting for its day-to-day operations. This has not only brought down its operational costs but also established it as a leading eco-friendly business in the area.
2. Increasing Energy Efficiency
Reducing the use of electricity at your dental clinic can be a positive step towards environmental sustainability. Now the question is what you can do to save energy. The solution is very simple. Install solar panels to power your dental clinic!
Other than solar panels, there are other cleaner alternatives you can go for. These are smart appliances that include your fans, smart plugs, lights, and the installation of a complete smart hub at the premise of your dental practice. The major advantage of using these smart appliances is the massive saving on power consumption. Besides these smart solutions, you can also save energy through automated turning off lights and monitoring your air conditioning unit.
3. Use Of Eco-Friendly Materials
Most building and design materials are nowadays available in eco-friendly variants. The best example is linoleum flooring. You may ask what brings its need when we can instead use vinyl flooring. Well, there is a difference that you will notice. Linoleum flooring is the best substitute for the latter in terms of being eco-friendly. In comparison to your regular vinyl flooring, linoleum flooring is more affordable with increased durability.
Apart from that, an eco-friendly cabinet structure can also be brought into use without the addition of urea-formaldehyde. There are other things that you might find necessary for your eco-friendly dental clinic like the installation of biodegradable ceiling and wall panels. Using the paint without VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) can also be a great eco-friendly move.
4. Use Of Recycled Materials
We have mentioned the materials that come as the best eco-friendly variants. These include solar panels, linoleum flooring, and the judicious use of smart appliances like fans, smart plugs, and lights. But there is one more thing that we are overlooking. This is the use of recycled materials for your dental fitouts.
For example, when Surrey-based Dental Sense approached us to get their dental clinic refurbished, we proceeded by keeping 5 main elements for recycling in mind. These were plastic, paper, aluminium, glass, and steel. Thus, a major portion of the clinic has been designed by using only eco-friendly items. Moreover, the clinic uses furniture which is made from reclaimed and recycled wood.
Conclusion
In this blog, we mentioned the important eco-friendly measures that you can employ to make your dental office sustainable. These include the use of glass doors and windows for the maximum utilisation of daylight. Also, deploying smart appliances can result in increased energy efficiency.
Moreover, the importance of using recycled and reclaimed furniture can never be overstated. Using recycled construction materials can go a long way in establishing your dental clinic as an eco-friendly space.
Author Bio
UV Jadeja, the head honcho at Divo Interiors Ltd in London, has spent a significant number of years in the commercial fit-out and refurbishment industry, specialising in dental practices. Under his leadership, the company has designed and renovated clinics of some of the most well-known dental practices in the country. He often shares his insights & extensive industry knowledge with the general public through engaging blog posts.
