Energy conservation in hospitals

Hospitals are one of the largest consumers of electricity in the commercial consumers category. They have the highest energy use, per unit of floor space. The large array of equipment and various utilities in a hospital mean that energy bills account for a lion’s share of the hospitals outgoings. However with active measures taken, the energy consumption of hospitals can be drastically reduced.

How energy is consumed within a hospital environment:

One of the major consumers of electricity within the hospital environment is the ventilation system. Hospitals often require 100% ventilation of fresh air to reduce the risk of microbial contamination. The HVAC system accounts for 45% of the total energy used in hospitals. Lighting is another area of energy consumption accounting for at least 25%. Other operations such Laundering, sterilization, and cooking account for another 30% of energy expenditure.

Formulating an energy plan:

In order to improve a hospital’s efficiency in terms of energy and water consumption the hospital will need an energy planner who draws up and maintains an energy plan. This planner will track spending on energy and water. He will responsible for tracking rate changes and tailor the energy plan to best meet hospital requirements in an optimal manner. The planner will be entrusted with making repairs and changing equipment to more energy efficient models.

The need for an energy management plan:

Energy management systems help in controlling air-handling units HVAC, lighting from a centralized location. This will help to control the reduction of unnecessary lighting and cooling of areas that are not being actively used.

Involving the hospital staff:

The hospital maintenance staff needs to be encouraged into adopting energy saving habits such as switching off unwanted lights whenever they finish cleaning up. Employees must be instructed on how to save energy in the work place. This should be reinforced by an incentive system. Additional incentive should be provided for staff to contribute suggestion to improvements in energy saving measures.

Reducing the cost of cooling in a hospital:

Hospital cooling costs can be reduced by using a refrigerant additive like PermaFrost to air conditioning systems and food service related cooling equipment. This helps in reducing the amount of time that the compressor has to run and save energy. This in turn increases the compressor’s life.

Heat recovery coils when installed in exhaust air handlers can help in capturing waste energy without the risk of contamination. Heat recovery can also be done for sterilization equipment, laundries, dishwashers and cleaning equipment. Hospitals should be equipped with direct digital controls.

Variable air volume, air-handling systems especially with variable speed drives will help in efficiently managing airflow and distribution within the hospital. A substantial amount of money can be saved by installing a combined heat and power generation system. Systems with an absorption chiller will even be able to cater to the hospital’s cooling needs.

Equipment such as televisions, computers, lamps that give off heat should not placed near thermostats. The heat generated from this equipment can affect the thermostats leading to increase in the energy spent on cooling.