NHS Lothian to save £644,000 a year on energy

NHS Lothian is set save 2,649 tonnes of carbon and £644,000 per year as part of a project to upgrade and improve the existing energy centre and infrastructure of St John’s Hospital in Livingston.

Vital Energi has been awarded a contract by NHS Lothian, which will see the  existing 30-year-old steam boiler plant upgraded to include a 1.5MW CHP engine, three 5MW steam boilers, and new chimney flues. The company also say that waste heat will be captured from the laundry area and used to generate heating and hot water around the hospital in order to maximise energy savings.

This will provide significant carbon and financial savings for the scheme as using the wasted heat will provide financial savings of £26,249 per annum. A new smart SCADA monitoring system will be installed to monitor, control and optimise the energy scheme to maximise financial savings, improve supply resilience, and minimise carbon emissions.

Steve Black, account director for Vital Energi, said: “The current boiler plant has served the hospital well for the last 30 years but it has now reached the end of life, and is not performing as efficiently as new plant. By installing the CHP technology, new boilers and the laundry heat recovery systems, the Health Board will benefit from significant energy cost savings as well as developing a reliable and effective energy scheme. We are delighted to be working with NHS Lothian and look forward to bringing the project into life.”