Going the extra mile

Many healthcare organisations are focusing on achieving the Department of Health consumption targets for hospitals in advance of the impending CRC legislation (Carbon Reduction Commitment) that is coming into force in 2010. Whilst some healthcare organisations are finding the targets challenging, others are able to meet the targets with relative ease. Martin Jaehme, is MD of TEBS, a specialist energy management consulting company with many years experience of managing energy in the healthcare industry. He argues that achieving the Department of Health targets should just be the start of a Carbon reduction programme and not the end objective.
    
There are strong drivers for continuing to reduce energy and carbon beyond the DoH targets, not only because of the financial benefits from lower CRC costs but from the bigger incentive of reducing all utilities costs which is still the primary concern of most healthcare Estate Managers. Teamwork’s case studies in hospitals from earlier this year show that most organisations still have untapped potential to save energy even when the hospital is close to or is achieving one or more of the DoH energy targets.
    
Cost Benefits
The cost benefits from investing in energy savings remain very attractive with capital being fully recovered in less than two years in most cases. Whilst capital is required to invest in energy saving measures, substantial reductions in energy use can be achieved at little or no cost by adopting energy efficient practices such as good housekeeping, staff awareness campaigns and close attention to controls strategies, which are just a few measures that should be implemented.
    
However, the story does not stop here. The need to lower carbon emissions in the health sector is driving innovation to use low carbon technologies in hospitals. Then long term requirement to reduce carbon emission to meet DoH 2020 targets mean that low carbon solutions need to be considered if subsequent targets are to be met. One attractive low carbon measure that can be implemented where domestic hot water is produced centrally is to install solar heating for hot water. This is usually achieved by using roof-mounted solar panels to preheat hot water in a separate feeder tank. In this way all the requirements for controlling legionella are met.
    
Combined heat and power plant (CHP) is another favourite where a gas engine generator provides not only electricity but heat. The usual problem with CHP is to use the heat beneficially during summer months. Whilst domestic hot water can provide a useful heat sink, CHP becomes very attractive when the engines waste heat from both the engine’s water jacket and hot exhaust gas is used to provide cooling through an absorption chiller.  As most hospitals have a centralised chilled water facility, this option is very attractive particularly when third party funding of the equipment is used with the hospital simply benefitting from lower energy costs.
    
Major Impact
One final area where low carbon technologies can be have a major impact, is to change to a low carbon fuel such as biomass. Biomass/wood burning technology is tried and tested and has been widely used on the continent for more than 25 years. Fuel and ash handling systems are usually automated and are considered to be clean with little risk of pollution either from the boiler exhaust or from fuel/ash debris. Most hospitals have multiple boiler installations that lend themselves to replacing one boiler by a biomass boiler installation able to meet the hospital’s heating  base load in winter.
    
In these cash strapped times, a lack of finance should not prevent energy savings being achieved.  By careful consideration of the order in which savings are implemented once a little pump priming finance is made available, the energy programmes can be shown to be largely self-financing. The availability of finance from third parties either through PFI or from arms length discounted energy purchase agreements (where a third party funds, builds and operates the equipment, selling the energy to the hospital at a beneficial price over an agreed contract period) means that most projects can progress when there is a commitment from the hospital management team to make things happen.

For more information
More information on these case studies and the application of low carbon technologies can be obtained by contacting Martin Jaehme at Teamwork Energy Bureau Services Ltd.
Tel 01275 859100
E-mail martin.jaehme@tebs.uk.com  
Web: www.tebs.uk.com