CARBON AND ENERGY REDUCTION
Greater insight on ‘wasted energy’ could be the key
Neil Campbell, Chief Sales officer at eEnergy, discusses some of the ways that healthcare estates teams can lower the amount of energy wasted in their buildings, and some of the other – in many cases relatively straightforward and inexpensive – steps they can take to reduce the carbon footprint of their estate and play their part in the NHS achieving its Net Zero goals.
In July 2022, the NHS made a major commitment to decarbonisation, and its landmark pledge to achieve Net Zero by 2040 was a world-first for health services. Healthcare is one of the nation’s
highest energy-consuming industries, with the NHS responsible for 4% of the UK’s total carbon emissions. With the total energy bill for NHS Trusts standing at over £1.5 bn for 2022/23, there is a huge opportunity for healthcare institutions, public and private, to implement an affordable and accessible energy action plan that reduces waste, bills, and carbon emissions. With this plan in place, healthcare organisations can put money back into what matters the most – excellent patient care. However, how can NHS Trusts and other healthcare bodies start or continue their Net Zero journey at a time when sustainability targets are widely viewed as too expensive, and at times, seemingly impossible? Also, how can they best track and measure Net Zero progress with volatile energy prices and slashed budgets? Evidently, it’s a challenge that requires collaboration, including private sector expertise, finance, and technology to support them.
Eliminating energy waste to make Net Zero affordable With the emergence of the reporting requirements of NHS Green Plans and ERIC returns in recent years, many NHS Trust executives have started to collate energy consumption and carbon emission data. However, one important metric not recorded in either is the amount of energy wasted. Wasted energy can be defined as energy that is not essential for the delivery of services, and typical figures estimate this to be above 30% of many organisations’ total energy use. All organisations and individuals ‘waste’
eEnergy says the MY ZeERO meters enable organisations to measure, manage, and visualise, their energy usage, ‘at a granular circuit level, in real time, thanks to an easy-to-use cloud-based analytics platform’.
service, without having to pay any upfront capital. One of the quickest and easiest
ways for healthcare organisations to decrease emissions is to upgrade their lighting infrastructure and install LED luminaires. The use of outdated lighting such as halogen and fluorescent bulbs is widespread across the healthcare estate, and generates significant amounts of unnecessary energy use. Pending UK legislation changes later this year will force the need to adopt change. The 24/7 nature of hospitals means that lighting demands are complex, with specific areas of buildings having variable lighting requirements. However, in many
energy, and because wastage isn’t reported or measured, it is often an area overlooked. Eliminating energy waste can help NHS Trusts meet Net Zero targets while simultaneously making considerable savings. The cheapest kilowatt is the one you never use. On the path to Net Zero, building energy is the single largest area that health estates and facilities can influence. This makes up nearly half (41%) of the NHS Carbon Footprint. With 93% of the total NHS building energy use linked to hospitals in the UK, this must be a clear focus. Changing hospital infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions sounds like a difficult and expensive task, but taking action to decrease emissions does not necessarily require major upfront capital investments. There are options that allow energy savings to pay this back as a monthly
healthcare settings, a lot of lights are left on unnecessarily – in hospitals, for example, empty storage rooms and corridors may have lights that are continuously on. By installing LED lighting with energy-efficient bulbs and occupancy sensors or timers, energy wastage can be minimised, with lights only on when they are required.
Spire set to realise £2.1 m saving over 10 years Replacing older lighting with newer LED systems is a quick and cost-effective solution. Private hospital group, Spire Healthcare, found that upgrading to an energy-efficient lighting system across eight hospitals reduced its total carbon emissions to such an extent that it will realise net savings of £2.1 m over 10 years. What’s more, by installing LED lighting,
February 2024 Health Estate Journal 67
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73
