CARBON AND ENERGY REDUCTION
Hot water in healthcare – the Net Zero challenge
Paul Marsden, Public Health Technical Specification manager at Baxi, and Chair of the Society of Public Health Engineers (SoPHE) Industry Working Group, discusses the challenges and opportunities for NHS Estates and Facilities managers surrounding the decarbonisation of domestic hot water. He argues that the high hot water demand frequently associated with healthcare premises makes it a clear focus for reduction in associated energy use and emissions.
One of the largest health systems in the world, with a vast estate, including hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities, the NHS is a significant energy consumer, estimated to account for 4-5% of the UK’s total carbon footprint.1
The
impacts of climate change represent one of the biggest public health challenges of this century, requiring health services to adapt to respond to new and increased health risks. As part of its commitment to tackling climate change, the NHS has set ambitious targets for reaching Net Zero from its directly controlled emissions by 2040, and the emissions it can influence by 2045. In so doing, it aims to become the world’s first Net Zero national health service. Reducing carbon emissions from hot water generation is one of the areas identified for achieving this target. The high hot water demand frequently
associated with healthcare premises makes it a clear focus for reduction in associated energy use and emissions. However, it is one that comes with certain challenges – from the scale of the estate, to the huge variety of building types and hot water systems, to the specific considerations relating to domestic hot water (DHW) provision in these hygiene-critical environments. In this article, we will discuss the particular requirements for hot water in hospitals and healthcare buildings, the challenges for estates and facilities managers in delivering reliable, sanitary hot water with reduced emissions, and the opportunities for improving the energy efficiency of hot water systems across the NHS estate to drive down its carbon footprint.
Halting climate change In March this year, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its latest report on climate change, and what must be done to solve it. The message from the scientists was unequivocal – the pace and scale of action must speed up if we are to halt climate change, and requires ‘rapid
Integrating air source heat pumps and direct gas-fired hot water equipment in a bivalent system can meet hot water demand more sustainably, and make significant progress towards decarbonisation.
and deep and, in most cases, immediate greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors this decade’.2 echoed in a new report3
This sentiment was by the Climate
Change Committee on the pace of the nation’s adaptation progress to climate change. The UK government set a target of
achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050 (2045 in Scotland). The NHS has a more ambitious goal, committing to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040, a target that requires significant action to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Reducing hot water generation is an essential part of this effort, as hot water is one of the most energy-intensive processes in healthcare facilities.
The Health and Care Act On 1 July 2022, the NHS became the first ever health system to embed Net Zero
into legislation through the Health and Care Act 2022.4
This places duties on NHS
England, and all NHS Trusts, Foundation Trusts, and Integrated Care Boards, to contribute towards statutory emissions and environmental targets. Why the earlier target? The health service accounts for 4-5% of the UK’s total carbon footprint, and the NHS in England is responsible for 40% of the public sector’s emissions.5
As
such, it has an important role to play in reducing carbon emissions, and the impact from taking immediate action to cut emissions and improve the sustainability of its operations will be significant. The NHS is also driven by its mission to
improve the nation’s wellbeing, and become more resilient to manage the accelerating effects of climate change on public health. Nine out of the 10 hottest years on record happened in the last decade, with almost 900 extra deaths6
caused by the summer June 2023 Health Estate Journal 53
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