ENERGY GENERATION
the region. Waitrose recently announced that it is replacing its gas boilers with electric heat pumps in all its supermarkets – to tackle energy costs and bring forward Net Zero plans. Part L of the Building Regulations states
that non-domestic buildings should be moving to low-carbon heat sources. The government has already set a target of 600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2030, and the Committee on Climate Change estimates that 19 million heat pumps will need to be installed by 2050 to achieve the Net Zero goals globally.
Using model-predictive control, AI, and Machine Learning, can take every possible scenario of a building’s dataset to build an understanding of the actual energy conversion rate for each element of it.
reducing costs while enhancing patient and staff satisfaction, patient care, and the quality of the hospital. However, difficulty with limited budgets, and differing views on what smart hospitals are, how to implement them effectively, and how to evaluate them, are some challenges to the development and implementation of smart medical facilities. It is difficult for the NHS to develop holistic, top-level designs when they are not looking at the full 360 degree picture. In some cases, they are pushed into making piecemeal investments in building intelligent systems in specific, individual areas, resulting in fragmented, non-unified plans. Furthermore, many IT/intelligent technologies are not fully compatible with each other; thus each upgrading or retrofitting may create the need to build new systems from scratch.
Finding effective solutions The key to driving adoption of smart hospitals is to find effective solutions to these problems. There is no one-size- fits-all solution for an effective smart hospital. The varying needs of the different user groups have to be taken into consideration. Equally important is to plan and customise different functional spaces based on what is required of them. When
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taken together, these considerations will improve the overall experience of patients, doctors, and nurses.
Driving the heat pump agenda The growing momentum towards Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050 is likely to accelerate the replacement of fossil-fuelled boilers with heat pumps. Europe, which is leading the move to be carbon-neutral by 2050, has already committed to at least 40% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels) by 2030, and is proposing to increase this ambition to 55% under the European Green Deal (EGD). More recently, it has also put climate change and the energy transition at the heart of its economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, providing economic incentives for the implementation of low-carbon technologies and energy efficiency. Heat pumps are an important part of the equation. The switch to heat pumps is gaining
traction in the UK. However, we are still lagging behind many other European countries when it comes to heat pump installations. The availability of gas, price relatives between fuels, and policy frameworks from governments, are effecting a wide uptake in heat pumps in
To tackle the issues at hand, hospitals need to work with a partner that can deliver the most efficient solution based on these factors. The best partners will design and install solutions based on the business and building needs
Not a ‘one-size-fits all’ The electrification of heat through heat pumps, where the electricity to drive the heat pumps comes from renewable sources, is a key technology in cutting costs and carbon emissions. Heat pumps can be used as a primary source of generation, replacing fossil fuel boilers in the generation of heat. They can now work at higher temperatures, meaning they are a great option for spaces like hospitals and healthcare centres, where there is a high demand for hot water at peak times – removing the need to use a gas boiler. Choosing which heat pump model is right for a building, however, is not a straightforward decision. The decision is driven by the overall economic case, operator needs, health, safety, and environmental (HSE) requirements, and external factors, such as weather. There might be a need for the redesign of mechanical building services to enable lower supply temperatures, as well as investments into training to develop the skills needed to deliver installation, commissioning, and maintenance. Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to choosing which heat pump is right for a business, as it relies on an organisation’s individual requirements and operating pain points. To tackle the issues at hand, hospitals
need to work with a partner that can deliver the most efficient solution based on these factors. The best partners will design and install solutions based on the business and building needs. The best solution is the one that provides the highest value in terms of cost and efficiency or return on investment (ROI), which any good solutions provider can calculate and advise a business on.
Simplifying the complicated When external temperatures vary so much, ‘wasted’ energy can be reused in a building by integrating both heat pumps and chiller systems. By utilising hybrid systems, when there is a demand for heating or hot water, and cooling, at the same time, the heat rejected from the cooling process can be extracted and reused for the heating process, resulting in additional energy savings. Hybrid designs
September 2023 Health Estate Journal 65
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