ELECTRIFICATION NIGEL THOMAS – NATIONAL SPECIFICATION & PROJECTS SALES MANAGER, ABB, UK


Smarter electrification could cure energy crisis


Nigel Thomas, national specification & projects sales manager for ABB, explains why, if the healthcare sector is serious about delivering improved patient outcomes and long-term sustainability, securing smarter and more resilient energy infrastructure must become a top priority.


Smart connectivity.


Walk into any hospital, anywhere in the world, and you will find the same thing: lives, depending on power. From neonatal intensive care units to chemotherapy suites, to robotic surgical theatres, to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) in infectious disease wards – healthcare continues to grow its dependency on electrified and increasingly decarbonised systems to diagnose and treat patients. But while advances in digitally enhanced medicine promise a new era of care, they come with a risk that is rarely given the attention it deserves: energy insecurity. The reality is stark. With an average


energy intensity of approximately 74 kWh per square foot, the average hospital now consumes between 2.5-3 times as much energy as a commercial office building. HVAC systems, automated lighting, sterilisation equipment, MRI and CT scanners, AI-powered medical analysis, and the charging infrastructure for a growing fleet of electric ambulances all contribute to this soaring demand. This would be


challenging enough in a stable energy environment. But across the UK and internationally, we face anything but. Hospitals are


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Power-intensive hospital equipment.


being squeezed by a confluence of risks: climate-driven extreme weather events, growing grid volatility linked to renewable transition, escalating cyber threats, and ageing infrastructure that is becoming costlier and harder to maintain. Whether in the NHS or abroad, the


result is a rising threat to power continuity, with life-and-death consequences. Hospitals must not just operate 24/7 but operate with absolute reliability. In a digital-first era of healthcare, siloed and outdated systems are longer an option.


Why hospital energy risk is rising There is no single root cause for hospitals’ energy reliability issues. Rather, they emerge from a web of compounding trends. Firstly, more complexities mean more consumption. A study in Energy Build journal in 2021 showed that hospitals


of various sizes could consume between ~3,900,000 kWh (small), ~6,500,000 kWh (medium), and ~11,200,000 kWh (large) per year. The pandemic demonstrated the


energy implications of emergency medical response: these numbers climbed even higher as hospitals began operating negative pressure (NP) rooms and xenon pulsed ultraviolet (XP-UV) equipment. Although out of necessity, sudden expansion and diversification of treatment technology puts energy systems under strain. Infrastructural inertia in hospitals also


Nigel Thomas For the last 17 years, Nigel has been responsible


for specification, and now sales, across ABB’s UK infrastructure, building services, and data centre projects. His background is in the sales and


marketing of building management and energy systems, lighting solutions, and medium- and


low-voltage switchgear, with a focus on shaping the future of Net Zero through the specification of adaptive and people-centric smart buildings.


persists. According to the Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) guidelines, NHS Trusts are expected to maintain cohesive energy continuity plans. However, a patchwork of legacy equipment and proprietary Building Management Systems (BMS) renders many sites inflexible and difficult to upgrade without high cost or disruption. Closely tied to this is the


issue of renewable intermittency. The energy transition is essential, but it is not without trade-offs. Wind, solar, tidal, and other renewable energy sources are variable by nature. Without local-level resilience, this


IFHE DIGEST 2026


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