In the current climate of NHS cuts it is more important than ever for a Trust to use every means to save resources without direct effects on patients. Similarly, with the prevailing focus on reducing energy consumption because of climate change, it is vital to keep a close eye on energy usage and make efficiency savings wherever possible. One way of fulfilling both these ambitions is to keep stringent control of the use of heat and domestic hot water consumption.
Managers at an acute, district general hospital, which provides healthcare services to over 270,000 people in north and mid Bedfordshire, wanted to understand their consumption of hot water which would in turn allow them to identify the requirements for replacing their equipment with the most energy efficient solution.
They called in ETA Energy Systems Ltd, Bedford-based consultants, designers and suppliers of specialist energy equipment and systems who work with the Carbon Trust to reduce energy usage. ETA specialise in determining that pumps, flow-rates and balancing valves are correctly set. Peter Richardson, ETA’s MD commented: “During our assessment of the hospital’s needs, we established full weekly hot water consumption profiles allowing equipment to be accurately selected and specified for the replacement project. Having considered various measurement alternatives two Micronics PF330 meters were selected due to the ease of installation and the maintenance and service benefits delivered by this non-contact technology.”
The specialist Micronics product, used for clean liquid monitoring, with its integral logger and software and non-invasive measurement represented significant savings on installation costs and less disruption than installing an alternative in-line meter. The Micronics clamp-on flowmeter for liquids is portable and easy to use and offers continuity and long term reliability. It is robustly constructed and provides a quick and reliable means of measuring flow accurately.
In this example, the meters have been installed at a number of locations for a trial period in order to determine the appropriate size of the new equipment and to make sure that it is the most efficient possible for the task. Staff will be able to monitor flow rates and calculate energy and therefore cost and carbon footprint implications.
Micronics was selected as the supplier due to their extensive experience with clamp-on, ultrasonic, flow measurement technology and their competitive pricing in comparison to similar technology solutions or alternatives which would have required considerable construction work. This example demonstrates that the opportunity for replication and contribution to good energy management in similar schemes across the UK is extensive.