The 200-year old Cheltenham General Hospital is part of the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and has put sustainability at its heart. It has embraced the targets set by the government to reduce emissions and investing in an energy system which will help it lower both CO2 emissions and its energy spend.
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is challenged with reducing carbon emissions with 26% by 2020.
To do this the hospital needed to improve both its energy usage and generation through the Carbon and Energy Fund (CEF) framework. This allows for an accelerated procurement process and has a demonstrated record of Trusts realising large carbon savings quickly. Another benefit is that CEF projects employ energy performance contracts which see the provider guarantee financial savings and carbon reductions over the term of the contract.
The project is being partially funded by a £960,000 grant from the Department of Health with the remainder of capital funded by Vital Energi (which will be repaid over the contract term). This approach allows the Trust to achieve the carbon savings required without using its own capital, allowing for savings to be generated from year one.
Strategically, Vital focused first on developing self-funding energy reduction initiatives across the whole estate. This included major upgrades to the Building Management System (BMS) and upgrades to 646 light fittings which will lower the Trust's CO2 emissions by 116 tonnes per annum. Another significant addition is the design and installation of a site-wide automatic meter reading system which will allow accurate measurement and reporting, which is essential for claiming incentives.
Once the hospital's energy usage had been reduced, Vital then focused on the energy generation solution, installing a 1.2MW Combined Heat & Power (CHP) Engine and buried district heating pipework to distribute hot water around the hospital's estate. Other plant and equipment included a 700kW CHP heat recovering steam boiler and 3 new heat exchangers.
One of the largest challenges was working within the 27 construction programme, meaning that the whole process from initial tender took less than 12 months. Vital Energi are uniquely placed to meet these deadlines due to our in house expertise.
A staggering £577,000 or a 40% reduction on the current energy bills for the Trust was achieved by the solutions installed and managed by Vital Energi. Furthermore, 30% of Trust-wide CO2 emissions will be reduced, equating to 1,7689 tonnes per year, over the next 18 years. This supports Gloucestershire Hospital's NHS environmental targets, but also allows for funding to be diverted to improve patient care.
