Designed to de-steam the current heating system and deliver carbon savings of 2,179 tonnes per year, it will use a ground source heat pump and thermal store combined with solar arrays to maximise energy efficiency.
Veolia has been managing energy at the hospital that provides patients with a range of diagnostic services, outpatient clinics and low risk surgery, since 2003 using combined heat and power, CHP. The new upgrades will use a combination of technologies to optimise efficiency and balance the electrical and thermal requirements.
The new scheme combines a 1,400kW ground source heat pump system with a 70,000-litre thermal store to optimise the efficiency of the system by operating the heat pump at a higher load to charge the store and deplete it over several hours. To maximise efficiency and give N+1 redundancy, the heat pump will use the supply from two boreholes and will be supported by 1MWp of renewable electricity supplied from ground and roof mounted solar PV arrays.
To balance the power generated by the solar PV system and the CHP, and the thermal output of the heat pump and CHP Veolia's specialist energy team has developed a bespoke management solution which will manage the electrical and thermal balancing of the system using smart controls. The smart control strategy will optimise the overall system efficiency and provide additional resilience to the site through carbon balancing of the energy delivered using the combination of the heat pump, CHP heat recovery, hot water boilers and thermal store.
The scheme includes high voltage and low voltage electrical infrastructure upgrades to support the new plant and equipment with an extension of the site's existing HV ring main. Energy efficiency will also be extended through the installation of LED light fittings across the buildings, and upgraded air handling units.
The upgrade projects will be integrated into the working hospital, and once completed, will be maintained through a 24/7 operating contract.