A Hospital with Renewed Energy
Did you know that hospitals which constitute approximately 47% of the total area in commercial healthcare services are responsible for 64% of total energy consumption in this sector? This surely signifies higher carbon dioxide emission & huge costs that hinder sustainable development. From figure 1, we can see the major energy sources used in a hospital.
Why should we find alternatives for conventional energy systems?
The conventional energy sources create issues such as the possibility of their depletion in near future & their adverse environmental impacts. Moreover, greenhouse gases emission and the corresponding outcomes such as acid rain, climate change etc. are the biggest risks. For the betterment of mankind, alternatives like renewable energy sources should be proposed in no time.
What makes Renewable energy sources the best alternative?
Undoubtedly renewable energies are the best alternative with much lower carbon footprint than fossil fuels. With the development of the energies enhancing the efficiency of them by optimizing their working conditions, hybridization and waste heat recovery are other ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Besides, the energy prices become stable once everything is settled. Choosing renewable energy sources will eventually improve public health and reduce health costs significantly.
Renewable Energy(known as clean energy) originates from natural sources that have constant replenishment. The most common renewable energy sources can be listed as solar, hydro, biomass, geothermal energies, etc. These provide a reliable continuity of energy evermore than fossil fuels and uranium resources. The energy sources can be used in the production of electricity. Besides, the thermal energy of the sun can be used to establish thermal power plants. Wind turbines can convert wind kinetic energy into electricity. Hydropower energy converts the potential energy of falling water into electricity and geothermal sources are used in heating purposes like ground-source heat pumps. Talking about the existing applications, you will be happy to know that around 47 nations have chosen renewable resources for electricity production. In this era of urbanization, renewable energy projects are also shining in rural areas. Since most of these technologies produce electricity, they can be further used in heat conversion & mechanical energy conversion more efficiently.
Hospitals consisting of large buildings & controlled internal climate require substantial heat, operative cooling, and ventilation system with efficient insulation of the building, continuous electricity generators in emergencies. Figure 2 shows the percentage of energy balance in different requirements of a hospital.
Fulfilling these requirements in traditional ways may cause strains to the country’s power sector substantially in the next few years. Besides reduction in energy consumption of hospitals drew attention to ensure green hospital. Therefore, the system intends to shift to renewable energy resources for the production of green energy and to lessen the dependency on brown energy. Some industries and sectors are gradually devoting to renewable energy technologies to be more environment-friendly. One study reviewed that in the coming years, the global capacity of renewable energy generation may reach 3200 GW all over the world. Thus a hospital with maximum uses of renewable energy technologies is a dream to be implemented.
If we imagine a hospital equipped with renewable energy technologies, we must ensure utmost facilities for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning(HVAC) systems, instruments, and other utilities. Many experiments and studies have been performed already to improve the plans. The exploration of different cogeneration systems working with gas turbines, heat pipe exchangers for air conditioning systems, using solar absorption cooling technique, etc. are the examples. Moreover, designing a building-integrated photovoltaic system for producing renewable electricity and utilizing ground source heat pumps are talked of the topics for hospitals. Most of the experiments showed lower CO2 emission which signifies the environment-friendliness of the ideas. Let us elaborate on some ideas below.
· Solar photovoltaic technology: As an alternate, we can use a solar photovoltaic system in the hospital surface area to produce electrical energy. By connecting it to the grid and not using a battery will save a lot from the actual cost. Moreover, the generated electricity can be used for bioelectronics medium.
· Solar thermal power: Solar thermal power system will store and concentrate sunlight to produce heat that generates electricity. Moreover, solar-powered medical autoclaves that use the thermal energy of the sun are the best choices for the sterilization of medical instruments.
· Biogas Plant: After collecting the human waste, kitchen waste, and biomedical waste from the hospital, we can make a biogas plant. This plant generates biogas which can be used in cooking or heating. The process will help to reduce the usage of gas cylinders and thus lower CO2 emission.
· Heating water through solar energy: If we equip the roof of the hospital with a water heater that uses solar energy, we can fulfill the heating demand. This will be cost-effective and time-efficient at the same time.
· Others: Some more ideas are-
1.Cogeneration plant
2. Building-integrated photovoltaic
3. Solar sterilization & steam production etc.
Believe it or not, if these systems are implemented, the healthcare system will run at its maximum efficiency. The studied ideas hope to break the implementation barriers and cross the economical limitations. For instance, the required heat for hot water and drying systems can be achievable by the renewable sources with lower costs and no net greenhouse gas emission. Moreover, solar autoclaves and steamer are the best examples with higher efficiency. However, more researches are being done to make renewable energy technologies more available for hospitals.
Future studies in this field must continue to make the technologies more environment-friendly and cost-effective. Installment of the technologies in the existing hospitals and planning designs for future hospitals should be governing goals. The motivation is to take small steps to the way of building a greener, healthier and better world.
