Energy forms
- Electricity
- Diesel in DG sets
- Diesel / Light diesel oil (LDO) or Furnace oil (FO) in boilers and hot water generators
- Liquid petroleum gas (LPG) in kitchens
- Furnace oil in the incinerators
Load Centers
1. Heating and Ventilating Air Conditioning System
HVAC is the major single load of hospitals. Most of the end users are surgical theaters, recovery rooms and inpatient wards. Of these, surgical theaters require 100% re-circulation of fresh air and micro filters are used to filter the incoming air, leading to requirement of higher capacity blowers in the AHUs. In case of recovery rooms and inpatient areas, the volume requirement is very high. Similarly, in case of heating, considerable amount of energy is spent to maintain comfort conditions.
Opportunities available are optimizing the operating efficiency of the central a/c plant, maintaining required parameters at conditioned areas, capacity control of compressors and down side equipment like air handling units, auxiliaries like chilled and condenser water pumps, automation of the network, minimizing losses in the network, optimizing cooling tower performance, heat balance, minimizing heat load in the conditioned areas, improvements in building envelope, opportunities for fuel substitution for monetary savings etc.
2. Lighting
Lighting is the next major area of energy use in hospitals. This includes consulting rooms, surgical theaters, recovery rooms, inpatient wards, OPDs, outside lighting etc. Considerable number of fittings are in operation round the clock.
Opportunities available are optimizing lighting depending on requirements based on time of day, use of better lighting fixtures for reducing lighting power and reduction in heat load in conditioned areas, maintaining optimum power input to lighting fixtures, utilization of maximum day light, use of energy efficient equipments etc.
3. Autoclaves
Autoclaves are either steam operated from boiler or electrical operated. They are used to sterilize surgical equipment.
Opportunities available are optimizing operation of autoclaves depending on actual requirement in the surgical theaters, minimizing heat loss due to radiation, opportunities for fuel substitution for monetary savings, optimization of temperature pattern in the autoclaves, possible heat recovery from autoclaves if steam based etc.
4. Compressed Air
Compressed air is used in hospitals to operate pneumatic equipment predominantly in dental surgery.
Opportunities available are generating air at the right pressure, reducing line pressure drop, minimizing leakages, ensuring maximum delivery of air by the compressors, operation of the compressors depending on actual requirement at different areas, capacity control of compressors, optimizing cooling water network of air compressors etc.
5. Water Supply, Water Treatment and Sewage Treatment
Fresh water supply is one of the major energy consumers of the hospital. Continuous water supply is ensured in almost all areas of the hospital. The treatment of fresh water requires power and chemicals. In addition to potable water, treated water is required in the boilers, air- conditioning network etc. Most of the hospitals will have own sewage treatment plants. Substantial amount of energy is consumed in the sewage treatment plant too.
6. Boiler
Most of the hospitals will have boilers, especially to meet the steam requirements in the laundry, autoclaves etc.
The opportunities available are minimizing losses in the boilers, minimizing distribution losses in the steam network, heat recovery, condensate recovery, capacity control of boilers and auxiliaries, optimizing operating pattern of the boilers with respect to actual requirement of steam at user ends, potential of automation of the boilers, potential of fuel substitution for monetary savings etc.
7. Incinerators
Incinerators are used in the hospitals to destroy the wastes generated. These incinerators are operated according to the quantum of waste.
Opportunities available are maintaining actual temperature inside the furnace as high temperatures are required to be maintained in the furnaces, possible heat recovery from exhaust of incinerators, reducing heat losses from the structure of incinerators, minimizing auxiliary load of the incinerators, potential of fuel substitution for monetary savings, optimizing the operation of incinerators and capacity utilization etc.
8. Building Automation
As far as building automation is concerned, a hospital is not much different than a hotel. Air-conditioning system, lighting, water pumping etc. can be integrated to the building automation system, with which, the energy use pattern in the hospital can be managed effectively to reduce energy consumption.
Opportunities available are the use of a systematic Energy Management System (EMS) to monitor and control energy consumption in different areas like surgical theaters, OPDs, different wards etc. as well as different utilities like air-conditioning, compressed air, lighting, autoclaves, boilers, fresh water pumping etc.
9. Other Areas
As far as energy use is considered, a hospital can be considered as any other utility. Hence, optimizing the tariff structure, maximum demand control, power factor correction, minimizing distribution losses etc. are also important. As the fluctuation of operating load in a hospital is very wide, depending on time of day, the above assumes more importance.
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Solutions 
