A comprehensive carbon-saving programme, implemented by the Medway NHS Trust’s environmental team at three non-clinical buildings at Gillingham’s Medway Maritime Hospital, has seen the Trust win a top Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) award.
After the team decided to enter CIBSE’s 2008 “100 Days of Carbon Clean Up” competition, a CIBSE “low carbon consultant” visited the Medway Maritime late last Summer and identified three buildings offering significant energy saving potential – a postgraduate library, a single-storey 1960s-built education centre, and a new, two-storey postgraduate medical centre.
Over the following 100 days a broad package of carbon-saving measures were implemented. These included better insulation of pipework, valves and other services, fitting of “person-in-room” detectors to large lecture theatres to prevent air conditioning operating when theatres were empty, installation of self-closing taps, and improvements to heating system control. Other steps included reducing plant operating times, modifying the operation of the building management system, and installing reflective radiator foils.
Energy “champions” also undertook carbon reduction opportunity assessments and implemented measures including a weekly “name and shame” campaign (based on out of hours energy audits), removing used electrical equipment, and introducing glass recycling and can bottle bank. Paul Evans said: “Over the past three years we have looked closely at our energy consumption, appointing 30 energy champions who undertake simple measures like turning off lighting in unoccupied rooms, and monitoring energy usage throughout the estate. Their efforts were key to us winning the award. My colleague Phil Belton was especially commended for his work in carbon reduction.”
The Medway Maritime aims to reduce its overall carbon emissions by 15% by 2010. The carbon clean-up saw its rating under the CIBSE energy assessment and reporting system improve from a grade E to a grade D.
