Simon Witts, a director at VA Sciences – a scientific consultancy based in Vermont, Victoria, in Australia, which offers a fully developed suite of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) services, discusses the integration of heat pumps into existing hospital systems. He examines the challenges and necessary adaptations for replacing traditional gas-fired systems with heat pump technology during the electrification process.
Heat pumps, essential for generating hot water, have operating parameters that differ significantly from conventional systems, requiring modifications to existing infrastructure such as risers, pumps, and main distribution systems, to handle lower temperatures and higher flow rates. The transition is particularly complex in healthcare facilities, where complete re-piping to optimise heat pump performance may be impractical, often leading to sub-optimal operation. This article underscores the importance of distinguishing between heating and domestic hot water systems, as they operate at different temperatures, which impacts their energy efficiency and overall system performance.
The all-electrification process in most instances requires the use of heat pump-based technologies to generate the hot water. When considering system replacements, the installed systems in existing hospital systems have different requirements. The integration of heat pumps into legacy systems is not just a case of swapping one heat source for another. Heat pumps invariably have different operating parameters to 'traditional' gas-fired heating water and domestic hot water systems. These parameters are not always compatible with the embedded infrastructure within an existing facility. When swapping gas for electricity using heat pumps, the design needs to consider the system and its operation, not just the swapping out of the heat source.
If the design parameters are altered to suit common heat pump performance specifications (lower temperatures and higher flow rates), then it's likely this will result in changes to the existing infrastructure, such as risers, pumps, and main distribution. So, when considering integration into an existing healthcare facility, it may have to be accepted that in most buildings and systems the heat pumps will be operating sub-optimally, since it may well not be practical to completely re-pipe the existing systems in the building to accommodate common heat pump systems' optimal flow rates and temperatures. Such integration may also introduce other factors, such as the need for enhanced infection control measures.
Log in or register FREE to read the rest
This story is Premium Content and is only available to registered users. Please log in at the top of the page to view the full text.
If you don't already have an account, please register with us completely free of charge.
