Trend’s message to visitors at this year’s show was that 84% of a healthcare estate’s energy consumption can be controlled by a building energy management system (BEMS); thus “just by making this asset work harder, significant energy and carbon savings can be made”.
Tighter budgets, environmental legislation, and greater financial accountability, mean that healthcare estate managers are under growing pressure to save energy and money.
Despite introducing measures to enhance efficiency, Trend says the NHS has increased its carbon footprint by 40% since 1990, with the carbon footprint for the NHS England rising to 21 million tonnes per year. Trend says: “This means that meeting the Department of Health’s targets of a 10% reduction by 2015, and an 80% reduction by 2050, will be an enormous challenge – one healthcare estate managers are at the forefront of addressing.”
The company continues: “Set against a backdrop of increasing fuel costs, reducing energy expenditure may appear an impossible task. However, technology already exists that can control, monitor, and manage, energy consumption in real time, leading to instant and substantial savings. In fact, 84% of a healthcare estate’s energy consumption can be controlled by using a Trend BEMS – technology recognised by the NHS Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) as a way of achieving an energy-efficient, low carbon healthcare service.” Trend demonstrated how its BEMS equipment monitors and controls building services such as heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning, ensuring that they operate at maximum levels of efficiency and economy. The system does this “by maintaining the optimum balance between conditions, energy usage, and operating requirements”. By “intelligently understanding and responding to” usage patterns, this means that, for example, lighting and heating can be turned off in unoccupied areas.
The company is a major international manufacturer and supplier of energy control solutions, with a worldwide distribution and support network covering over 50 countries, and a track record in successfully implementing BEMS within healthcare estates. Its products encompass a full range of hardware and software installed via a network of approved systems integrators.
Many buildings will already have a Trend BEMS installed, and its full benefits can, the company emphasises, be maximised via an Energy Controls Audit. This ascertains what can be achieved by reviewing the way a building is used and identifying energy-saving opportunities. After the audit a comprehensive report is submitted, detailing the modifications made, any on-site issues, and the expected energy savings.
Trend also used Healthcare Estates to debut its recently launched Trend Energy Manager – a “powerful energy management package”, which, using meter readings and other variables logged by the BEMS, provides automatic reporting, performance analysis, and rapid diagnosis of energy overuse.
“Healthcare estate and facility managers must take new and creative steps to put energy costs in check, because more has to be done with less,” the company says. “With the help of Trend, reducing carbon emissions and saving money can be achieved by increasing the lifecycle and efficiency of your energy infrastructure.”
