Type and quality of energy and water in a tropical hospital

Abstract

A hospital is considered an energy gobbler and a water consumer. The energy and water go for many activities in hospital system. HVAC that includes wet cooling tower is the main energy and water consumer in a hospital due to its continuous operation. Conservation of both resources partially depends on the way nexus is managed at the end user. Mapping the energy and water in term of type and quality is proposed as the starting point in managing both as nexus. This article focuses on that part in purpose of integrating energy and water system in a hospital. SUTH, a 120 beds hospital located in tropical area in Thailand that operates daily with 146 m3 water and 1.5 MW of electricity becomes the case of the study. The input and output of energy and water of each subsystem are exposed in addition to subsystems that are described in some different methods. The results show flows of energy and water as by-product that can be used for other systems. Radiology and HVAC release very low enthalpy heat that could not be managed for other utilization, but hemodialysis releases very low heat that is used for its own process. Autoclaves can releases heat that be used for laundry and its own pre-heating. HVAC release brine and distilled water through blow down system and condensation respectively. Electricity is very dominant energy supply of the hospital.