The roof of the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex now has what is believed to be the largest array of solar panels currently in the NHS. The hospital which serves a quarter of a million patients, over five sites has been working on projects exploring the potential to save money and C02 since 2006.
The project was driven by a need to reduce energy spend which was set to rise from £1 million to £1.5 million due to rising national energy costs. A grant of nearly £400,000 was secured from the Department of Health’s Energy Fund in 2007 and work started installing two new energy efficient boilers and solar panels in summer 2008.
The savings achieved by the solar panels and new efficient boilers equate to a reduction of 8,000 m 3 of gas and 16 tonnes CO2 per year.
When we refer to solar panels it is important to know that there are two types; Photovoltaic panels which capture the suns energy and convert it into electricity and Solar Thermal Collectors, which are described in this case study. Solar Thermal Collectors use the suns energy to heat glycol which passes through a coil.
You can read the full project outcome
here and read all the case studies from the Sustainable Development unit here