Hospital · Cooling
Cooling in hospital: what the SRI measures
Cooling mirrors heating: control per room, prevent heating and cooling from fighting each other, store cold when electricity is cheap, and let the chiller follow actual demand.
In short
- 1This page shows how the Smart Readiness Indicator assesses the cooling domain for hospitals.
- 2Hospitals always exceed the 290 kW threshold and nearly always have a building management system in place.
- 3The cooling domain carries the maximum weighting factor of 3 out of 3 for this building type.
Weight of this domain for this building type
Which services count
| Service | Lowest level | Highest level | Advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooling emission control C-1a · A · 5 levels | No automatic control | Individual room control with communication and occupancy detection | highest level |
| Emission control for TABS (cooling mode) C-1b · 4 levels | No automatic control | Advanced central automatic control with intermittent operation and/or room temperature feedback control | – |
| Control of distribution network chilled water temperature (supply or return) C-1c · 3 levels | Constant temperature control | Demand based control | – |
| Control of distribution pumps in networks C-1d · 5 levels | No automatic control | Variable speed pump control (external demand signal) | – |
| Interlock: avoiding simultaneous heating and cooling in the same room C-1f · 3 levels | No interlock | Total interlock (control system ensures no simultaneous heating and cooling can take place) | – |
| Control of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) operation C-1g · 4 levels | Continuous storage operation | Cold storage capable of flexible control through grid signals (e.g. DSM) | – |
| Generator control for cooling C-2a · A · 4 levels | On/Off-control of cooling production | Variable control of cooling production capacity depending on the load AND external signals from grid | highest level |
| Sequencing of different cooling generators C-2b · 5 levels | Priorities only based on running times | Sequencing based on dynamic priority list, including external signals from grid | – |
| Report information regarding cooling system performance C-3 · A · 5 levels | None | Central or remote reporting of performance evaluation including forecasting and/or benchmarking; also including predictive management and fault detection | highest level |
| Flexibility and grid interaction C-4 · A · 5 levels | No automatic control | Optimized control of cooling system based on local predictions and grid signals (e.g. through model predictive control) | highest level |
Worked example
If everything in this domain is at level 0, the domain contributes nothing. At the highest level for all services, the indicative total score for this building type rises by about 16 percentage points (from 30 to 46 percent, with all other domains at level 1).
Why does cooling carry such high weight in a hospital?
A hospital has continuous cooling demand from medical equipment, operating theatres, and air handling systems. The cooling domain therefore carries the maximum weighting factor of 3 out of 3 for this building type in the Smart Readiness Indicator, the score that shows how well a building manages smart technology.
Because the hospital almost always exceeds 290 kW of heating and cooling capacity, it falls under Article 13 of the EPBD, the European Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Building automation is already mandatory for this category.
Which smart-ready services play a role?
The cooling domain consists of multiple smart-ready services, each with its own functionality levels from 0 to 4. For a hospital, the following services are relevant among others:
- Control of cooling output per room, with or without occupancy detection
- Interlock between heating and cooling, to prevent both systems working against each other
- Control of thermal energy storage, including storage that responds to grid signals
- Sequencing of multiple cooling generators, for example based on efficiency or load forecasting
- Flexibility and interaction with the grid, from time-based operation to predictive control
Each service is assessed on three key functionalities that carry equal weight: energy efficiency, comfort and convenience, and informing occupants or managers.
What does a high functionality level mean in practice?
A hospital with an extensive building management system can quickly achieve higher levels, such as individual room control with communication or load forecasting for cold storage. Emergency power and storage capacity, which are often already present in hospitals, also make energy flexibility achievable.
The highest level in the grid-interactive criterion requires control based on local forecasts and grid signals, via model-based predictive control. That level is often technically within reach for large, equipment-intensive buildings such as hospitals.
What this means for you
- Owner
- Have the cooling system assessed on the existing control technology, because with a weighting factor of 3 out of 3 this domain has major influence on the overall score. Investments in interlock control or load forecasting for cold storage therefore deliver relatively high score gains per euro invested.
- Tenant
- As a staff member or patient you will notice little of the underlying control technology, but you will feel the result: more stable temperatures in operating theatres and wards. A well-tuned cooling system also prevents heating and cooling from working against each other, which noticeably improves the indoor climate.
- Advisor
- Check during the assessment whether individual room control actually communicates with the building management system, and does not only work locally. Pay extra attention to the interlock function and sequencing of multiple cooling generators, as these often remain underutilised despite available hardware.
Next step
Want to know where your building stands?