Green energy project launched in HCM City hospital

A project to replace 500 old air conditioners with ones equipped with inverter technology at Ho Chi Minh City-based 115 People's Hospital began on last week as part of a green-hospital model in Vietnam.
A project to replace 500 old air conditioners with ones equippedwith inverter technology at Ho Chi Minh City-based 115 People's Hospitalbegan on last week as part of a green-hospital model in Vietnam.

The project will also include installation of an energy management system with two control boxes and 10 ventilation systems.

Accordingto a feasibility study by the Energy Conservation Centre of HCM Cityand Mitsubishi of Japan, the replacement will help the hospital save498,715 kWh, or 741 million VND (35,000 USD) in savings. The newequipment would also help cut 310 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

Theproject is part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed betweenVietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade and Japan's New Energy andIndustrial Technology Development Organisation on low-carbon growthpassed by the two governments last year, in which a Joint CreditMechanism would be developed.

The hospital will be the first inVietnam to treat HCFC- R 22 refrigerants in the used air conditionersbefore they are discarded.

According to figures from the EnergyConservation Centre of HCM City, the rate of energy consumption for airconditioners accounts for 38 percent of total power consumption in eachhospital.

As a grade-one general hospital under HCM City'sDepartment of Health, the 115 People's Hospital has received and treatedan average of 2,000 non-resident patients and 1,800-1,900 residentpatients a day.

This has led to a significant increase in powercosts for the hospital. In 2013, the hospital consumed over 8.6 millionkWh and paid nearly 12 billion VND (571,000 USD) in electricity bills.

Besidesthe 115 People's Hospital in HCM City, the project will be implementedat Hanoi's Viet Duc Hospital, and is expected to save 830,261kWh or 1.2billion VND (57,000 USD), helping to reduce 518 tonnes of CO2 emissionseach year.

Viet Duc Hospital's total electricity consumption in2013 was over 5.8 million kWh, at a cost of nearly 8.4 billion VND(400,000 USD). A study for project implementation at the hospital willbe carried out at the end of this month.

Most air conditioners used at the two hospitals are old and inefficient, and do not have inverter technology.

Otherhospitals in HCM City, Hanoi and other cities nationwide will bescheduled to adopt the energy-efficient green-hospital model if theimplementation at the two hospitals shows positive results.-VNA

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