A concept for therapy

The BG Hospital in the heart of the Ruhr area specialises in the acute care and rehabilitation of accident victims and people with occupational illnesses. Now the building complex of the hospital itself is undergoing treatment. In an energy audit, M&P diagnosed considerable energy-saving potential – and developed a possible therapy plan.

The medical facility cares for patients from the onset of illness to their reintegration into normal life. To this end, the hospital offers a wide range of medical services, including trauma surgery, orthopaedics, plastic and aesthetic surgery, hand surgery, neurosurgery, spinal surgery and burn medicine, as well as rehabilitation and physiotherapy. More than 1,000 employees work in nine specialist departments there.

Image: © BG Klinikum Duisburg gGmbH

A large building complex with huge energy-saving potential

The building complex of the hospital has grown steadily together with its areas of responsibility since it was established in 1957. On a plot of over 72 hectares, the hospital now occupies a usable area of over 50,000 m². The total energy requirement is around 13,000 MWh per year.

In order to reduce energy costs, secure financial resources for investment and be attractive amid the competition, the hospital underwent an important checkup in 2023: it placed itself in the professional hands of M&P for an energy consultation and the preparation of an audit report in accordance with DIN 16247.

The main objective of an energy audit is to identify energy-saving potential and develop measures to increase energy efficiency. This is only possible in close cooperation with the client. From day one, BG Hospital has been committed to profitable implementation of the project. The technical director of the hospital and his entire team provided the experts from M&P with extensive documentation regarding the construction, building technology and current consumption. All those involved in the Duisburg facility took a close look together. What they found in the buildings were decrepit energy systems in need of treatment. M&P suggested to the management a possible concept to make the hospital fit for the future.

M&P highlights sustainably efficient paths to take into the future

As part of its energy consulting, M&P has worked out a wide variety of ‘therapeutic approaches’ regarding energy:

• Classic savings potential through temperature changes in certain hospital rooms (lowering the target values for heating and increasing them for cooling)
• Use of water-saving aerators
• Focus on dimensioning and cost-effectiveness of heat pumps as a replacement for heating systems
• Replacement of the existing cooling unit with a new heat pump to produce cold and heat
• Use of the heat potential contained in the volume of waste water produced annually
• Replacement of existing natural gas CHP units with H₂-ready CHP units
• Construction of an optimally dimensioned PV system on-site in order to achieve the best possible ROI at the actual self-use rate of the electricity produced

The fact that it will be possible to connect the property to the district heating network in the near future was also considered in the diagnosis. The experts from M&P took into account the associated energy costs and the change in the CO₂ situation.  

The possible treatment plan is currently being examined by project managers at the hospital. The mix of measures that will be used in the future to increase energy efficiency at the site depends in part on how energy prices develop and on how much money the state of North Rhine-Westphalia will make available for energy system renovation. They will work on a tailored solution together with M&P. To this end, our experts can offer further, more in-depth examinations: with a 3D scan, possible weak points of the building can be mapped and highlighted with a high level of precision. For the benefit of the patient – the BG Hospital in Duisburg.

Image above: © BG Klinikum Duisburg gGmbH