The HK$50 million "Invest-to-Save" energy management programme being implemented by our Health Sector Division (HSD) for Hong Kong's hospitals and clinics is now nearing completion. The project, which resulted from a series of in-depth energy audits conducted in 1998, identified a number of energy saving opportunities at Hong Kong's hospitals. These included lighting retrofits, electricity tariff assessments, retrofitting of HVAC systems and boilers as well as the installation of heat pumps and water saving valves. Savings at that time were estimated to be around HK$12 million a year with a pay back period of 4 years.

The Energy Management Database uses the advanced energy management auditing software "Metrix".

New Initiatives and Developments
Aiming for continuous improvement, HSD has adopted state-of-the-art technologies to achieve the greatest benefits in these retrofitting works. New technologies ­ automatic water-cooled chiller condenser tube cleaners, centralised dehumidifier air conditioning systems, heat pumps, variable speed drives, demand ventilation controls, chillers sequence optimising controls, occupancy sensors and electronic ballasts, ensure that energy is used as efficiently as possible. HSD is also exploring the benefits of new technologies such as water-cooled air-conditioning systems and district cooling systems, to identify energy efficient initiatives for future development.

As energy advisor to the Hospital Authority, we also make recommendations on energy conservation strategies and overall project implementation. Last year, a proposal to retrofit the 4 steam boilers and hot water system at Queen Elizabeth was made to the Hospital. This project is seeing excellent progress, the new high efficiency boilers have been installed and commissioned, while the replacement hot water system is due for completion in 2003.

New Energy Database
Taking energy management to new highs, an energy database, also developed by HSD, now tracks electricity consumption in Hong Kong's hospitals. It monitors trends, proposes cost effective electricity tariff structures and also predicts electricity consumption patterns for the future. Proving its value as an effective energy management tool - the database also compares savings in electricity before and after the retrofitting works, establishing that more than 10 million dollars was saved in hospital electricity bills last year. The team is now building comprehensive energy consumption databases for major hospitals to enhance energy management services into the future.

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