In order to continue delivering world class health care, the NHS and its building stock face a number of modern challenges such as the incorporation of new equipment and medical practices, increasing energy consumption, the negative effects of climate change, and the increasing potential for epidemics and pandemics.
Perhaps the biggest issue, at this time of austerity, is the cost of the systems needed to meet these challenges. Here, poorly chosen ventilation and lighting systems can prove to be expensive. There are many products that claim to be the correct low energy ventilation or lighting solution for a problem, but all that glitters is not always gold. When selecting a product, the costs incurred during its lifetime must be considered, and must include the consequences of differing approaches to maintenance. If no maintenance is undertaken, preventative activities are not performed which can result in frequent and long breakdowns, high levels of unplanned work, and lost production and output. Conversely, over maintenance performs preventative activities at a frequency that is greater than the optimum so that they add little or no value to the output of the product and squander precious maintenance resources. The consequences of poorly maintained products are a reduction in performance and safety, and an increase in costs and carbon emissions.
Tried and tested, low maintenance, passive principals should be utilised to provide ventilation naturally. The Carbon Trust advises that a naturally ventilated building has half the energy costs and associated carbon emissions of a comparable mechanically ventilated building, and is also more likely to have lower capital and maintenance costs. Furthermore, the Health Technical Memorandum states that “natural ventilation is always the preferred solution for a space”. Accordingly, the Monodraught WINDCATCHER® natural ventilation system can channel a controlled quantity of fresh air into a room from roof level, whatever the wind’s direction, and without mechanical assistance. Furthermore, the SOLA-BOOST® system uses the WINDCATCHER technology in coordination with a solar powered fan to guarantee additional ventilation on sunny days.
Bringing available daylight inside a building can eliminate or reduce the need for electric lighting. Occupants of a building have a preference for daylight over electric lighting, yet lighting can account for up to 25% of emissions from commercial buildings. Using daylight systems, such as the Monodraught SUNPIPE®, represents a real opportunity to reduce energy consumption and associated carbon emissions. Furthermore, high levels of daylight are associated with reductions in the prevalence of depression (particularly in heart attack patients), with good vitamin D synthesis, and with increased productivity. Specifically in healthcare buildings daylight has been shown to reduce pain and to decrease patient recovery time thus saving precious financial resources.
Research conducted by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment indicates that access to natural light and fresh air are crucial design factors affecting patients and their recovery. They have also been cited by nurses as making their working environments happier place to be.
If we are to meet our national carbon reduction commitments through a reduction in energy consumption then modern building services have to perform as efficiently as possible for as long as possible, and this approach favours more traditional approaches to building services that utilize natural ventilation, daylight, and thermal storage.