St Vincent's Hospital cuts energy use by 1.7 mkWh

St Vincent’s Hospital has reduced energy consumption by 1.7 million kWh within 14 months with the help of energy management solutions providers BuildingIQ and Entro.py.

Using a three-step process of establishing a historic energy consumption baseline, learning the building’s thermal dynamics and optimising energy usage with BuildingIQ’s Predictive Energy Optimization (PEO) platform, the two companies increased energy efficiency at the 37997.34 m² Xavier Building on St Vincent’s medical campus in Darlinghurst, Australia. This was accomplished with no disruption to hospital operations.

For this installation, BuildingIQ’s PEO software seamlessly integrated with the facility’s existing building management system (BMS), managed by Entro.py. Within weeks of the initial deployment, total energy savings increased from 5 to 10% and continued to rise throughout the Australian summer season. By the peak month of December, total savings - not just HVAC savings - reached as much as 20%. In the first 14 months of installation, savings reached 12% of total energy consumption.

The incorporation of BuildingIQ’s platform overcame major challenges, such as the hospital’s long-time practice of overcooling the building in order to ensure optimal comfort for patients and staff. By learning the building’s performance patterns and taking into account variables such as weather forecasts, occupancy comfort, energy prices and demand response events, BuildingIQ optimised HVAC operations and enabled St Vincent’s to meet its peak load using two chillers instead of the three that had been historically used.

St Vincent’s is always finding new ways to lower energy usage and ensure the comfort of its patients and staff in day-to-day operations, said Michael Nark, CEO of BuildingIQ. “Our work with Entro.py has allowed the hospital to see significant savings in a short amount of time. Now, St Vincent’s is able to meet peak load using one less chiller and generate additional cash flow that can be redirected to any number of the hospital’s various offerings in clinical care, research and education.”