EQUANS has committed to cutting the hospital's annual energy consumption by 15.5% under an Energy Performance Contract (EPC).
CHR Sambre et Meuse (CHRSM), in Namur, has more than 400 beds, 250 doctors and 1,500 employees who devote themselves, day in and day out, to ensuring their patients’ comfort and safety. With an annual electricity consumption equivalent to more than 2,000 households, the hospital wanted to develop a strategy to improve energy performance at its facilities. And that’s exactly what’s happened. Thanks to the work carried out by EQUANS under the Energy Performance Contract (EPC) signed in partnership with Renowatt, CHRSM will see its consumption drop by 15.5% per year.
A holistic solution
Following projects in numerous health care facilities, including hospital complexes such as Chirec in Brussels and AZ Sint-Maarten in Mechelen, EQUANS has unique experience in the health care sector. When in 2017, following a comprehensive energy audit, CHRSM asked us to significantly reduce their consumption, our teams stepped up and proposed a holistic solution with multiple advantages: the Energy Performance Contract (EPC).
What is a EPC?
A EPC is a contract under which EQUANS commits to improve the energy efficiency of one or more buildings. In concrete terms, we take charge of the project from A to Z: from the energy audit, to carrying out the work, to the equipment maintenance for 10 years. The project costs are offset by the savings made. And EQUANS stands guarantor for these savings. If it fails to hit its targets, it has to compensate the hospital.
300,000 euros in annual savings
On the agenda: improving the existing cogeneration plant, installing solar panels on the façade and roofs, modernising the boiler room, LED lighting, optimising the water distribution system, installing a shut-off system in the operating areas when not in use, etc. Nothing has been left to chance. Thanks to EQUANS’ expertise, the measures that have been implemented will enable CHRSM to save 300,000 euros per year for 10 years.
Towards a successful low-carbon transition
On the right track. No sooner was the work complete than the first energy savings could be seen on a display set up in the hospital lobby for this purpose. In the long term, this project will lead to annual savings of 1100 tonnes of CO2 emissions, equivalent to the annual emissions of 550 diesel cars. With such results, CHRSM has shown its commitment to carbon neutrality. It is the first hospital in Belgium’s Province of Namur to carry out works on such a scale under an Energy Performance Contract (EPC).