Retrofit looks to halve energy demand

EUROPE: A hospital in Aydin, Turkey, is to serve as a test case to demonstrate that it is possible to reduce energy consumption by 50% and decrease greenhouse gas emissions with retrofitting solutions.

Under an EU-funded BRICKER project, three public non-residential buildings will be revamped during the next four years in three countries with different climates – Turkey, Belgium and Spain. If successful, the project will be extended further afield.

To achieve this objective and to reduce the air conditioning load in summer, solar films will be installed on the east and west-facing windows, and solar shades on south-facing windows of the hospital at the Adnan Menderes University.

Sun-tracking parabolic solar collectors, which concentrate the solar radiation on a tube and heat the fluid flowing through it to around 250°C. This hot fluid will then be used for the tri-generation of hot water, chilled water for the air-conditioning via absorption cooling technology and electricity from low-temperature heat using an Organic Rankine Cycle unit..

In addition, heat recovery heat exchangers will heat incoming fresh cold air from the outgoing stale heated air and work in reverse in summer, cutting down the energy amount used for air-conditioning. Variable speed drives will also be incorporated on fans and compressors.

The hospital has three blocks presently functioning: A, B and D. Block C is under construction. Block A which has nine floors with a total area of 19,467m2 is the target demonstrator.

There is no insulation in the envelope walls and roof of the hospital, which means a high potential for demand reduction. There are 327 double glazed windows and some 3,000m2 available in the roof, as well as enough ground space for solar collectors´ installation. 

The heating system is powered by natural gas. There is one electric heat pump with a total power of 4,65MW for cooling. The terminal units of the cooling system are 50 ventilation plants distributed in all floors of Block A. The electricity is consumed for cooling as well as lighting. There are also some electric heat pumps in the building. Block A is consuming around 25% of the total hospital electrical energy; 1,750 MWh/year. The estimated natural gas consumption just for Block A is up to 45% of the total cubic meters consumed in the hospital, which is 3,395 MWh/year.

The investment in energy saving technologies is expected to be paid back within seven years and work will start by the end of this year.