A £5.9 million programme to cut carbon emissions and bolster energy resilience is under way at Ealing Hospital in west London, with the works expected to reduce emissions by around 900 tonnes a year and deliver annual savings of more than £260,000.

Ealing Hospital, a busy district general hospital in Southall run by North West London University Healthcare NHS Trust, is working with Vital Energi to design and install a major infrastructure upgrade to drive down emissions.

"This project not only supports the Trust's journey to net zero, but also enhances energy resilience and patient comfort, two critical factors in a healthcare setting. We are integrating advanced technologies like heat pumps, solar photovoltaic panels and smart monitoring at Ealing Hospital. This will create a much more sustainable and efficient environment for staff, patients, and visitors," said Jack Tasker, Account Manager, Vital Energi.

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The decarbonisation works are scheduled to complete by April 2027. At the centre of the scheme is a 1MW air-to-water heat pump system in a cascading configuration, designed to meet fluctuating heating and cooling demands and provide enhanced reliability and redundancy for areas such as operating theatres and intensive care units.

Efficiency measures include pipework and roof insulation upgrades, secondary-side modifications to improve system performance, and Building Management System enhancements with integration to Vital View for advanced monitoring and optimisation.

A 100.35kWp solar PV array comprising 223 panels will boost on-site renewable generation. In addition, three ageing gas boilers will be replaced with three 1,500kW low temperature hot water boilers, with the new system designed to be compatible with potential future heat networks.

The project is funded via the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, with Salix acting as the delivery and administrative body. A groundbreaking event marked the start of works and was attended by Cllr Paul Driscoll, Ealing Council's Cabinet Member for Climate Action.

Cllr Driscoll said: "We are committed to making Ealing a carbon neutral borough by 2030. I am therefore delighted to learn of the decarbonising work underway at Ealing Hospital, which will make a significant contribution to our commitments. The climate crisis is one of the defining issues of our time and our local NHS Trust is demonstrating that we all need to play our part."