A energy-saving plan for East Cheshire NHS Trust will shrink the trust’s carbon footprint by around 30 percent, the equivalent of more than 2,000 tons of carbon each year, according to an article on the Business News Daily website. By significantly reducing the amount of electricity the trust buys, the plan will also save £2.5 million over the next 15 years.

The centerpiece of the plan will be a combined heat and power (CHP) generator system. The CHP generator will use gas to create a large proportion of the hospital’s electricity — and use the heat produced in the process to warm the hospital through its central heating system. 

Creating electricity on-site in this way is more energy-efficient because it means the heat created as a by-product of the power generation process is retained and used to heat the building, whereas it normally goes to waste in a conventional power station, the article said.

Along with the installation of the CHP generator, there will be a range of energy efficiency improvements across both Macclesfield and Congleton War Memorial hospitals. This will include the replacement of 3,250 light fittings with high-efficiency LED lighting.

Read the article.