A five-hospital complex, the Quebec City University Hospital Center (CHU) provides care for two million people. With its aging infrastructure, the Center needed to modernize obsolete electromechanical equipment, including in critical areas like emergency rooms and operating rooms. The CHU engaged Ecosystem to renew its aging infrastructure, reduce costs, and reduce its environmental footprint.
The project involved a deep energy retrofit of four of the hospitals. They were complex projects due to their size, ambitious scope of work, and need for continuity of critical operations. The most complex was a steam to hot water conversion, which allowed new sources of heat recovery to be installed. This configuration maximized equipment efficiency and the use of the heat pumps in winter while taking advantage of Quebec’s low hydro prices to reduce the use of natural gas. Close coordination with the clinical team was necessary for an extensive lighting retrofit, in which 35,000 fluorescent tubes were replaced to reduce electricity consumption by 30%. Renewable energy measures included a solar wall to preheat fresh air during the winter and a geothermal system that leverages a 30-mile (50 km) network of underground piping.
This complete asset renewal solution resulted in reduced energy bills, generating $3.7M in savings that helps finance the investment, along with incentives provided by utilities and government programs.
Steam to hot water conversion
Heat recovery
Optimization of ventilation, chilled water, and steam systems
Geothermal and air-source energy
Boiler, chiller, and cooling tower replacement
Lighting conversion
