HAMMERSMITH AND CHARING CROSS HOSPITALS GO FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY WITH WHOLESALE CHANGEOVER TO VSDS AND EFF1 MOTORS

Deritend has completed the commissioning of over 70 individual EFF1 high efficiency electric motors coupled with matched variable speed drives at the Hammersmith Hospital’s NHS Trust. This scheme is part of an ongoing programme of works developed by the Trust in partnership with the Carbon Trust to reduce the Trust’s carbon emissions in line with Department of Health targets. The installation is projected to pay for itself within two years purely through energy savings.

Making the decision to change over to energy efficient motors and drives was only part of the process. Patient care is both critical and continuous, hence Deritend worked closely with the estates management team to meet strict health and safety requirements and complete the change over and final commissioning of each unit within carefully co-ordinated strict time windows.

Mike Smith based at Deritend’s Luton Engineering Centre is co-ordinating the project on behalf of Deritend, “Both hospitals are part of the same NHS trust, and the Estates Management team are responsible for both, having won the contract to supply and commission the equipment, we were then presented with the very real consequences of not meeting our targets for installation and commissioning windows, in an extreme circumstance it could quite literally have been life and death.”

The panels were mainly built off-site while the majority of the power and control cabling was completed on-site, working alongside the existing installations during the day. Varying in size from small 5.5kW pump motors through to 75kW units for the main air movement fans, the logistics were a constant challenge. Some smaller pieces could be wheeled in on a trolley and positioned by hand, others however required the removal of roof panels to lower units into place using a small crane, all without materially affecting the normal operation of the hospital.

The entire project totalling 72 motors and drives is due to be completed on schedule, Mike Smith adds, “We believe the ability to deliver was one of the main reasons Deritend won this contract, we have extensive experience in this field and were able to talk to the estates management team about every detail of the project. Our cost was competitive and there is the added reassurance that the WEG motors and drives we installed are designed to work together for maximum reliability and efficiency, and are supported by a full 3 year guarantee.”

The control and power management panels, including the drives, are all controlled via a Trend Building Management System (BMS) using SCADA style PC visualisation to make the new equipment visible to the facilities teams. The integration went very smoothly with a simple plug-in connection to the BMS system, allowing finely tuneable and efficient variable speed control in place of mechanical throttling of pumps and baffles in air movement systems.

The Deritend Group Ltd provides UK industry with the widest range of maintenance and management services designed to optimise business activities, improve efficiency and reduce costs. The Group operates in eight areas of competence: customised asset management, electro-mechanical, maintenance, energy management, product sales, pre-formed windings, induction services and automation & control. These services are brought to customers through a network of national service centres. Staffed by trained professionals, the centres are on hand 24- hours-a-day, 7- days a week to respond to customer needs and provide effective maintenance solutions.      

                                                                 
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