Queen's Medical Centre decarbonisation scheme

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust successfully received a grant from Phase 3 of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) totalling nearly £71m.

The money is being used to fund a 15-year energy efficiency programme across two hospitals in Nottingham. The programme is being led by E.ON, with external expertise being brought in to support on specific elements.

Our team are on site at Queens Medical Centre (QMC), making the estate more energy efficient. This project will play a part in helping the Trust to achieve their goal of reducing carbon emissions by 45% by 2030.

Taking a fabric-first approach

QMC was built in 1977 and still had its original windows in place. A key part of having an energy efficient building is ensuring the building's fabric is as efficient and airtight as possible. As you'd expect, windows of this age are near end-of-life and highly inefficient, making them a key target for a decarbonisation project.

We are currently replacing 18,000m² of windows (the size of two football pitches!) with higher thermal performance double-glazed units. The old windows had a U-value of around 5W/m2k; the new windows will significantly improve thermal performance, with a predicted U-value of 1.3W/m2k.

Replacing around 12,000 single glazed windows will help to make the buildings significantly more airtight and energy efficient, and the units will also include a solar control coating to reduce solar gain. This will help to lower cooling and energy costs in the summer, whilst still keeping patients, visitors and staff at a comfortable temperature. The frames of the windows are also made from 80% recycled aluminium, which helps to reduce the embodied carbon.

Working on a live site

The most complicated part of this project is that the hospital will remain fully operational while we complete the works. As such, we are working in a carefully planned sequence to enable areas of the hospital to close down for a short period of time. During this 'window of time', we are able to safely install the new windows.

Our team's ongoing coordination with key stakeholders at the hospital is playing a critical role in the success of this sequencing. This collaboration is ensuring that planned works stay on track and disruption to patients and staff is minimal.

Works will be completed on the four blocks, starting with the South block.

Anthony May, Chief Executive of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said:

“This partnership demonstrates our significant commitment to environmental sustainability and offers a creative solution to meeting our energy needs and tackling climate change, while at the same time improving patient and staff comfort by allowing us to better manage temperatures within our buildings. Innovative projects like these will play a hugely important role in helping us meet our ambitious goal of achieving a net zero carbon operation for heating and cooling system emissions by 2040.”

Chris Norbury, E.ON UK Chief Executive, said:

“Tackling the environmental impact of heating, especially in densely populated areas, is key to meeting the UK’s net zero targets. Part of that urgent challenge is re-imagining how energy is provided to homes, businesses and cities to explore what can be done to take action and reduce carbon on a large scale.

“We’ve provided a source of heating and cooling to the QMC for many decades with an E.ON energy site in the grounds of the hospital. I’m proud Nottingham University Hospitals are trusting us to build on our successful relationship with this project, clearly demonstrating how working towards net zero can also have a direct benefit for the people who work, visit and stay at the hospital. We’ll be working alongside local companies to bring this to life and deliver a future-proofed energy system for Nottingham and beyond.”