Energy Saving News
South Korean Hospital Has Poor Energy Efficiency
The Korea Times reports that one of the country’s largest hospitals is not very energy efficient and appear to need educating regarding energy saving solutions.
As far as energy is concerned, Samsung Medical Center uses the most among the nation's 10 major hospitals, which are mainly situated in Seoul and the surrounding Gyeonggi Province.
The South Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) said Monday that Samsung Medical Center hospital, located in southern Seoul, used the most energy per patient and per square meter.
``The facilities of Samsung Medical Center seem to have poor energy efficiency or its buildings have systemic problems in managing temperatures inside,'' ministry official Jin Bong-jun said.
``Nevertheless, the hospital seemingly hasn't taken dramatic measures to cut down on its energy consumption last year. We think that the center should take steps to tackle this,'' he said.
The ministry said that overall, 10 hospitals saw their total energy consumption rocket by 7.9 percent last year from the previous year. In order to address the upward trend, the ministry thinks continued efforts are necessary.
Samsung Medical Center attributed the energy consumption to a high quality of patient care.
``We have to run ventilation and air conditioning systems around the clock. We have the best facilities in creating the best conditions for patients,'' a Samsung Medical Center spokesman said.
``In other words, our energy consumption was high because our system worked well. We tried our best to save energy but we cannot reduce the temperature too much to save on electricity bills,'' he said.
Members of the energy saving industry would dispute the hospitals claim that they have tried their best to save energy and also that they cannot save energy on their ventilation and aricon systems
Wednesday 24th February 2010
