The health centre was originally built in 2005 under the NHS LIFT programme. The building will have a number of modifications to reduce its carbon footprint, becoming Hull’s first LIFT health centre to have photovoltaic panels funded by Community Health Partnerships.
Citycare has created a digital model of the building, enabling the testing out of ideas and the creation a decarbonisation plan. The 166 photovoltaic panels fitted to the roof will produce around 56,000 KWh of energy annually, enough for 62% of the health centre’s energy needs. As well as providing an annual energy bill saving of around £9,500, the panels will save 14 tonnes of CO2 a year.
The PV panel installation is one of a number of measures which will reduce Marfleet Health Centre’s impact on the environment. Over the past 18 months, it has had all its 386 traditional light fixtures replaced by LEDs – which use 25% less energy and last up to a decade, 10 times as long as a traditional fluorescent light bulb. Hull Citycare and CHP say the move has ‘dramatically reduced’ the centre’s energy usage, and made it one of England’s few LIFT health centres to be fully lit with LEDs.
In the next year, the centre will have a plant room upgrade and air-conditioning replacement. CHP is also funding the installation of voltage optimisation to all 13 Hull LIFT health centres.
Alan Land, CHP’s head of Technical Services, said: “The installation of photovoltaic panels at Marfleet Health Centre in Hull is a tangible example of Community Health Partnerships’ commitment to driving sustainability across our estate. This project not only reduces the building’s carbon footprint and operational costs, but it also directly supports the Greener NHS target to reach net zero before 2040.”
The six-week programme to fit the solar panels, being project managed by Sewell Facilities Management, and with the panels fitted by local renewable energy specialist, N&P, will be completed by mid-April, without disruption to health centre operations.
Once the project is completed, the team will move on to fitting photovoltaic panels on two more buildings – Newington Health Centre in West Hull, and Alexandra Health Centre in the Avenues area.
Pictured left to right, at the site, are Tim Wigglesworth, CEO at Citycare, Alan Land, head of Technical Services at CHP, and Sean Henderson, MD at Sewell Facilities Management.