HK hospital cuts carbon, costs with gas dehumidifiers

It is equivalent to cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 195 tonnes.

Hong Kong Baptist Hospital (HKBH) has adopted a gas dehumidification system at its Kowloon Tong campus and Fanling Supporting Service Centre.

The hospital aims to address challenges in the healthcare environment due to Hong Kong’s humid climate.

The system provides more stable humidity control for critical areas such as operating theatres, the Central Sterile Services Department (CSSD), and medical record archives.

When dehumidifying, traditional air conditioning systems first cool the air to a lower temperature, then reheat it to the desired indoor temperature.

The new system will not replace the existing air conditioning, but will allow the two systems to play to their respective strengths.

Brian Tang, Manager In-Charge (Estates & Facilities Management) at HKBH, stated that this controls indoor humidity more precisely whilst reducing the extra electricity consumed by the air conditioning for dehumidification.

Compared to traditional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, the gas dehumidification setup saves 357,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a year.

This is equivalent to cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 195 tonnes, or planting around 7,800 trees, and cuts annual running costs by about HK$450,000 (US$57,409). 

(HK$1=US$0.1276)