Water efficiency in hospitals

07 October 2019 Reading time: 4 mins

In the latest blog in our water efficiency series, we are focusing on hospitals and providing our top tips to help hospitals use water wisely and reduce the risk of any loss of supply. Becoming more water efficient will help to reduce bills, save on energy and increase resilience.

Provided below are our top five tips:

  1. Understand your water usage

The first and most important step is to understand your water usage. By knowing how much water you use then it will be easier to identify ways to use less. If you haven’t already, then you can install an Automated Meter Reader (AMR) to track the amount of water you’re using. The data is collected every 15 minutes and then transferred to a central system, which allows you to monitor your water use at a glance. Bills are then based on near real-time consumption, rather than estimated meter reads, and it helps to identify any leaks, as any increases or irregularities will be immediately apparent. 

 

  1. Install water efficient devices to reduce water waste

By installing water efficient devices, hospitals can reduce water wastage whilst still being able to use facilities, as required. For example, within catering departments, aerators can be fitted to taps and emersion heaters can be installed to give instant hot water, both of which will reduce water wastage. In addition, water-saving hippos can be fitted to toilet cisterns to help reduce the amount of water used.

 

  1. Ensure facilities are in good working order

Hidden leaks could be costing you a lot of money and wasting an unnecessary amount of water. The simplest way to check for a leak is to turn off all of your appliances and taps and then look at your meter. If the dial on your meter is moving, then you may have a leak. Hydrotherapy pools used in hospitals should also be checked for leaks. If water needs to be added to the pool more than once a week, this could be a sign that there is an issue that needs to be fixed. If you have any concerns regarding leaks then get in touch and we will be able to help.

 

  1. Use water efficient commercial laundry facilities

Although hospitals often cannot compromise on the temperature of water used for laundry, as high temperatures are required to disinfect, it is important that the facilities being used are operating as efficiently as possible. All appliances should be approved by the Water Regulations Advisory Scheme (WRAS). In addition, water labels should also be checked to ensure the machines being used are as water efficient as possible.

 
  1. Support patients, staff and visitors to adopt water efficient behaviours

Providing helpful signage to remind all patients, staff and visitors to only use the water they need, will help to make a big difference. In addition, encouraging people to sanitise hands with gel rather than using water and soap will help to kill any bacteria and reduce unnecessary water consumption.

Our next blog in our water efficiency series will focus on how small businesses can take some small steps to make big savings. If you have any questions regarding this or any of our other water efficiency blogs, please don’t hesitate to drop us a line to TheWaterExperts@Business-Stream.co.uk