Kohinoor Hospital: gem amongst the greenest

With adapting energy-efficiency principles, Kohinoor Hospital shows how to increase productivity and health benefits as well as reduce operation costs
Kohinoor Hospital, based in Mumbai, is the Asia’s first ‘green’ hospital. The 175-bed multi-specialty hospital is 4-years old and has implemented a range of innovative energy-efficient measures to reduce energy consumption, decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and improve the quality of patient care. In turn, the hospital has received LEED Platinum Certification, highest rating under the IGBC’s Green Building Rating System.
Adapting green measuresThe measures to conserve energy at Kohinoor Hospital are high-efficiency fluorescent lights, motion sensors to turn off lights, and high-efficiency air conditioning equipment. Enough energy is saved by the hospital to power, about 300 average homes in Mumbai daily. Also, the hospital has reflective roof material that helps decrease the hospital’s urban heat island effect and reduce the amount of energy used for air conditioning.Parking is another way that Kohinoor Hospital encourages eco-friendly forms of transportation. Besides handicapped spaces, parking close to the building is also reserved for hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles.
By going green, one can achieve energy savings up to 30 per cent over the ASHRAE standard, which is the base of building design standard.
Not only in the functioning, but the eco-friendly aspect was taken care of even during construction of the hospital. Kohinoor Hospital was built on the site of the old premier. The ground was saturated with old fuel and solvents. Through a variety of efforts, the location has been restored to its original unpolluted state.
Also, construction of a large building like Kohinoor Hospital generated tonnes of construction waste-things like wood, cardboard, drywall and other materials. Thankfully, 91 per cent of the waste (32,000 tonnes) was recycled.
Recycling At Kohinoor Hospital, more than 40 per cent of the materials are recycled materials. The foundation of the overhead tank was built reusing scrap material. Salvaged wood was reused for making frames which helped conserve trees.
Water efficiencyThe hospital also has initiatives for water recycling and conservation where the water efficiency mechanism is implemented and conserves more than 40 per cent of water. In this system, the waste water from various zones of the hospital is treated using disinfectants at sewage treatment plant. The water is then reused for flushing, cooling air-conditioning towers and for horticulture. The hospital also has dual flushes and urinal sensors in place to control water flow.
Kohinoor Hospital has been also designed to save water in a variety of ways. The hospital also uses dual flush toilets and low-flow faucets to reduce water consumption. These water conservation measures save over 2.5 million gallons of water a year. Also, rainwater is allowed to filter into the ground gradually. This naturally filters the surrounding vegetation and reduced water logging.
Ventilation The hospital has installed state-of-the-art demand control ventilation and variable air volume systems to keep indoor air quality in check. The demand control ventilation system uses sensors to monitor the quality of air and keep it fresh. VAVs have high-end sensors to provide the right quantity of cool air required for specific building zones. In order to prevent an urban heat island effect, where a particular area becomes hotter than its surroundings, solar energy pavers and panels have been used.
Natural lightThe hospital is built with an emphasis on getting natural lights in all the patient areas, which reduces the consumption of electricity. The large windows and open sky light keep the area cool and ventilated along with incoming natural light. It also used LED-emitted light to reduce heat on surgical field for increased patient safety and improve surgical team comfort.
Green roofThe hospital also features green roofs which provide insulation, help lower urban air temperatures, combat the heat island effect, and filter pollutants and CO2.
Central hot water generation and supplyHot water generator plant is used to provide hot water supply to the various zones in the hospitals as well as various AHU for maintaining the relative humidity in ‘operation theatres’. Hot water generators are suitably located along with ancillaries such as plate heat exchangers, soft water plant, fuel oil supply tank, hot water mixing tank, and hot water return pumping system. The hospital used nitrile insulation to prepare the tank as it keeps the water warm for about 2 days and avoids wastage of energy.
“We believe in green projects as conservation and thoughtful use of resources is very crucial. With increasing population and technology, if we do not get eco-friendly, the existing resources will get exhausted. We are humbled by the recognition we have received and hope this will encourage others too to go green.” – Dr Rajeev Boudhankar, Vice President, Kohinoor Hospital

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