Frankfurt – The world’s first Passive House hospital is now being built in Frankfurt. Reduced energy consumption is expected to lead to significantly lower running costs. Other hospitals may benefit from the hospital’s experiences.
The former hospital in the Höchst district of Frankfurt is being replaced by a new building that is being constructed in the Passive House standard. According to a statement from the Passive House Institute, the energy demands of hospital buildings are significantly higher than other building types, making it all the more relevant that a Passive House hospital is now being built.
“The basic intention of the Passive House concept, to significantly reduce the energy demand while providing improved comfort, is particularly worthwhile in the case of a hospital building. But special requirements must also be met,” said Oliver Kah of the Passive House Institute.
One way to reduce energy demand in hospitals is to use energy-efficient medical devices. “If the building facilities are not considered, then planners will have neglected about half of the total energy demand of the clinic. Efficient devices cut down on energy and reduce the cooling demand at the same time,” explained Kah.
When planning for the new hospital in Frankfurt, Kah and his colleagues investigated how the Passive House construction method can be applied to a hospital clinic in general. These findings could be used to benefit Germany’s other 2,100 hospitals, many of which are in need of refurbishment.
