Modern hospitals consume up to 2.5 times more energy per square foot than commercial buildings, thereby increasing the risk to the reliability and resilience of their power systems. So what modern solutions are there that can secure reliable and uninterrupted electrical power.
UK and global healthcare facilities face intense operational pressures. Factors such as deteriorating infrastructure, extreme weather conditions, and cyberattacks triggering power failures pose a growing threat to hospitals’ ability to deliver consistent, high-quality patient care. Adding to this complexity is the transition toward cleaner energy sources, which can make the electrical supply more volatile at a time when hospitals require increased power for advanced medical technologies.
To meet these challenges, healthcare facilities must become more agile and efficient without compromising patient care. By integrating equipment, devices, and technologies from multiple suppliers through an open protocol platform, hospitals can build the resilience they need to manage these obstacles confidently.
Challenges healthcare facilities face
In terms of energy requirements, hospitals resemble small towns. Relying on an array of equipment — ranging from critical life-support systems to a multitude of basic devices — their energy demand is enormous. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems alone account for roughly half of a hospital’s total energy use. To guarantee safe, continuous patient care, hospitals require consistently dependable power. However, as healthcare provision becomes increasingly digitalised, hospitals’ carbon footprints have expanded further. Consequently, healthcare facilities face the challenge of adopting advanced yet energy-intensive technologies while simultaneously enhancing energy efficiency to reduce emissions. The primary stakeholders impacted by unreliable power are patients and healthcare professionals. Patients reliant on electrically powered life-support equipment face serious consequences even with the briefest power disruption.
The economic consequences are also concerning. According to ABB’s recent report, The Future of Healthcare, every minute of a hospital power outage can cost upwards of $7,900. These represent not only a financial knock but also a potential decline in patient confidence and the provider’s reputation.
Cybersecurity poses another significant risk. As hospitals adopt increasingly interconnected technology, their susceptibility to cyber incidents, particularly ransomware attacks, escalates. Should energy management systems become compromised, the impact could be devastating. Therefore, deploying secure energy management tools featuring encryption and strong authentication is critical. Equally, cloud-based energy asset management (EAM) platforms enable facilities to respond swiftly to emerging threats — a flexibility that is often limited in traditional on-premises infrastructure.
Hospitals must innovate ceaselessly to address evolving patient demands; stagnation is not an option. Yet, the construction or redevelopment of hospitals is becoming increasingly costly due to specialised skills shortages and rising labour expenses. Providers thus must strike a balance between technological advancement and cost.
Open protocol and other solutions
To meet these challenges head-on, hospitals must adopt more innovative and sustainable energy strategies. Open protocol platforms, which enable better compatibility and communication among diverse equipment manufacturers, offer a particularly promising route. These systems empower hospitals to select optimal digital solutions tailored to individual requirements, significantly reducing the risks associated with vendor lock-in, which can impede adaptability and limit future upgrades. Open protocols facilitate seamless data exchange, enabling informed decision-making and supporting improved energy efficiency and rigorous power monitoring efforts.
Furthermore, energy management systems must advance to seamlessly incorporate smart technologies, including intelligent power networks that act as a hospital’s central nervous system. This unified approach enables facilities to rapidly predict, diagnose, and address problems, thereby reducing the likelihood of power outages. Ensuring robust connectivity among electrical systems is crucial, alongside the incorporation of solutions like centric lighting, in-room sensors, and voice-activated controls, while also reducing energy usage. Additionally, integrating effective Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems is vital. UPS ensures long-term reliability, significantly cutting carbon emissions while safeguarding hospitals.
Unexpected crises
Earlier this year, a teaching hospital in Northwest England experienced a sudden mains power failure, disrupting its internal electrical supply. Although emergency generators quickly provided backup power, the hospital was temporarily unable to accept emergency or elective patients. Due to the outage, the hospital cancelled all outpatient appointments and scheduled theatre procedures for the rest of that day. Two patients at theatres had already been anaesthetised but had to be woken up without having had their procedure. Medical personnel completed theatre and endoscopy procedures already underway, but no new cases commenced. Fortunately, none of the affected patients suffered harm.
As soon as the incident occurred, the hospital activated its on-call emergency structure and established a dedicated command and control team. The team promptly held an initial meeting and scheduled hourly briefing meetings to monitor developments and coordinate responses. High Voltage (HV) specialist contractors were called in to support the hospital’s internal HV-authorised engineers. They subsequently estimated that locating and resolving the fault would require approximately four hours of downtime. The power supply was restored and stabilised by the early evening of the same day. To further manage the situation, the hospital implemented a full ambulance divert, redirecting new emergency patients to other nearby hospitals. The Emergency Department was also temporarily closed to all walk-in patients. The hospital notified all relevant partner organisations and local stakeholders, keeping them fully informed throughout.
While it’s uncommon for hospitals to shut down critical units due to power outages, this incident highlights the importance of reliable business continuity planning. Similarly, but on a much larger scale, was the massive multi-hour power blackout that rocked Spain and Portugal in June this year. For healthcare staff, the power outage meant routine procedures quickly came to a halt as they shifted their focus to urgent medical needs. Hospitals turned to generators to maintain open emergency departments and could perform only the most time-sensitive surgeries. Dialysis treatments were delayed, leading to shortened sessions in some cases. Across the two countries, healthcare workers were especially concerned about the risk to vaccines, which need continuous refrigeration. In Portugal, some clinics successfully transported their vaccine supplies to a nearby hospital; however, it remains unclear whether all primary care facilities nationwide were able to do the same. Fortunately, the power in both countries was restored later in the evening.
Why healthcare providers should partner with a connectivity specialist
Collaborating with a connectivity specialist from the outset enables hospitals to create a digital ecosystem that is optimised for current challenges and futureproofing. Achieving higher energy reliability in hospitals depends on adopting open, secure, and flexible solutions from multiple providers designed with resilience.