Innovating for Impact: A Sustainable Water Upgrade at an Abu Dhabi Hospital

In 2023, administrators at a prestigious women’s hospital in the United Arab Emirates made the decision to upgrade their sanitary water system. For nearly 40 years, the 180-room facility had been providing top-quality maternity and post-natal care to residents in the capital city of Abu Dhabi. After decades of use, the existing system was failing to supply the hospital with water at required temperatures — above 55° C for hot water and below 18° C for cold water.

Complicating matters were concerns over the legacy system. The age of the surrounding infrastructure made the hospital hesitant to invest in newer, more advanced equipment. The dilemma: whether to invest in conventional equipment that would fit comfortably into the old infrastructure, or to commit to a more contemporary, more sustainable system.

A high-efficiency, two-unit solution

Trane Rental Services proposed a solution: install two-unit heat pumps alongside the legacy system for one month as a proof of concept. If successful, the arrangement could be extended, and the system could ultimately replace the legacy two-part boiler and chiller system. 

The new RTSF heat pump technology offered a range of benefits compared to the older system. The system not only allowed the hospital to increase its water capacity by 50%, but also dramatically increase efficiency. The new recovery modules are capable of recovering energy from the cooling system and repurposing it to heat the hospital’s water supply, essentially delivering free low-carbon heating. 

Capacity, cost savings and carbon reduction

The solution was implemented in December of 2023. During the one-month project trial phase, the effectiveness of the two City™ RTSF Water-to-Water Heat Pumps was thoroughly evaluated to ensure that the system was performing well with the existing infrastructure and, more importantly, delivering sanitary water at the temperatures required by the hospital. Having passed the trial, the rental solution was extended for an additional 12 months. Once the new system replaces the boilers and chiller as expected, it will free up a considerable amount of space in the hospital plant.  

Even though the system has only been running for a relatively short time, the new high-efficiency solution has resulted in cost savings of $12,000 per month. Carbon reductions are estimated at 50 metric tons per year.  

“Upgrading a system like this, you truly get to appreciate how far technology has advanced since this facility was built 40 years ago,” said Sameer Salahudeen, Service Sales Engineer, Trane EMEA. “This solution is raising the bar in terms of the hospital’s efficiency and sustainability, while also helping ensure that healthy babies are born and cared for here for many, many years to come.”