South Australia’s Modbury Hospital Meets Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Goals with Johnson Controls
Modbury Hospital in Adelaide is leveraging YORK® YZ chiller technology and Metasys® building automation system to meet its energy-efficient and sustainability goals in a multi-million upgrading project. This is also the first installation of YORK YZ chillers for Johnson Controls in South Australia.
Since it was established in 1973, Modbury Hospital has been providing vital health care to its local community. Under the management of SA Health, the hospital provides emergency care, elective surgery, general medicine, palliative care and rehabilitation services to some 400,000 people living in Adelaide’s north-eastern suburbs.
In 2018, the government announced a AUD$110 million major upgrading project to transform Modbury Hospital into a modern facility that provides better patient care. The plan will also incorporate sustainable initiatives to improve the hospital’s energy usage and minimize its environmental footprint.
Upon completion in 2021, the project will feature major additions. These include a 20-bed palliative care unit, 26 short-stay general medical (SSGMU) beds, eight emergency extended care (EECU) beds, a four-bed high dependency unit (HDU) and an expanded surgical suite with four new operating theaters (OT). The high dependency unit, which accounts for AUD$23 million of the total budget, is fundamental to the reintroduction of more complex surgeries at Modbury Hospital. The new unit increases doctor’s ability to manage unwell patients and those in recovering from post-surgeries. A new purpose-built outpatient facility that provides more than 20 different outpatient specialty services including gynaecology, paediatric, renal and vascular services is also part of the hospital redevelopment project.
Johnson Controls is awarded the contract in a competitive bid to supply a unit of YORK® YZ chiller with 1400kW capacity and Metasys® building automation system for the upgrading project. The proposal meets the hospital’s sustainability aspiration of ultra-low Global Warming Potential (GWP) target of less than 1, in addition to long-term cost ownership concerns. The solution allows Modbury Hospital to optimize the chiller plant more efficiently, regardless of the load requirements and combination of the number of chillers to operate.
The YORK YZ chiller, which will replace one of the hospital’s existing chillers, is selected for its ability to run at a very low level to cater for low load conditions. The YORK YZ magnetic bearing chiller technology with zero drive line maintenance are well-known for their energy efficiency and use low-GWP refrigerant to deliver the lowest total emissions.
Johnson Controls FMS Room Controller, which features Safety HaloTM edge lighting for remote monitoring, will also be installed. The technology enables hospital staff to better control and monitor the room pressure for two patient isolation rooms. Those working in the OTs will be able to easily adjust the settings for temperature, humidity and pressure using touchscreen interface technology.
The Metasys system enables faster troubleshooting through advanced diagnostics and reduces equipment downtime. Metasys also provides essential instrumentation and control to help Modbury Hospital save energy, increase productivity and enhance patients’ comfort and security.
