The venti­lation tech­nology in oper­ating rooms must satisfy the highest demands – constant air quality is as neces­sary as a high degree of energy effi­ciency. Espe­cially in older build­ings with obso­lete tech­nology, these condi­tions are often no longer met. That was the situ­a­tion at the Kebon Jeruk, Semanggi and TB Simatu­pang loca­tions oper­ated by the Siloam Hospi­tals Group, one of Indonesia’s leading private health­care providers. The company reacted by imple­menting exten­sive retro­fits of the venti­lation systems at the three hospi­tals. The aim is to signif­i­cantly improve the systems’ energy effi­ciency while simul­ta­ne­ously ensuring a constant air flow in the highly sensi­tive oper­ating room and inten­sive care areas.

Thor­ough analysis of the current condi­tion

In November 2023, the employees of the Siloam Hospi­tals Group’s depart­ment for energy savings in existing build­ings collab­o­rated with the experts at ebm-papst to produce a thor­ough analysis of the current condi­tion of the existing venti­lation tech­nology. This revealed that the old belt-driven AC fans were real power guzzlers. However, that was not all. At the Semanggi loca­tion, two units were entirely out of service due to burnt-out motor wind­ings.

The venti­lation units in the existing systems: In oper­a­tion for decades, with high energy consump­tion and demanding main­te­nance require­ments. (Images | Siloam Hospi­tals Group)

Retrofit ensures effi­ciency and system perfor­mance

Based on the site analyses, ebm-papst then devel­oped customized retro­fitting solu­tions for all three hospital loca­tions. In Kebon Jeruk, two outdated AC fans with belt drives were replaced with RadiPac EC fans, resulting in a higher air flow and a signif­i­cant reduc­tion in energy consump­tion.

In Semanggi, ebm-papst’s retro­fitting experts installed EC fans in the two non-func­tioning venti­lation units, thus restoring their func­tion­ality with an effi­cient solu­tion. At the TB Simatu­pang hospital, the three existing venti­lation units were also retro­fitted with RadiPac EC fans. A total of ten AHUs were modern­ized easily without inter­rupting their oper­a­tion.

The newly installed RadiPac EC fans: The front shows the aero­dy­namic impeller design, while the rear houses the compact, inte­grated elec­tronics for effi­cient and low-main­te­nance oper­a­tion. (Images | Siloam Hospi­tals Group)

Retro­fitting ensures greater effi­ciency and system perfor­mance

Replacing the outdated fans with EC tech­nology has reduced current consump­tion at all hospital sites by an average of around 65 percent. It has also improved air flow consis­tency – a key factor in ensuring sterile condi­tions in oper­ating rooms. Retro­fitting will also benefit the Siloam Hospi­tals Group in the long term because EC fans not only reduce energy consump­tion; they also cut main­te­nance effort thanks to the wear-free motor tech­nology and infi­nitely vari­able control char­ac­ter­is­tics.