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2. Account for Change

Once a facility has analyzed the energy requirements of its day-to-day operations, it must also determine whether the energy demands are likely to change in the near term. Health facility managers must think strategically in consultation with stakeholders, about the possibility that energy demands may increase due to the addition of patients, extended operating hours, or new services.

Ultimately, all stakeholders will have to agree on a target energy load for the facility which will feed into the system design process. The target load will directly impact the cost of the energy system. Loads will often be separated into critical and non-critical categories, with critical loads receiving continuous power from a battery based system and non-critical loads receiving power when a local grid or generator is operational. The addition of loads to a battery based system is one of the most common causes of system failure. Once an energy system has been designed around a given set of agreed upon loads, the loads cannot be increased without modification of the system (addition of batteries, solar panels, etc).

Use this online tool to estimate the effect that different load configurations will have on the lifetime cost of the system. If the capital, operating, or maintenance costs of a system exceed the likely available budget than the system will need to be redesigned to support a smaller number of critical loads. The purchase of a system whose operating and maintenance costs exceed the available budget of the clinic will quickly result in system failure.