Taizhou breaks ground on first near-zero energy hospital building

A rendering of the Taizhou Sixth People's Hospital. [Photo/Taizhou Daily]

Construction has begun on Taizhou Sixth People's Hospital, with its most striking feature — the fever clinic building at the southeast corner — set to become the city's first near-zero energy public facility.

With an impressive energy utilization rate of 70.63 percent, the project sets a new benchmark for energy efficiency in public infrastructure.

Unlike conventional energy-intensive buildings, near-zero energy buildings are designed from the ground up to be green, low-carbon, and self-sufficient.

The hospital, located in the Taizhou Medical High-Tech Zone, will cover 83,000 square meters and consist of two campuses linked by a corridor. The northern campus will house administrative, logistics, and general medical facilities with 300 beds, while the southern campus will specialize in infectious disease treatment with 200 beds and intensive care resources.

The hospital is expected to reduce carbon emissions by about 3,870 metric tons annually. The fever clinic building alone will cut emissions by 107 tons each year, equivalent to planting more than 7,100 trees.

How does it achieve near-zero energy? According to Qin Jiewen, director of green building and technology at the Taizhou Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, the answer lies in a unique combination of passive and active strategies.

Passive design includes optimizing building orientation and structure to make energy efficiency innate: maximizing natural daylight to reduce reliance on artificial lighting, installing sunshades and louvers to cut cooling loads in summer, using thickened insulation and high-performance glass for year-round thermal comfort, and applying reflective roofing materials to reduce heat absorption.

Active technology further enhances efficiency: rooftop photovoltaic panels generate much of the building's electricity, the HVAC system features high-efficiency circulation and 75 percent heat recovery for fresh air, all lighting is LED-based, and elevators use variable frequency drives to minimize energy use.

The hospital is scheduled to begin operating by December 2027. Its near-zero energy design is expected to be extended to more public buildings across Taizhou.