The Emergence Of All-Electric Hospitals: Powering Sustainable Care

Imagine a hospital where every light, life-saving device, and breath of fresh air is powered by clean, efficient electricity rather than traditional fossil fuels. This is becoming a reality today in hospitals around the world. And it’s reshaping how we think about healthcare, energy, and the future of both.

Energy: Why It Matters In Healthcare

Hospitals are energy-hungry buildings serving patients 24/7. They rely on advanced equipment and need tightly controlled environments to keep patients safe and comfortable. What’s more? There’s increasing demand on the healthcare system than ever before with hospitals seeing much higher numbers of patients every year. And as healthcare demand grows, so does energy use. This is putting real pressure on operational budgets and sustainability goals.

Let’s break down why:

• Hospitals are always “on” – HVAC, lighting, sterilisation… it all adds up. HVAC and hot water systems alone can account for around 70% of a hospital’s energy use.
• Technology is a double-edged sword – While advancements in medical equipment, robotics, and digital transformation enhance patient care, they also increase energy consumption.
• The global energy crisis – In some places, hospitals are seeing their electricity bills jump by 25% or more as the cost of consumption has rocketed.
• The planet is paying the price – The healthcare sector emits about 2 gigatons of CO₂ every year, which is equivalent to running 500 coal plants.

The Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception, a critical care campus in New Britain, CT, partnered with Schneider Electric and Citizens Energy Corporation to implement a custom solar-powered microgrid across four critical care facilities. (Photos: Schneider Electric)

Enter The All-Electric Hospital Era

Healthcare is about saving lives, but ironically, the way we power hospitals is contributing to climate change and poor air quality. So, what’s the alternative?

The all-electric hospital is a bold, progressive model that’s already gaining traction around the world. It isn’t just about switching to electricity. It’s about reshaping how hospitals function — creating spaces that are smarter, more sustainable, and better for patients, providers, and the planet.

 

At the heart of this transformation are four big ideas:

1. Electrification: Replacing fossil fuels with clean, efficient electric systems.
2. Digitalization: Using real-time data and digital technology to drive better decisions.
3. Integration: Connecting systems so they work together, not in silos.
4. Automation: Letting intelligent systems handle routine tasks, so people can focus on delivering high-quality care.

Let’s dig deeper on these four ideas.

Electrification: Powering Care With Clean Energy

This is where it all starts. By replacing fossil-fuel-based systems, like gas boilers or diesel generators, with electric alternatives, hospitals can become more efficient and sustainable. Example solutions are electric systems and heat pumps, electric kitchens and sterilisation equipment, EV charging stations for ambulances and staff and on-site solar panels and battery storage.

Electrification isn’t just about replacing equipment. It’s about building infrastructure that’s future-ready, resilient, flexible, and capable of supporting new healthcare technology advances.

Digitalization: Smarter, Connected Systems For Better Decisions

Imagine digital tools acting as your hospital’s central nervous system. IoT sensors monitor energy use, equipment health, and air quality. Digital twins let you simulate changes before implementation. Cloud platforms give you a real-time, centralized view of operations—so you can act quickly and confidently.

Integration: Breaking Down The Silos

Integration of systems allows the complexity of hospital environments to operate as one responsive ecosystem. Typically hospitals have several systems all operating in silos which causes challenges with understanding energy and clinical operation power needs. By integrating all systems, a hospital can run smoothly and technology communicates more effectively. This can be done with smart sensors that detect overcrowding or rising noise levels and automatically alert staff. Or, clinical teams can monitor critical systems, like backup power and isolation controls, in real time.

But integration isn’t just about what happens behind the scenes — it’s also reshaping the patient experience. At Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, a pilot with Schneider Electric is testing smart room technologies that let patients control lighting, temperature, and blinds from their bedside–boosting their independence while easing staff workloads.

This pilot is helping shape the new National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC)—the UK’s first NHS net-zero hospital. With all-electric systems, solar panels, and intelligent automation, it shows how integration can make hospitals more sustainable, efficient, and empowering for everyone inside.

Automation: Enabling Staff To Focus On Patients vs Processes

Real-time data and rule setting  are key to automation. This allows staff to focus on what’s more important – taking care of their patients. For example, in a time of crisis when the power grid goes down, electricity is instantly rerouted to critical care units, ensuring life-saving equipment stays powered and patients remain safe without a second’s delay. Day-to-day operations are streamlined too as patient discharges can set off a seamless chain reaction. As soon as a room is vacated, smart systems adjust lighting and HVAC, and automatically notify housekeeping, accelerating turnover and improving patient flow.

With artificial intelligence (AI) in the mix, these systems keep learning, getting smarter, and more efficient with every decision they make.

The All-Electric Hospital: Turning Vision Into Reality

The all-electric hospital isn’t just about providing cleaner energy but enabling their buildings to be smarter. What’s more? This isn’t just theory, it’s already happening.

Faced with rising utility costs and the need for uninterrupted care, the Daughters of Mary of the Immaculate Conception, a critical care campus in New Britain, Connecticut, turned to a smarter energy solution. Partnering with Schneider Electric and Citizens Energy Corporation, it implemented a custom solar-powered microgrid across four critical care facilities. The results? 24/7 clean, reliable energy, up to 1,300 metric tons of CO₂ emissions avoided annually, an estimated $1.3 million in energy savings over 20 years and uninterrupted care during power outages.

By Jean-Marc Zola

Jean-Marc Zola, Building Segments President at Schneider Electric, is the global business lead across Schneider Electric’s various building segments, including Retail, Healthcare, Real Estate and Hotels. He has been at Schneider for over 27 years, and holds extensive experience positioning climate-friendly, resilient and people-centric building systems as critical technologies for a better climate and energy efficient future.

Read more about healthcare facilities and facility management on Facility Executive.