"People live through some of the toughest moments of their lives in hospitals, so they need to be as comfortable as possible. Hospitals traditionally connect with natural gas lines several times bigger than those connected to residential homes, to ensure that rooms are always warm or cool enough and have sufficient hot water. But burning that natural gas is one of the main ways that buildings cause climate change. The way we build and operate buildings is responsible more than one-third of global greenhouse gases."
"Yes, said principal project manager Jess Langerud on a recent tour, people are permitted to eat fried food in a hospital. Here, the fryer is electric. "After all, you still have to have your crunchy fries, right?" He moved over to an appliance that looked like a stove but with metal zigzagging across the top instead of the usual burners. "I can still put your sear marks on your steak or burger with an infrared grill that's fully electric," said Langerud."
A new 144-bed UC Irvine hospital operates entirely on electricity, becoming the largest and second all-electric medical facility in the United States. The facility uses electric heat pumps, electric water heating, and an all-electric kitchen with electric fryers and infrared grills to replicate traditional cooking. The hospital includes heavy electrical infrastructure such as long rows of large water heaters to meet demand. Buildings account for more than one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and traditional large natural gas connections in hospitals drive a significant portion of those emissions. Backup power continues to rely on diesel generators. More all-electric medical facilities are under construction in the state.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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