Volume 61

Optimal Energy Management for Healthcare Water Heating: Integrating Waste Heat Recovery and Solar-Assisted Heat Pumps TP Gaonwe, PA Hohne, K Kusakana

Abstract

Healthcare facilities are among the most energy-intensive buildings, with water heating systems accounting for a significant portion of total energy consumption. Conventional electric storage tank water heaters operate inefficiently, leading to excessive energy use, frequent switching, and high peak-period demand. This study proposes an optimized energy management strategy integrating waste heat recovery and a solar-assisted heat pump to enhance system efficiency and reduce peak electricity consumption. A case study was conducted in a high-capacity healthcare facility, where baseline and optimally controlled scenarios were analyzed for both summer and winter conditions. The results indicate that the optimized control strategy successfully shifted heating loads to off-peak periods, minimized reliance on electric resistive heating, and maintained stable water temperature profiles across all tariff periods. The integration of waste heat recovery and solar-assisted heat pump significantly improved operational efficiency, demonstrating the potential for intelligent energy management solutions in large-scale healthcare water heating applications. Future work should explore real-time adaptive control mechanisms and experimental validation through pilot implementations to further enhance system adaptability and performance.

Keywords Waste Heat Recovery, Heat Pump, Solar Energy, Energy Management, Healthcare Buildings