Lüdenscheid Clinic
As a healthcare facility, the Lüdenscheid Clinic must meet the highest standards of drinking water hygiene whilst also keeping a close eye on the energy consumption involved in the supply of hot water. To reconcile these ambitious objectives, the existing system was replaced with an innovative one comprising cascading direct DHW stations and coordinated buffer tanks from the KEMPER ThermoSystem KTS range – while the facility remained in operation.
| Information | |
|---|---|
| Year of execution | 2023 |
| Location | Lüdenscheid |
| Object type | Hospital |
| Measure | Modernisation |
| Product group | KTS |
Property description
The Lüdenscheid Clinic is one of the leading healthcare providers in South Westphalia. The hospital facility has around 900 beds and, with 28 clinics and institutes, covers a wide range of medical disciplines. To meet increasingly stringent standards for drinking water hygiene and energy efficiency, the facility's hot water heating system underwent comprehensive modernisation in 2023.
The aim of the modernisation was to centralise the hot water heating system to gain a better overview of the hydraulics and reduce maintenance costs. In addition to this, the different supply zones had to be integrated into a single calculation model to ensure the new system could be configured for energy efficiency, user comfort, and hygiene in equal measure.
The challenge
Large hospital facilities with extensive pipework, variable usage patterns, and periods of temporary non-use, face a heightened risk of stagnation and temperature fluctuations. These factors can compromise the microbiological quality of the drinking water, posing a serious health risk to patients. The operator therefore needed a high-performance solution that guarantees consistently stable hot water temperatures, prevents stagnation and, at the same time, operates energy-efficiently – regardless of current occupancy or usage patterns.
The solution
The Lüdenscheid Clinic relies on modern KTS Water Heaters PRO from the KEMPER ThermoSystems KTS range. The system operates on the hygienic continuous flow principle, which does not store any drinking water. Instead, hot water is produced on demand, thereby minimising the risk of stagnation.
Six 1,000-litre buffer tanks and a total of eight KTS Water Heaters were installed, connected as cascade units: as 5-stage cascade units in the ward block and as 3-stage cascade units in the treatment department. With the intelligent control system and cascade operation, the output can be precisely adjusted to suit actual demand.
The result: Thanks to the modernisation, the heating supply temperature has been reduced from 90°C to 70°C; in the future, it may even be possible to lower it to 62°C. The system maintains a constant outlet temperature of 60°C, thereby meeting the highest hygiene requirements in compliance with the DVGW Code of Practice W 551.
The entire hot water heating system is linked to the building management system, facilitating the continuous monitoring and verification of hygiene standards. The KTS Water Heaters PRO are configured with interfaces for ModBus and, optionally, BACnet, making it easier to integrate them into building automation systems.
Project Gallery
"The close collaboration and careful planning with KEMPER have really paid off. The new system operates optimally in terms of both energy efficiency and hygiene, and reliably ensures a high standard of care in day-to-day hospital life."
