Case study · Hospital campus
Keeping critical care warm while cutting carbon risk.
Redesigning the heat system at Kingston Hospital, serving over 320,000 people a year, cutting carbon, improving air quality and protecting care every hour of every day.
What was happening
An ageing steam and gas system was responsible for 58% of building-related emissions on a 24/7 acute site, adding strain for teams who were already working to keep patients safe.
What was needed
A clear, fund-ready pathway to decarbonise heat, protect clinical care and improve local air quality on the journey to Net Zero.
What we unlocked
A whole-system model, phased design and digital twin that support more stable heat, lower carbon and cleaner air for staff, patients and neighbours.
The hidden system behind every moment of care
Every day, thousands of people walk into Kingston Hospital. Patients, nurses, porters and families all rely on the building to hold them. They feel the care, but not the heat system that makes it possible.
Behind the scenes, ageing steam distribution and gas boilers were running through the night to keep critical spaces safe. Heating and hot water production accounted for 58% of the hospital’s building energy related carbon emissions. The same system was also contributing to polluted air in the neighbourhoods around the site.
For a place dedicated to healing, the energy system was quietly doing the opposite. This was not just a technical challenge. It was a question about safety, dignity and the kind of environment future generations will grow up in.
A system working hard, but not working for people
Once the plant, pipework, heat flows and operating patterns were mapped, the human implications became clear. Critical wards were sometimes overheated to keep patients safe. Other areas fluctuated in ways that added strain to already stretched staff.
Multiple boilers ran for longer than needed because the system could not confidently deliver stable temperatures any other way. Different teams held different pieces of the puzzle. No one had a shared picture of how the whole system behaved.
The estate was not failing because people did not care. It was failing because no one had ever been able to see the whole story. Once heat was viewed as one living system rather than a set of disconnected assets, new options opened up.
Designing heat that protects people and the planet
We began with the people who rely on the system. Clinical teams who need calm. Estates staff who need predictability. Local communities who live with the air around the site. Together we built a shared model of how heat moved through the hospital and where risk, waste and opportunity sat.
Using detailed surveys, a hydraulic digital twin and techno-economic modelling, we reimagined the system. The concept replaces inefficient steam with low-temperature hot water, and shifts from gas-fired plant to electric heat pumps powered by low carbon electricity.
Phasing was designed around clinical reality. Critical areas stay protected while infrastructure is upgraded. Work was aligned with the hospital’s commitment to reach Net Zero direct emissions by 2040, with an 80% reduction in emissions by 2032.
Generation 7 acted as solution architect, developed the BSRIA Stage 2 concept design, and now supports as client’s engineer as the project moves into RIBA Stage 4 detailed design and delivery.
Less strain. More stability. Cleaner air for everyone.
The hospital now has a whole-system view and a fund-ready pathway that makes sense at every level. Clinical leaders, estates teams and decision makers can all see how the system works and what will change, when and why.
The design is forecast to cut heat related carbon emissions by more than half, while improving local air quality across the site. As phasing progresses, spaces will become more stable, easier to manage and less dependent on constant reactive fixes.
Most importantly, people are no longer working around an invisible, unreliable system. They are shaping a clearer, calmer one that can adapt as demand, climate and community needs change.
Heat as quiet infrastructure for care and for life
Hospitals do not just need lower carbon systems. They need systems that keep people safe, keep operations steady and keep costs under control for the long term.
At Kingston Hospital, heat is now being treated as part of a wider story about health. Cleaner energy supports cleaner air. More stable temperatures support calmer, more focused care. A credible route to Net Zero supports the wellbeing of future generations.
This is what it looks like when you design heat as quiet infrastructure for life. Not just a set of boilers and pipes, but a living system that helps people live well, helps a community thrive and allows the planet to heal a little more with every year that passes.