Deerns is supporting hospitals in France to strategically decarbonise through pragmatic, future-ready energy strategies that protect both patients and operations.
Electrification of a hospital goes beyond replacing fossil fuel systems with electrical alternatives. It requires a fundamental redesign of hospital energy systems and infrastructure. While this presents a significant opportunity, it is also a complex engineering, financial and organisational challenge that must be carefully managed to maintain resilience and patient care.
For many hospitals, energy strategies have long prioritised resilience: keeping clinical services running, protecting patients and maintaining high redundancy. That priority remains, but hospitals must now deliver resilience while also reducing fossil fuel reliance. Hospitals in France, for example, face a pivotal energy shift, where decarbonisation, resilience and patient care must be designed as one.
In an all-electric hospital, heating, cooling, hot water and technical systems would rely primarily on grid-supplied electricity rather than on-site fossil fuel systems, such as natural gas-fired boilers and generators. In France, grid-based electrification significantly reduces fossil fuel dependency because the national electricity supply is already largely low-carbon – powered by nuclear energy complemented by hydro, wind and solar. This energy transition can therefore support the country’s 2050 climate objectives, improve air quality and enable smarter, more efficient hospitals.
A strong energy position, but a complex transition
However, hospitals are highly energy-intensive facilities, and replacing on-site fossil fuel systems with electric alternatives could substantially increase electricity demand. At scale, across hundreds of hospitals, this places additional pressure on grid capacity, electrical distribution networks, redundancy requirements and overall system reliability.
" Electrifying efficiently will therefore require a more selective, risk-based approach to critical loads, ensuring systems are appropriately sized without compromising resilience or patient care.
Regulation is turning ambition into obligation
For many years, sustainability was not the main investment priority for French hospitals. Hospital leaders understandably focused on medical services, staffing, clinical equipment and patient care, while energy infrastructure was seen as a support function rather than a strategic performance driver.
That position is changing. European and French regulations are moving hospitals from voluntary improvement towards mandatory action on energy efficiency and reduced fossil fuel use. In France, where many projects involve extensions or upgrades to existing hospitals, compliance will need to be phased, planned and integrated into wider asset strategies.
The investment contradiction
" The central challenge is financial as much as technical.
Hospital infrastructure decisions are often driven by medical need, not energy performance alone. A new imaging department, operating theatre or outpatient facility can directly support clinical activity and revenue. A new heating or cooling system may offer long-term savings, but it rarely produces the same immediate return.
This creates several contradictions:
- Increasing hospital floor area can reduce energy use per square metre while still increasing total energy demand.
- Better patient comfort, single rooms and improved thermal conditions can raise ventilation, heating and cooling requirements.
- Centralising services can improve operational efficiency while creating larger local energy peaks.
These contradictions do not weaken the case for electrification. They make proper planning essential. Energy savings alone will not always justify the investment. The stronger argument is total value.
5 key benefits:
- Regulatory compliance
- Improved operational control and resilience
- Reduced carbon exposure
- Lower long-term energy risk
- Better alignment with the public health mission of hospitals
From electrification to smart hospitals
Electrification changes how hospitals operate, providing the potential for insights into energy flows, demand management, peak optimisation, load control and intelligent automation. For many hospitals in France that still operate with mostly manual systems, this requires more than engineering design. It also needs new skills, better data, active facilities management, training, governance and a clear operating model.
The first steps should include:
- A detailed baseline of existing energy production, distribution, consumption and asset condition.
- A resilience strategy that distinguishes critical, essential and non-critical electrical loads.
- Identifying smart building systems that support monitoring, automation, optimisation and future flexibility.
This is where international experience matters. Deerns is using reference projects such as Bravis Hospital and Slingeland Hospital in the Netherlands to demonstrate what a future-ready healthcare facility can look like. These hospitals show that gas-free, highly efficient and smart hospital infrastructure is achievable when sustainability, clinical planning and engineering are considered together from the outset of a new build or renovation project.
A phased route to electrification
The transition to all-electric hospitals is most likely to succeed when delivered in carefully phased stages. Deerns advocates a pragmatic approach that reflects both political and institutional realities. Investment payback periods can vary significantly, from around five years for some measures to much longer for cooling, hot water and major infrastructure upgrades. Electrification should therefore be viewed as a strategic investment in resilience, regulatory compliance and organisational reputation.
The starting point is a clear roadmap that connects immediate compliance needs with long-term asset value and operational performance.
A practical approach should focus on 3 principles:
- Prioritising electrification when systems reach end of life or when major extensions are planned.
- Testing grid capacity, redundancy requirements and energy storage options early in the design process.
- Combining electrification with energy efficiency, smart controls and operational training.
Designing the future of hospit al energy
The electrification of hospitals in France recognises that energy systems are central to hospital performance. The opportunity is significant. Deerns helps clients navigate this transition with practical, resilient solutions that protect patient safety and prepare healthcare infrastructure for the future.
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