A real-world trial at a hospital in northern Victoria has proven that hospitals can maintain pandemic-level air quality while slashing energy consumption by more than a third, even during the height of a bushfire crisis.
The research project, funded by RACE for 2030, demonstrated a 34 per cent reduction in energy demand by rethinking traditional ventilation strategies.
Conducted at Echuca Regional Health, the findings are particularly significant for regional Australia, where hospitals face the dual challenge of rising power costs and frequent summer smoke threats.
Hospitals have traditionally relied on high volumes of outdoor air to manage infection risks, an approach that is notoriously energy-intensive due to the fan power required and the need to heat or cool the incoming air.
During the January 2026 bushfires, when local air quality plummeted, researchers from Adelaide University tested an alternative: a bioHEPA air treatment system that allows for reduced outdoor air intake without compromising safety.
The results showed that while outdoor particle levels increased 30-fold during the fires, the supply air inside the hospital remained exceptionally clean.
Contaminant levels dropped from a peak of 4.4 million particles per cubic metre to fewer than 5,000, a 1,000-fold reduction compared to wards using conventional filtration.
Dr Tim Lau, from Adelaide University’s School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, noted that the trial removes the historical trade-off between air quality and energy use.
“Early findings from this project indicate that advanced air filtration systems can improve air quality while also lowering the energy requirements of air conditioning systems,” Lau said.
The potential for broader application is promising. With more than 9,500 air handling units currently operating in Australian hospitals, a national rollout could save over AU$3.7 million in annual energy costs and cut carbon emissions by more than 10,000 tonnes each year.
While the trial focused on healthcare, the researchers say the findings have broader implication for other high-occupancy buildings like schools, offices, and public facilities.
“We now know that any hospital in Australia can make any patient ward a pandemic-proof space without increasing their energy burden,” said Ben Gill, CEO of Plasma Shield Ltd, the Australian clean-tech firm behind the bioHEPA device.
Monitoring at the Echuca site will continue throughout 2026 to evaluate the system’s performance across all seasons.
