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Propelair

Princess Alexandra Hospital Saves 81% Water with Propelair

Executive Summary

Following a successful trial, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust refurbished its public toilets with Propelair technology, achieving 81% water savings, eliminating daily blockages, saving over 20 million litres annually, cutting £65,000 in water costs, and reducing carbon emissions by 21,000 kg per year.

Client Profile

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust is a major public healthcare provider based in Harlow, Essex, operating a high-footfall hospital environment. As a public healthcare facility, water efficiency is critical to reduce operational costs, support NHS sustainability targets, minimise maintenance disruption, and ensure resilient, hygienic washrooms in constantly used public and staff areas.

Challenges / Pain Points

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust is a major public healthcare provider based in Harlow, Essex, operating a high-footfall hospital environment. In this setting, washroom hygiene is critical to protecting patient and staff health and reducing the risk of infection and disease transmission. Alongside this, water efficiency supports NHS sustainability targets, controls operational costs, minimises maintenance disruption, and ensures resilient, consistently hygienic washrooms in heavily used public and staff areas.

The Propelair Solution

Following a successful trial, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust installed Propelair low-flush toilets in high-use public and staff washrooms to improve hygiene, patient and staff safety, and infection control. Using just 1.5 litres per flush, Propelair’s air-assisted technology removes 99.9% of waste while reducing odours and germ spread. Close-to-flush technology requires the lid to be closed before flushing, eliminating the toilet “sneeze effect” and significantly reducing airborne germ dispersal in a highly sensitive area. Dry flush and asset tracking further minimise downtime and manual intervention, supporting safer, more reliable hospital washrooms alongside strong water, carbon, and cost savings.

Reduce hospital water use, eliminate blockages, and cut costs, contact us to transform high-usage healthcare washrooms today.

Metric: Water per flush
Before: 8 litres
After: 1.5 litres
Improvement: 81% reduction per flush
Metric: Annual water use
Before: High consumption from 8L flushing
After: 130,488 litres saved per unit per year
Improvement: Over 20 million litres saved annually site-wide
Metric: Costs
Before: Rising water and maintenance costs
After: £408.43 saved per unit per year
Improvement: £65,000 annual water cost reduction
Metric: Carbon
Before: Higher carbon footprint from excess water use
After: 21,000 kg CO₂ saved annually
Improvement: Significant annual carbon reduction

At The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, replacing outdated 8-litre flush toilets with Propelair’s 1.5-litre system delivered an 81% reduction in water use. Each unit saves 130,488 litres per year, and when rolled out across the site this equates to over 20 million litres of water saved annually, dramatically reducing demand in high-usage hospital washrooms.

At The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, Propelair toilets deliver strong financial returns, with over £65,000 saved annually from 20 million litres of water reduction. Each unit saves £408.43 per year, achieves payback in 2.3 years, and significantly reduces maintenance costs by eliminating daily blockages, emergency call-outs, and washroom downtime in high-use areas.

In a highly sensitive healthcare environment, The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust benefits from improved infection control through reduced airborne germs, supporting safer conditions for patients and staff, Demonstrating how hygiene-led innovation can protect health while also reducing environmental impact.

Enhanced infection control, with up to 95% fewer airborne germs, due to a powerful flush and close-to-flush technology, supporting patient and staff safety
Significantly reduced odours, improving comfort and hygiene in sensitive clinical and public areas
Operational reliability through the elimination of daily blockages in extreme high-use washrooms
Reduced washroom downtime, supporting uninterrupted patient care and staff workflow
Improved user experience, with powerful single-flush performance and cleaner bowls
Less manual intervention, reducing contact with waste and improving hygiene for maintenance teams
Retrofit-ready technology, enabling hygienic upgrades without major plumbing disruption