All-electric UCI Health — Irvine is prepared to meet critical community needs
Approach to energy efficiency, redundancy ensures uninterrupted care during emergencies
IN THE NEWS: Although UCI Health — Irvine is fully electric, it is prepared in the event of any emergencies, including utility disruptions.
Joe Brothman, director of UCI Health General Services, spoke to Health Facilities Management about the systems that ensure patient care remains uninterrupted in any type of crisis.
Brothman describes how the system is monitored and adjusted in real-time. In the event of heat waves, patient surges or utility disruptions, the systems in place are both redundant and adaptable.
“This integrated approach to efficiency and redundancy enables the medical center to be environmentally responsible while remaining fully equipped to meet the community’s needs in critical situations.”
The energy system powering the hospital features pumps to heat and cool both water and interiors, as well as a diesel-powered generator designed to provide emergency power to the entire campus for more than 96 hours. Some energy will come from solar panels, while the remainder will come from providers of 100% renewable power.
The UCI Health — Irvine acute care hospital opened in December 2025. Discover more.
About UCI Health
UCI Health is one of California’s largest academic health systems and the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. Established on July 1, 1976, UCI Health has grown into a 1,461-bed health system that includes UCI Health — Orange, UCI Health — Irvine, four Community Network hospitals and a growing network of ambulatory care centers across Orange and Los Angeles counties. As Orange County’s only academic health systems, UCI Health is home to the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center based in the county, the region’s only American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, American College of Emergency Physicians Gold Level 1 Geriatric Emergency Department and a nationally recognized regional burn center verified by the American Burn Association. Powered by UC Irvine, UCI Health serves 5.6 million people across Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County through excellence in patient care, research and medical education. Follow UCI Health on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.