Analysis of the Average Annual Consumption of Water in the Hospitals of Extremadura (Spain)

Justo Garcia-Sanz-Calcedo,Fernando Lopez-Rodriguez,Talal Yusaf,Awf Al-Kassir

doi:10.3390/en10040479

Justo Garcia-Sanz-Calcedo, Fernando Lopez-Rodriguez + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en10040479

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to quantity the annual average consumption of water in 13 public hospitals in Extremadura (Spain). An analytical study in order to reduce water demand was conducted from 2010 to 2014 in the above-mentioned hospitals. The study concluded that, in order to determine the average annual water consumption, a fixed ratio is not the appropriate tool. A parametric type related to the built surface area and/or number of beds by hospital should be used instead. The average annual consumption of cold water for human consumption (CWHC) was 262.82 m3 (102.10) per bed and 1.65 m3 (0.46) per built surface area. The mean annual consumption of domestic hot water (DHW) was 92.96 m3 (35.72) per bed and 0.59 m3 (0.18) per built surface area. The ratio between DHW and CWHC was 35.62% (5.53). The time period of greatest demand was between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. Considering B as the number of hospital beds and S its built surface area, to calculate the average annual cold water for human consumption in a hospital, the equation 165B + 12,100 (m3) or 1.568S + 2400 (m3) should be used. Similarly, in terms of hot domestic water, the average annual consumption in m3 corresponds to either 53.65B + 5170 (m3) or 0.53S + 1400 (m3).

Highlights

The healthcare sector constitutes a major part of the economy of developed nations and consumes significant quantities of energy
The results of the average water consumed per year by the different hospitals analysed, under normal climatological and operational conditions, are presented below
A homogeneous correlation between the built surface area and the number of beds was found in the sample, as shown in Figure 1, which is useful for extrapolating the results

Summary

Introduction

The healthcare sector constitutes a major part of the economy of developed nations and consumes significant quantities of energy. The public health expense in Spain in 2013 was 61.710 million euros, which represents 5.9% of the gross domestic product (GDP). The per capita expense was €1309 per habitant. The public health expense was 4.2% of GDP; the private, 1.7% [1]. The growing scarcity of water and the misuse and unfortunate management of water resources currently available are the main threats to sustainable development [2]. In Extremadura, water consumption in 2014 was 170 L per inhabitant and day, with a percentage of actual losses of 24 L per inhabitant and day (14.12%), with an average cost of €1.02/m3 for water supply and €0.52/m3 for sewage and purification [3]

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