Abstract
Energy use in hospitals is higher than in other public buildings, so improving energy efficiency in healthcare buildings is a significant challenge in this sector of engineering. For this, it is necessary to know the various determinants of energy consumption. Until now, the main factor affecting energy consumption in healthcare facilities studied in the literature was hospital capacity. However, the commonly used variables connected with hospital size and the number of beds do not take into account the medical activities carried out in these buildings. Assuming that energy consumption in hospitals is multiple and shaped by many factors that overlap, not only on an individual level but also on a higher scale level, this study devises a more integrated approach to its determinants. This study aims to investigate the determinants of electrical energy costs (EEC) and thermal energy costs (TEC) in Polish hospitals with regard to factors related to their size, work intensity and climate zones. The analysis was carried out using financial and resource data from all Polish hospitals for the years 2010–2019. The study used a multivariate backward stepwise regression analysis. In order to use climate as a moderating variable, a sample of Polish hospitals from 16 Polish NUTS 2 was divided into four climate zones. This article provides new empirical evidence on the determinants of electricity consumption in Polish hospitals related to their size and medical activity, taking into account climate zone as a moderating variable. The results of the analysis show that both electricity and heat consumption in hospitals are positively related to the number of doctors, beds and the number of medical operations performed. As expected, larger hospitals seem to use more energy. Moreover, there is regional heterogeneity in energy consumption in hospitals related to the climatic zone in which they operate. The conducted analysis shows that Polish hospitals located in the warmest climatic zone are characterized by higher energy consumption than hospitals in the coldest zone. It especially regards EEC in surgery hospitals. The warmer the climate zones, the higher intensity in terms of the number of surgeries, the higher EEC. In terms of nonsurgical hospitals, the influence of climate zone on EEC was not observed. Knowing the factors influencing energy consumption in hospitals can facilitate the correct adoption of an energy-saving strategy in the health sector, which is a reasonable response to climate change and supports a healthy and sustainable future.
Highlights
In order to evaluate the influence of climate on hospital energy costs, we identified models of determinants of energy consumption in Polish hospitals, taking into account the climate zones determined at the NUTS 2 level
We checked whether the climate zones moderate other factors of energy consumption in hospitals connected with their size and type
The highest average electrical and thermal energy costs are in hospitals located in the first climate zone and the lowest in the fourth one
Summary
The issue of energy consumption, in general, attracts a lot of attention, especially with regard to energy efficiency and its benefits for climate change [1]. Some of them proposed new methods that are very helpful in assessing different options for thermal insulation investments [3]. In this context, healthcare facilities (especially for hospitals due to their large size) are of particular interest. The implementation of sustainable energy systems is one of the main goals of the European Union (EU) energy policy, and experience in the hospital sector can be very useful in achieving this [6]
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