Electrical and thermal energy in private hospitals: Consumption indicators focused on healthcare activity

Abstract

Improving energy efficiency in healthcare buildings is a major challenge in this sector of engineering. However, the energy consumption indicator commonly used in public hospitals (kWh per bed) does not take into account the healthcare activity carried out in these buildings. An analysis of the annual thermal and electrical energy consumption was performed in 13 Spanish private hospitals between 2008 and 2017 intending to find energy consumption indicators based on the healthcare activity that takes place in a hospital. All the buildings under study had been either built or retrofitted between 1990 and 2013, with useful floor area and number of beds 2314-23,888 m2 and 20–264 beds. The results showed a high correlation between the average annual energy consumption and the number of annual discharges, number of emergencies actions and number of hospitalization stays. Similar statistical correlations were also observed between useful floor area and number of staff. However, a low correlation was detected between energy consumption and number of beds. Additionally, number of annual surgeries, laboratory tests, births, and endoscopies, were studied, proving that they are also directly related with the annual energy consumption per staff member. Finally, based on the healthcare activity, final energy consumption indicators are proposed.