Abstract
Healthcare facilities in the United States account for 4.8% of the total area in the commercial sector and are responsible for 10.3% of total energy consumption in this sector. The number of healthcare facilities increased by 22% since 2003, leading to a 21% rise in energy consumption and an 8% reduction in energy intensity per unit of area (544.8 kWh/m2). This study provides an analytical overview of the end-use energy consumption data in healthcare systems for hospitals in the United States. The energy intensity of the U.S. hospitals ranges from 640.7 kWh/m2 in Zone 5 (very hot) to 781.1 kWh/m2 in Zone 1 (very cold), with an average of 738.5 kWh/m2. This is approximately 2.6 times higher than that of other commercial buildings. High energy intensity in the healthcare facilities, particularly in hospitals, along with energy costs and associated environmental concerns make energy analysis crucial for this type of facility. The proposed analysis shows that U.S. healthcare facilities have higher energy intensity than those of most other countries, especially the European ones. This necessitates the adoption of more energy-efficient approaches to the infrastructure and the management of healthcare facilities in the United States.
Highlights
Healthcare facilities include physicians’ offices, dentists’ offices, outpatient and inpatient centers, medical laboratories, home healthcare facilities, general medical and surgical hospitals, and community care facilities
Healthcare facilities account for 4.8% of the total area of commercial buildings in the United States and are responsible for 10.3% of total energy consumption in this sector [1]
Energy consumption in healthcare systems is mostly due to space heating, cooling, steam production, ventilation, lighting, equipment usage, domestic hot water, and cooking [3]
Summary
Healthcare facilities include physicians’ offices, dentists’ offices, outpatient and inpatient centers, medical laboratories, home healthcare facilities, general medical and surgical hospitals, and community care facilities. Healthcare facilities account for 4.8% of the total area of commercial buildings in the United States and are responsible for 10.3% of total energy consumption in this sector [1]. This amount of energy is responsible for a considerable level of environmental pollution and emissions, including acid rain (12%), greenhouse gas (10%), and air pollution (10%) [2]. The main contribution of this paper is to present an analytical overview of the end-use energy data in U.S healthcare systems and hospitals.
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