Hospitals are among the biggest energy consumers in the country, considering they are open 24 hours a day and have sophisticated energy needs, such as particular air flow controls and specialized HVAC systems.
According to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, large hospitals — those with 200,000 square feet or more — accounted for less than 1 percent of all commercial buildings and 2 percent of commercial floor space in the United States, but they consumed 5.5 percent of total delivered energy used by the commercial sector in 2007.
Here are 18 statistics from the EIA's report on large hospital energy consumption in 2007.
• In 2007, there were 3,040 large hospitals, and they consumed 458 trillion British thermal units, a common measurement of energy.
• The 458 trillion BTUs of energy were broken down as follows: 208 trillion BTUs of natural gas, 194 trillion BTUs of electricity, 49 trillion BTUs of district heat and 6 trillion BTUs of fuel oil.
• Natural gas was the most common main space heating fuel, which was used by 74 percent of hospitals.
• Roughly 92 percent of hospitals used electricity to power air conditioning equipment.
• Energy management and conservation plans were prevalent at many hospitals to save energy, the environment and costs. Roughly 99 percent of hospitals had regular HVAC maintenance and repair schedules, 93 percent utilized daylighting or lighting conservation features such as tinted windows, 90 percent used compact fluorescent bulbs, 88 percent had multilayer glass windows and 40 percent used LED lights.
• Large hospitals consumed roughly 133 billion gallons of water, which totaled $615 million in water expenditures.
• The average large hospital used 43.6 million gallons of water, which cost about $202,200 per building.
• Large hospitals in the Midwest reported the highest use of water at 76 gallons per square foot, while Northeast hospitals had the lowest intensity of 55.5 gallons per square foot.
According to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, large hospitals — those with 200,000 square feet or more — accounted for less than 1 percent of all commercial buildings and 2 percent of commercial floor space in the United States, but they consumed 5.5 percent of total delivered energy used by the commercial sector in 2007.
Here are 18 statistics from the EIA's report on large hospital energy consumption in 2007.
• In 2007, there were 3,040 large hospitals, and they consumed 458 trillion British thermal units, a common measurement of energy.
• The 458 trillion BTUs of energy were broken down as follows: 208 trillion BTUs of natural gas, 194 trillion BTUs of electricity, 49 trillion BTUs of district heat and 6 trillion BTUs of fuel oil.
• Natural gas was the most common main space heating fuel, which was used by 74 percent of hospitals.
• Roughly 92 percent of hospitals used electricity to power air conditioning equipment.
• Energy management and conservation plans were prevalent at many hospitals to save energy, the environment and costs. Roughly 99 percent of hospitals had regular HVAC maintenance and repair schedules, 93 percent utilized daylighting or lighting conservation features such as tinted windows, 90 percent used compact fluorescent bulbs, 88 percent had multilayer glass windows and 40 percent used LED lights.
• Large hospitals consumed roughly 133 billion gallons of water, which totaled $615 million in water expenditures.
• The average large hospital used 43.6 million gallons of water, which cost about $202,200 per building.
• Large hospitals in the Midwest reported the highest use of water at 76 gallons per square foot, while Northeast hospitals had the lowest intensity of 55.5 gallons per square foot.
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