Hospital energy bill: how to stop the bleeding?

Faced with serious budgetary challenges, hospitals must quickly reduce their energy bills while preserving the quality of care provided. The stakes are high, but solutions exist. Response elements.

Energy consumption of hospitals: 320 kWh per m2 and per year

By nature, hospitals are very large consumers of energy. Air conditioning in rooms, operating theatres, medical equipment, radiology, kitchen laboratories, laundry (…) are all more energy-intensive elements than each other. Evidenced by an average energy consumption estimated at 320 kWh per m2 and per year, the health and social sector alone representing 11% of the energy consumption of the tertiary sector (ADEME).

Up to 10% of the budget of a health establishment

According to estimates, energy today represents 5 to 10% of a hospital’s total budget (IEPF). Problem, the modern practice of medicine, the requirements in terms of care and patient comfort, the aging of the population and the proliferation of medical innovations will literally cause the energy bill to explode. And the increase in energy prices announced for the coming years will further aggravate the situation.

The challenge: reducing the energy bill of hospitals

The challenge is major, considered as such by 95% of managers of public health establishments (EHESP), 77% of them also judging the insulation of their premises to be average or insufficient. However, while it seems difficult to renovate all hospitals without delay, just as it seems impossible to lower energy costs, solutions exist to optimize energy consumption and thus reduce the energy bill of hospitals. hospitals.

An action plan to improve its energy efficiency

These solutions have a name: improving energy efficiency. A hospital can quickly improve its energy efficiency by implementing a multi-step action plan. The first is the energy performance audit which will identify the various energy consumption items, the losses observed and, by deduction, the areas for improvement. While some stations will find it difficult to reduce their consumption, others will be able to.

Concrete actions on all positions

Second stage, the installation of equipment displaying or providing better intrinsic energy performance: improvement of air conditioning systems, control of internal and external heat inputs, choice of an appropriate temperature, installation of low-consumption equipment , better heating regulation, implementation of renewable energies, control and optimization of energy distribution, intelligent building management, etc.

Energy monitoring: assess and control your energy consumption

Of course, some elements are more expensive than others to implement, but controlling existing energy consumption seems essential. Hence the importance of adopting indicators and systems to assess energy consumption, with ad hoc reduction targets. As a result, regular reports to monitor and analyze the evolution of energy consumption and expenditure, raise awareness among users of the site. A behavioral component seems to be essential: with the nursing staff or not, only after the patients. Simple gestures can make the difference!