Evaluation of Energy Consumption in German Hospitals: Benchmarking in the Public Sector

Alfonso González González, Justo García-Sanz-Calcedo and David Rodríguez Salgado
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Alfonso González González: Department of Mechanical, Energy and Materials Engineering, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
Justo García-Sanz-Calcedo: Department of Graphical Expression, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain
David Rodríguez Salgado: Department of Mechanical, Energy and Materials Engineering, University of Extremadura, 06006 Badajoz, Spain

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 9, 1-14

Abstract: The use of benchmarking in the management of healthcare facilities enables immediate comparison between hospitals. Benchmarking allows ascertaining their expected energy consumption and estimating the possible savings margin. In the 2005–2015 period, 90 EU Eco-Audits of 23 public hospitals in Germany were studied to analyze the energy consumption related with weather conditions, built surface area, gross domestic product (GDP), geographic location (GL), bed numbers, and employee numbers. The results reveal that the average annual energy consumption of a hospital under normal conditions, both climatic and operational, is 0.27 MWh/m 2 , 14.37 MWh/worker, and 23.41 MWh/bed. The indicator dependent on the number of beds proved to be the most suitable as a reference to quantify the energy consumption of a hospital.

Keywords: EU Eco-Audit; hospital; energy consumption; healthcare engineering (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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