What's Your Energy Number?
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), healthcare organizations spend nearly $8.8 billion on energy each year to meet patient needs. As energy costs escalate and operating margins erode, energy management is increasingly being seen as an area of opportunity to control costs. A decade ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced Energy Star®, a voluntary and national energy performance rating system that gives relative meaning to energy use. Every Healthcare management team can benefit from benchmarking facility energy performance and knowing their Energy Star score. According to the EPA, scores of 1-49 have the most attractive return on capital investment opportunities, while scores in the mid-range may consider low- or no-cost energy management strategies that can still significantly reduce energy consumption.
Hospital types that are eligible to be scored in Energy Star's Portfolio Manager include general medical and surgical hospitals, critical access hospitals, and children’s hospitals. These facilities provide acute care services intended to treat patients for short periods of time, including emergency medical care, physicians’ office services, diagnostic care, ambulatory care, surgical care, and limited specialty services such as rehabilitation and cancer care. However, hospitals that use more than 50 percent of the gross floor area or have more than 50 percent of their beds set-up and staffed for use for medical services such as long-term care, psychiatric care, skilled nursing, and/or specialty care are not eligible to receive an Energy Star score.
At the time of this article, less than 1% (143) of all Energy Star certified buildings in the U.S. were hospitals with just two Energy Star hospitals located in Indiana. Not surprising given the energy-intensive challenge the hospital environment presents; however, the use of this national energy performance rating system should not be underestimated. To know where you're going, you need to know where you are today, and knowing and discussing your Energy Star score can empower your hospital administrative team to make the most effective management decisions. Energy costs may be the most controllable facility operating costs you have. Hospitals can control the way they consume energy by knowing their Energy Star score and implementing effective energy management programs that can also enhance the patient and staff experience.
For assistance with calculating your Energy Star score and to learn about our guaranteed savings, budget-neutral Energy Leadership program or to find out how you can receive thousands of dollars in energy rebates, contact Performance Services' Jim Christie at 317.372.9968, or click here.
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