U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Building Technologies Program – EnergySmart Hospitals

About EnergySmart Hospitals

The EnergySmart Hospitals initiative was launched by the Department of Energy on July 23, 2008. This Website is continuing to be developed and enhanced. We encourage you to check back regularly for new information, tools, and links.

Hospitals are among the nation's most complex, diverse, and energy-intensive facilities. The nation's 8,000 hospitals spend more than $5 billion annually on energy and produce over 30 lbs. of CO₂ emissions per square foot. Unlike most other commercial buildings, hospitals must be fully operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, able to maintain services during power outages, natural disasters, and emergencies that could force other facilities to close.

Hospitals today find themselves at the nexus of two critical pressure-points: healthcare and energy. Within the healthcare industry, the constraints of rising costs, lower reimbursements, an aging population, and outdated facilities are intersecting with burgeoning energy pressures such as growing demand, rising costs, and increasing concerns about carbon emissions and energy reliability.

To support hospitals in addressing both these challenging trends, the Department of Energy (DOE) has created a comprehensive initiative—EnergySmart Hospitals—and its centerpiece, the industry-driven Hospital Energy Alliance. Through partnerships, design support, training, and marketing, EnergySmart Hospitals is advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy as highly effective strategies for hospitals to reduce energy use and costs while meeting mission-critical goals. Understanding the connection between energy efficiency and your hospital's bottom line is the first step.

In EnergySmart Hospitals and the Hospital Energy Alliance, DOE is promoting the resources, tools, and strategies that our nation's hospitals must have to identify clear pathways to cost and energy savings through efficient and renewable energy technology applications for both new and existing facilities.

EnergySmart Hospitals goals:

• Promote 20% improved efficiency in existing buildings and 30% in new construction over current standards
• Increase efficient and renewable energy applications in hospitals
• Reduce energy use and operating costs
• Create healthier healing and work environments
• Maximize successful hospital upgrades and design strategies
• Ensure reliable backup power during disasters
• Improve environmental performance