DOE Launches Hospital Energy Alliance

The U.S. Department of Energy announced the launch of the Hospital Energy Alliance (HEA) in April of 2009. The HEA is an industry-led partnership between the DOE and national healthcare sector leaders to promote the integration of advanced energy efficiency and renewable technologies in hospital design, construction, retrofit, operations, and maintenance. Hospitals use 836 trillion BTUs of energy annually and have more than 2.5 times the energy intensity and carbon dioxide emissions of commercial office buildings, producing more than 30 pounds of CO2 emissions per square foot. Reducing the energy intensity of this sector will decrease its carbon footprint and also alleviate stress on the electric power infrastructure. Additionally, new energy efficiency strategies hold the promise of reduced costs for the sector, as U.S. hospitals spend over $5 billion annually on energy, often equaling 1 to 3 percent of a typical hospital’s operating budget or an estimated 15 percent of profits. HEA is the third energy alliance launched by DOE as part of its Net-Zero Commercial Building Initiative, which aims to achieve market-ready, zero-energy commercial buildings by 2025.