Retrofitting Methodology for Hospital Buildings
Main Article Content
Abstract
The building and construction sectors account for over one-third of global final energy consumption and nearly 40% of total direct and indirect CO2 emissions. At the same time, hospital buildings are often among the least energy-efficient. Enhancing the energy performance of existing hospital buildings through retrofitting measures presents a significant opportunity for cost and energy savings. However, hospitals have unique challenges, such as continuous occupancy, heavy medical equipment, and strict safety regulations. Additionally, the lack of financial incentives and supportive policies are among the biggest barriers to retrofitting hospital facilities. This paper proposes an energy management methodology for selecting the best retrofitting measures for hospital buildings. Moreover, the study seeks to define a priority ranking for the energy efficiency measures selected in an energy retrofit project, distinguishing between primary and supplementary actions. The methodology includes a generic process flow diagram, a systematic flowchart to facilitate decision-making, and two tables outlining primary and supplementary retrofitting measures.
Downloads
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Aviso de Derechos de Autor
La Revista Técnica "energía" está bajo licencia internacional Creative Commons Reconocimiento-NoComercial 4.0.
References
Fotiou, S. et al.: Sustainable Consumption and Production: A Handbook for Policy Makers, 2015.
Venetoulis, J., and Talberth, J. “Refining the ecological footprint.” Environment, Development and Sustainability 10, (2007):441-469. doi:10.1007/s10668-006-9074-z. doi: 10.1007/s10668-006-9074-z.
Pèrez-Lombard, L., Ortiz, J, and Pout,C. “A review on buildings energy consumption information.” Energy and Buildings 40, No.3 (2008): 394-398. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2007.03.007.
Abergel, T. et al.: Towards a zero-emission, efficient, and resilient buildings and construction sector: Global Status Report 2017. UN Environment and International Energy Agency: Paris, France, 2017.
Alsaadani, S., Hamza, M., and Fahmy, M. “Reconciling retrofitting with IEQ to maintain energy, environmental and economic performance: A methodological approach for generic office buildings.” Building and Environment 264, No.1 (2024). doi: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.111868.
Weerasinghe, L.N.K., Darko, A., Chan, A.P.C., Blay, K.B., and Edwards, D.J. “Measures, benefits, and challenges to retrofitting existing buildings to net zero carbon: A comprehensive review.” Journal of Building Engineering 94, No.1 (2024). doi:1010.16/j.jobe.2024.109998.
Shi, Y., and Chen, P. “Energy retrofitting of hospital buildings considering climate change: An approach integrating automated machine learning with NSGA-III for multi-objective optimization.” Energy and Buildings 319, No.1 (2024). doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2024.114571.
Radwan, A.F., Hanafy, A.A., Elhelw, M., and El-Sayed, A.A. “Retrofitting of existing buildings to achieve better energy-efficiency in commercial building case study: Hospital in Egypt.” Alexandria Engineering Journal 55, No.4 (2016):3061-3071. doi:10.1016/j.aej.2016.08.005.
International Energy Agency – IEA: Perspective from the clean energy transition. The critical role of buildings, 2019.
Empresa de Pesquisa Energética – EPE: Ações para Promoção da Eficiência Energética nas Edificações Brasileiras: no caminho da Transição Energética, 2020. (in portuguese)
Ma, Z., Cooper, P., Daly, D., and Ledo, L. “Existing building retrofits: Methodology and state-of-the-art.” Energy and Buildings 55, (2012):889-902. doi: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2012.08.018.
Liu, Y., Liu, T., Ye, S., and Liu, Y. “Cost-benefit analysis for Energy Efficiency Retrofit of existing buildings: A case study in China.” Journal of Cleaner Production 177, (2018):493-506. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.225.
World Green Building Council: The business case for green building: a review of the costs and benefits for developers, investors and occupants. Washington, DC, 2013.
Bosh, F.P., Cervera, C., and Ysa,T. “Key aspects of building retrofitting: Strategizing sustainable cities.” Journal of Environmental Management 248, 15(2019). doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.07.018.
Regnier, C., Sun, K., Hong, T., and Piette, M.A. “Quantifying the benefits of a building retrofit using an integrated system approach: A case study.” Energy and Buildings 159, (2018): 332-345. doi: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.10.090.
Gaspari, J., Fabbri, K., and Gabrielli, L. “A study on parametric design application to hospital retrofitting for improving energy savings and comfort conditions.” Buildings 9: No.10 (2019). doi: 10.3390/buildings9100220.
Kolokotsa, D., Tsoutsos, T., and Papantoniou, S. “Energy conservation techniques for hospital buildings.” Advances in Building Energy Research, 6, No.1 (2012). doi: 10.1080/17512549.2012.672007.
Shen, C., Zhao, K., Ge, J., and Zhou, Q. “Analysis of building energy consumption in a hospital in the hot summer and cold winter area.” Energy Procedia 158, (2019): 3735-3740. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2019.01.883.
Bawaneh, K. et al., “Energy Consumption Analysis and Characterization of Healthcare Facilities in the United States.” Energies 12, No.19 (2019). doi: 10.3390/en12193775.
Szklo, A.S., Soares, J.B., and Tolmasquim, M.T. “Energy consumption indicators and CHP technical potential in the Brazilian hospital sector.” Energy Conversion and Management 45, No.13-14 (2004):2075-2091. doi: 10.1016/j.enconman.2003.10.019.
Buonomano, A., Calise, F., Feruzzi, G., and Palombo, A. “Dynamic energy performance analysis: Case study for energy efficiency retrofits of hospital buildings.” Energy 78, (2014): 555-572. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2014.10.042.
Buzzi Ferraris, A. Retrofit techniques for public buildings to improve energy efficiency and reduce management costs. Case study: children's hospital in Brisbane. Italy,2019. Tesis.
Mohammadpour, A., Anumba, C.J., and Messner, J.I. “Retrofitting of Healthcare Facilities: Case Study Approach.” Journal of Architectural Engineering 23, No.3(2017). doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)AE.1943-5568.0000248.
Alonso, S. et al. “A data-driven approach for enhancing the efficiency in chiller plants: A hospital case study.” Energies 12. No.5(2019). doi: 10.3390/en12050827.
Ardente, F. et al. “Energy and environmental benefits in public buildings as a result of retrofit actions.” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 15, No.1 (2011): 460-470. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2010.09.022.
Billanes, J. Y., Ma, Z. and Jorgensen, B.N. “The bright green hospitals case studies of hospitals' energy efficiency and flexibility in Philippines.” In 8th International Conference on Power and Energy Systems (ICPES) – IEEE, 2018. doi: 10.1109/ICPESYS.2018.8626916.
Dainese, E., Walker, S., Maassen, W., and Zeiler, W. “Towards zero energy hospital buildings: a polyclinic building as case study.” E3S Web of Conferences 11, (2019). doi: 10.1051/e3sconf/201911104021.
Teke, A. “Overview of energy savings and efficiency strategies at the hospitals.” International Journal of Economics and Management Engineering, (2014).
Ludin, N. A. et al. “Energy efficiency action plan for a public hospital in Malaysia. Alam Cipta.” Alam Cipta 12, SI 1 (2019).
Wang, T., et al. “Building energy efficiency for public hospitals and healthcare facilities in China: Barriers and drivers.” Energy 103, (2016):588-597. doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2016.03.039.
NREL: Advanced Energy Retrofit Guide: Practical Ways to Improve Energy Performance; Healthcare Facilities. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), 2013.
Bureau of Energy Efficiency – BEE: Energy Efficiency in Hospitals: Best Practice Guide, 2009.
Moschuris, J.S. and Kondylis, M.N. “Outsourcing in public hospitals: a Greek perspective. Journal of Health Organization and Management.” Journal of Health Organization and Management 20, No.1 (2006):4-14. doi: 10.1108/14777260610656534.
Dong, B., Kennedy, C., and Pressnail, K. “Comparing life cycle implications of building retrofit and replacement options.” Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering 32, No.6 (2005). doi: 10.1139/l05-061.
Fairbanks, P. “Hospital Energy Use: Taking Advantage of Energy Efficiency.” Electric Energy T&D Magazine, No.4 (2018).
Natural Resources Canada – NRC: Major Energy Retrofit Guidelines for Commercial and Institutional Buildings: Hospitals. 2018.
Efficiency Valuation Organization – EVO: Protocolo Internacional de Medição e Verificação de Performance - Conceitos e Opções para a Determinação de Economias de Energia e de Água Volume 1, 2012. (in portuguese)