Energy consumption in hospital buildings: functional and morphological evaluations of six case studies

Whilst accounting for 7,5% of the total built area within the non-residential sector [1], hospitals are responsible for 10% of the total energy use in Europe [2] and are estimated to contribute roughly 5% of the carbon dioxide emissions [3]. Healthcare facilities are characterised by an extremely high demand for electricity, heating and cooling throughout the year. In addition to this, the steady changes in the procedures of care delivery, due to the fast-moving advances of the diagnostic techniques, require the continuous remodelling of the existing spaces in operative structures, involving both architectural-distributive aspects and the building plant systems. This process deeply impacts hospital energy consumption, underlining the need of forecasting these new dynamics also in terms of costs. Against this background, the aim of the work consists in the development of a numerical model for the annual energy consumption assessment of six hospitals located in the province of Bologna (Italy), in relation to the different departments, the type of HVAC system, the morphological features of the buildings and the levels of insulation, the ventilation and humidification rates, etc. The numerical model was then tested for each healthcare facility through the use of instruments for the continuous monitoring of the real hospital energy usage. The model allows to forecast the energy consumptions related to the refurbishment or modification of existing hospitals, exploring the impact of architectural and functional features, as well as of energy goals. The main aspect of the work is represented by the methodological framework, which has been based on the identification of the energy needs and consumptions from micro (single spaces) to macro scale (macro-area). In this paper are reported the preliminary results of the work regarding the morphological aspects of the six hospitals analysed and the distribution of the condition floor area in relation to the type of spaces.