G/BA 2015 Hospital Benchmarking Survey Released

Transcription

1 Health facilities energy usage falls, but costs rise G/BA 2015 Hospital Benchmarking Survey Released Part 1: Fossil fuel and electricity consumption and costs Is your hospital an efficient and sustainable facility, or is it more like a vintage gas-hungry vehicle? In years past, some hospital facility managers took a reactive approach to energy usage, exemplified by the typical practice of adding a few percentage points to last year s costs to create next year s budget. Today, the healthcare industry is under tremendous pressure to reduce operating expenses, including energy costs. A 2014 survey by the American Society of Healthcare Engineers showed that energy accounts for more than half the annual budget of a typical hospital facilities director more than staff, supplies, and outsourced services combined (right). Hospital Facilities Budget Breakdown ASHE Survey, 2014 Reducing energy costs means adopting a strategic approach to energy management, by continuously tracking and improving energy consumption. To help hospital facilities managers in this undertaking, Grumman/Butkus Associates (G/BA) initiated an annual survey in 1995, collecting data on energy usage and costs for Midwestern hospitals. Today, healthcare facilities nationwide are invited to participate in the survey by submitting responses to a short list of questions regarding their usage of electricity, natural gas, oil, purchased steam, purchased chilled water, and domestic water/sewer. G/BA compiles and analyzes the data free of charge, as a service to the healthcare industry.

2 Charts included in the report include detailed data on the following: Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption in Btu/sf/yr Fossil Fuel Energy Cost in $/sf/yr Average Fossil Fuel Energy Cost in $/therm Electric Energy Consumption in Btu/sf/yr Electric Energy Cost in $/sf/yr Average Electric Energy Cost in $/kwh Total Energy Consumption in Btu/sf/yr Total Energy Cost in $/sf/yr Water and Sewer Usage in Gallons/sf/yr Water and Sewer Cost in $/sf/yr Average Water and Sewer Cost in $/1,000 gallons Carbon Footprint in lbs/sf/yr Since its inception, this annual survey has helped hundreds of hospitals benchmark their energy performance against others, in an anonymous format. Participants are provided with customized graphic and numeric comparisons highlighting their facilities vs. other hospitals in the survey. Our findings are reported in two parts: fossil fuel and electricity consumption and costs (Part 1, this report) and water and sewer usage and costs, as well as carbon footprint data and energy-per-bed data (Part 2, to be released next week). All of our charts, including data not published in this bulletin, are available using this link: 2015 G/BA Hospital Energy and Water Survey Results. Data Uniqueness and Validity Since G/BA began conducting its survey 20 years ago, a few other benchmarking tools have become available for hospitals. Most are familiar with the EPA s ENERGY STAR benchmarking tool, for instance. G/BA s survey tracks energy costs and water usage and cost data not available from the other benchmarking tools. The comparison below reveals that our energy survey data tracks well vs. ENERGY STAR, further validating the accuracy and validity of our findings. G/BA SURVEY ENERGY STAR # of Hospitals Locations Average Size (sf) Regional (76.1% in IL and WI) 778,276 (mean) 591,609 (median) National 448,061 Average Source EUI (kbtu/sf) Average Site EUI (kbtu/sf) Average Energy Cost ($/sf) $3.41 N/A Average Water Usage (gal/sf) 50 N/A Average Scope 1 and Scope 2 Emissions (lbs CDE/sf/yr) 61 (state average) N/A

3 Summary and Participant Characteristics The following table summarizes data collected for our 2015 report from all 117 participants. Though annual consumption periods may vary for some hospitals, the period surveyed is generally calendar year 2014 (January through December). Summary data was not broken out by state in this table for states with fewer than five participating organizations. STATISTICS GAS/STEAM ELECTRIC TOTAL Sample Mean Btu/sf $/sf Btu/sf $/sf Btu/sf $/sf Overall (117) 138,612 $ ,370 $ ,981 $3.29 Illinois (56) 144,530 $ ,325 $ ,855 $3.26 Wisconsin (33) 133,574 $ ,974 $ ,548 $3.14 Michigan (5) 159,667 $ ,061 $ ,728 $3.55 Indiana (5) 109,592 $ ,136 $ ,728 $3.43 Participants range from coast to coast in the U.S., with the majority located in the Great Lakes region. The map at the right shows the location of survey responders by city. Locations with a warmer color indicate greater conditioned hospital floor area represented in the survey. Survey participants range in size from smaller community hospitals to large medical centers. The data appears to suggest that smaller facilities (below 250,000 square feet) are less energy-intensive. The difference is slight: 3.9% lower than the overall survey average. The graph at the right breaks down average consumption based on facility size (2014 data). (continued on the following page)

4 Utility Cost Trends Hospitals have generally improved their efficiency since the inception of the G/BA survey, helping to offset increasing utility rates (below). Total energy use (Btu/square foot) declined between 2013 and 2014, but energy costs ($/square foot) are currently on the rise, after declining for several years in the wake of the 2008 economic crash. As illustrated in the following graph, electricity costs have had the heaviest influence on rising energy costs over the past decade, despite a slight decrease in In general, the cost of natural gas has fallen steadily since 2008, though prices rose somewhat during the past year.

5 Energy use attributable to fossil fuels is down over time, but not by much, says G/BA Chairman Daniel L. Doyle. Hospitals are investing in efficiency measures and making progress, but have much further to go. Some of the low-hanging fruit is gone, but there are still many cost-effective opportunities remaining for reducing energy usage and costs. Facility Energy Usage Results, CY2014 This contention is borne out by this year s broad range of individual facility results for both energy usage (data not shown) and costs. For instance, a few facilities displayed fossil fuel consumption of more than 200,000 BTU/sf/year, compared with the general mid-range of facilities (about 150,000 BTU/sf/year) and those that used least (100,000 BTU/sf/year or less). These variations mean that hospital fossil fuel energy costs may exceed $2/sf/year or come in at less than $0.50/sf/year. Similarly, a few hospitals were consuming more than 40 kwh/sf/year in electrical energy, compared with a mid-range of about 25 kwh/sf/year. Some survey participants squeaked in at less than 20 kwh/sf/ year. The wide differences in usage mean that some of our participants are paying well over $3/sf/year for electrical energy, while most are getting by at less than $2 and a few at less than $1.50. As noted in the chart below, combined costs for fossil fuel and electricity for most of our survey participants were in the $2.50 to $3.50/sf/year range for CY2014. A few sites spent more than $5/sf/year, while a handful paid less than $2.25.

6 Not all outliers in use and cost represent extreme waste or extreme conservation. Since the survey encompasses a broad range of facilities, some differences may be accounted for by unique aspects of a site (for instance, self-generation of electrical power, or presence of an in-house laundry plant). Facilities that purchase steam and/or chilled water from a third party have higher energy costs that reflect the inclusion of labor and capital recovery, in addition to raw fuel costs. Download the.pdf chart set for a closer look at details of the reporting facilities. Water/sewer, carbon footprint, and costs per bed Part 2 of this report, to be released next week, will discuss hospitals water and sewer use, as well as carbon footprint and energy per bed. The report will also provide information about creating a comprehensive energy plan for healthcare facilities. As noted above, we are currently collecting data for the 2016 survey (compiling data from CY2015). To participate (it s free!) or to find more information, visit our website. Copyright 2016, Grumman/Butkus Associates. All rights reserved. To us regarding this survey, click here. Our mailing address is: Grumman/Butkus Associates, 820 Davis St., Suite 300, Evanston, IL You are receiving this as a client, former client, prospect, and/or healthcare industry professional. Click here to send an unsubscribing from this list.