G/BA 2015 Hospital Benchmarking Survey Released

Transcription

1 Health facilities are using less water but paying more G/BA 2015 Hospital Benchmarking Survey Released Part 2: Water/sewer use and costs, carbon footprint, and energy per bed Image: Charity:Water Water is a fast-emerging environmental concern. As this vital resource has become more precious, healthcare facilities costs have been rising. Combined water and sewer costs now account for as much as 20% of the total utility bill for some hospitals. We expect this trend to continue. G/BA inaugurated its healthcare energy benchmarking activities in 1995, and started tracking water and sewer costs in Adding data on this resource, and renaming the report to Hospital Energy and Water Benchmarking Survey, reflected our firm s understanding that water and energy use are inextricably linked. Water is growing as a worldwide environmental concern. Reducing water consumption saves energy: The extraction, treatment, and delivery of water accounts for as much as 15% of energy consumption in some parts of the country. Energy can represent as much as 80% of a typical water bill. Reducing electricity and gas consumption saves water: Power plants use lots of fresh water (45% of the nationwide total), and nearly half of that evaporates (per the latest U.S. Geological Survey water use report). The production of natural gas by hydraulic fracturing uses large quantities of water. Although costs for water and sewer are considerably less than those for electricity and natural gas, many parts of the country are experiencing price hikes, and there are new concerns about water supplies and quality. Water prices also vary considerably depending on location. The following is a summary of water use and cost information reported in the 2015 survey (2014 water use from 88 facilities). As with the energy summary table in Part 1 of this report, states for which fewer than five participants sent data are not broken out in the following table.

2 STATISTICS Sample Mean WATER Gal/sf $/sf $/kgal Overall (88) 48.9 $0.38 $7.63 Illinois (29) 60.1 $0.45 $7.18 Wisconsin (32) 35.8 $0.25 $7.00 Michigan (5) 44.6 $0.46 $10.29 Indiana (5) 40.1 $0.25 $6.14 Our findings are discussed in two parts: fossil fuel and electricity consumption and costs (Part 1, released last week) and water and sewer usage and costs, as well as carbon footprint data and energy-per-bed data (Part 2, below). 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 Water and sewer trends, usage, and costs The water trends chart below indicates that hospitals have been reducing their water consumption since Nevertheless, they continue to experience rising costs on a $/sf/year basis, with the pattern especially evident since 2011.

3 On a per-gallon basis, the average cost of water and sewer reported by our survey participants has risen steadily since 2006 (chart, below). The downward usage trend reflects a movement to eliminate city-water-cooled equipment, as well as the use of low-flow and occupancy-based plumbing fixtures, says G/BA Chairman Dan Doyle. Water usage is an emerging issue. There is still much room for improvement in healthcare facilities. Among the participants in our survey, a few hospitals are using more than 80 gallons/sf/year, compared with some that use less than 3 gallons/sf/year (data not shown). In some cases, these patterns may reflect significant facility operations differences for instance, presence of in-house laundry services or the purchase of chilled water and/or steam. Most of our participants are currently paying between $5 and $10 per 1,000 gallons of water, resulting in square-foot costs between $0.20 and $0.50 annually. Download our charts for complete water/sewer report data.

4 Carbon footprint trends and results Based on world sentiment for more regulatory emphasis on greenhouse gas emissions, G/BA began sharing carbon footprint information with our participants in The graph below presents the normalized carbon dioxide equivalent for respondents energy use in CY2014, based on state average emissions factors for electricity purchases and EPA standard factors for combustion equipment. Scope 1 emissions include on-site combustion for heating and cooling energy. Scope 2 emissions include off-site emissions from purchased energy (electricity or district steam and chilled water). The survey reveals a slight downward trend in the average participating facility s carbon footprint since 1999, but improvements have been relatively small. As in prior years, we observed a wide range of carbon footprint results in our participating facilities (data not shown). Most participants fell into the 50 to 70 pounds/sf/year range; but a few were higher than 80 pounds/sf/year. Despite many available strategies for energy conservation related to facilities, the average CO 2 usage intensity of our participant facilities has stayed stubbornly near 60 pounds/sf/year for well over a decade. We do see a slight downward trend, due in part to increased reliance on electricity instead of fossil fuel, says Doyle. But we can and must do much better. Fortunately, there are many cost-effective measures that can still be implemented at most hospitals.

5 Cost per bed Finally, this year s Hospital Energy and Water Benchmarking Survey provided a comparison of energy cost per bed for responding hospitals. Some facilities were not able to provide bed counts with their surveys; we hope to obtain more precise data from respondents in the future. A number of factors contribute to the differences in cost per bed for each group of hospitals: Varying fuel prices in each state Varying state ventilation requirements Relative bed density Respondents to the 2015 survey represent more than 87 million square feet of facilities, with approximately 24,800 staffed beds reported. The average cost for all utilities (excluding water) was $10,620 per staffed bed for respondents from all states that included bed counts. For respondents that included water data, the water cost per bed was $1,220 per staffed bed (data not shown). The chart below shows these costs broken out among the participants states, for better analysis of any regional patterns.

6 Benchmarking: Step 1 Toward a Comprehensive Energy Plan Tracking and benchmarking hospital energy use is just the first step in establishing a comprehensive energy management program. What must be addressed in a comprehensive approach? Utility tracking Managing energy purchases / supply side Operations and maintenance Retro-commissioning (RCx) Retrofit of existing building systems/equipment Building infrastructure planning New buildings, major additions, and renovations Commissioning and monitoring-based commissioning (Cx and MBCx) Equipment purchasing policies Grants and rebate opportunities Recognition opportunities Financing options G/BA has been helping hospitals develop and manage their energy management programs for more than 40 years. Please contact us if we can assist you in your efforts. 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 unsubscribing from this list.