Sustainable operations pushes healthcare facilities to operate healthier and reduce healthcare costs and promote a healthy community, according to a blog on the HGA website.
The blog suggested beginning by reviewing energy consumption using benchmarking. Energy benchmarking considers external factors, such as weather, and building characteristics, such as square footage and types of spaces, to determine how a facility compares to its peers.
After benchmarking, investigate the current operation and condition of the systems to identify control sequences that could be adjusted and system components that need replacement or calibration.
Efficiently operating heating, cooling, electrical, ventilation, pressurization and life safety systems contribute to a healthy indoor environment and lower the risk of infectious transfer, the article said.