Energy Star for Hospitals 2011 Update: Progression or Regression?

Abstract

The Energy Star performance rating system for buildings has achieved widespread adoption in the building sector as a standard benchmark for energy performance. In 2011, the U.S. EPA released an updated technical methodology for its Energy Star performance rating system for hospitals, shifting how the score is calculated. The new rating system, similar to the previous rating system, is still a poor metric for benchmarking hospitals and should be used with caution. The aim of this paper is to critique the methodology used in the Energy Star for Hospitals 2011 Update. The paper reviews the changes between the 2001 methodology and 2011 methodology, how Energy Star views usage of different fuel types in its score, and lastly items that did not change in the 2011 hospital methodology update which are still causing confusion amongst Energy Star users and are causing significant error in the Energy Star score calculations.