Search

The Environmental Protection Agency classifies healthcare as one of the leading energy-consuming industries. Extensive energy is needed around the clock in healthcare institutions for lighting, ventilation, and operating medical equipment. However, there is a growing concern over the sustainability of energy utilization by healthcare institutions worldwide. This narrative review thus seeks to examine energy efficiency and utilization in healthcare institutions and energy management and conservation techniques and make recommendations for future optimal usage. The paper notes that healthcare institutions use different quantities of energy from diverse sources, including hydropower, biomass, solar energy, and wind power. However, energy consumption varies from one institution to another, with the number of beds and intensity of healthcare operations, with an average of 0.27MWh m-2. Moreover, this review also identified various techniques and measures to enhance energy efficiency, such as the variant refrigerant flow technology and the combination of renewable energy sources with diesel generators to reduce the cost of electricity. Overall, healthcare institutions need energy management systems such as automated energy monitoring technologies, to check the systems' efficiency. The same techniques can also help Middle Eastern healthcare institutions with efficient energy utilization. Ultimately, the literature review aims to introduce an approach that focuses on reducing site-level consumption of energy while increasing the quality of the energy used and hence, helping reduce energy costs while conserving the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper highlights the need to limit resource use, especially energy resource use in the global economy. First, the scientific literature on capping resource use in light of three primary issues (sustainable scale, fair distribution, efficient allocation) is reviewed, as ecological economics suggests that these concerns must be addressed to move towards sustainability. Second, the paper examines how several tools proposed for capping energy use can or cannot deliver effective responses to the three primary concerns in ecological economics. Finally, recommendations are provided for future research on understanding and analysing energy capping tools to effectively achieve both environmental and social goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]