Nursing home owners operating costs are increasing through increased energy costs.
Nursing homes operate on a continuous basis. Many facilities tend to be older less efficient buildings. To heat these buildings, nursing homes rely for the most part on natural gas, which heats the majority of homes. To cool these buildings, they rely heavily on electricity
Understanding energy consumption in nursing homes
Contrary to belief oil prices do not effect electricity prices in Ireland. Ireland's electricity comes from a variety of generation plants consisting of coal, oil, gas, peat and, in recent years, an increasing amount of renewable generation mostly in the form of wind power. Gas is the key fuel in Ireland’s power generation, with in the region of 60% of our electricity currently generated from imported natural gas.
Gas prices fluctuate throughout the year. Like any commodity it goes up in price and it drops in price but one thing is certain – year on year the cost to business users increases.
Energy cost fluctuations play havoc on a nursing homes budget. Longer colder winters can be difficult enough to budget for but couple that with fluctuating prices and the challenge results in ‘best guesstimates’.
Energy costs directly effect profit margin and unless properly controlled will result in profit erosion.
The health care sector including nursing homes and hospitals is an intensive user of energy. Higher room temperatures and better air quality
required to maintain the health and comfort of often vulnerable inhabitants leads to above average energy consumption.
There are some common factors in regard to Nursing homes energy consumption, these are:
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Nursing homes operate 24/7 all year.
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In general 50% of energy costs can be attributed to the heating system.
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In general 25% of energy costs are attributed to lighting.
Highest consumption areas within a nursing home:
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Heating system
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Air conditioning
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Lighting
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Ventilation
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Kitchen
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In house laundry (if applicable)
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Lifts
How to make savings with Digren Energy
There are a number of ways to substantially reduce energy costs. These vary from no cost, to low cost to high capital expenditure projects. However, The best way to maximise savings is to implement an energy plan specific to your facility and budget. A significant barrier to using energy efficiently is lack of
awareness.
