ASHE announces publication of a monograph on operating room heating, ventilation, and air conditioning setback strategies, summarizing the opportunities and main considerations for usage and describing options for implementation.
An operating room may be unoccupied 40 percent or more of the time, depending on the type of health care facility and pattern of use for its surgery facilities. Considering the high air change rate, high percentage of outside air, and often significant cooling and humidity requirements at full occupancy as well as the high reheating load during unoccupied periods, a hospital or ambulatory surgery center can realize significant energy savings by adopting an HVAC setback strategy. Savings will be greater for facilities located in more extreme climates (with correspondingly higher heating or cooling and reheating loads), but are appreciable regardless of the climate. Particularly when 100 percent outside air is used, the return on investment can be realized within as little as a few years.
Click here to download the PDF of the monograph.
