The federal government, now in the process of “reforming” what happens inside hospitals, is also offering advice on how new hospitals should be built.
On Tuesday, the Energy Department released the final installment of its four-part series on designing buildings for maximum energy efficiency.
The Advanced Energy Design Guide for large hospitals “will help architects, engineers, and contractors design and build highly efficient hospital buildings, helping to save energy and cut facility operational costs,” the Energy Department said in a news release.
The guide also “provides a practical approach” for designers and builders of other major commercial buildings.
The recommendations include advanced materials for framing, roofing and insulating the building, highly efficient heating and cooling systems, and other energy-saving measures such as allowing more daylight into the building.
The large-hospital guide supports President Obama’s goal of reducing energy use in commercial buildings 20 percent by 2020, the Energy Department noted. And the efficiency measures found in the guide “can be used in the development of future commercial building energy codes,” DOE added.
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