MILWAUKEE - According to new research from the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) and Johnson Controls, health care organizations are more likely to invest in energy efficiency for their facilities compared to other industry sectors across North America.

Johnson Controls, in conjunction with ASHE and the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), commissioned the 2010 Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) survey, which polled 2,882 executives and managers responsible for making investments and managing energy in facilities worldwide. Of these respondents, 288 operated in the health care sector in North America.

The research found that 58 percent of health care building decision-makers say that energy management was very or extremely important to their organization, compared with 52 percent among North American respondents across all sectors. Sixty-two percent of health care organizations plan to make capital investments in energy efficiency over the next 12 months, compared with 52 percent overall in North America.

The survey indicates that the health care sector has implemented a variety of measures to achieve energy efficiency including lighting retrofits (73 percent), adjustments to HVAC controls (57 percent), installation of occupancy or daylight sensors (56 percent), and upgrades or improvements to building automation systems (56 percent). Other measures include the early replacement of inefficient equipment (41 percent) and the retrocommissioning of major building systems (23 percent, up from 16 percent in 2008).

Compared to results from the 2008 EEI, the 2010 findings suggest an upward trend in the percentage of health care executives that have a goal of either achieving green building certification or incorporating green elements into their new construction projects (80 percent in 2010, up from 72 percent in 2008).

Lack of capital budget was cited as the primary barrier to efficiency investments among both health care respondents (45 percent) and the overall North American sample (38 percent). An additional twenty-one percent of health care leaders say insufficient paybacks or return on investment is the primary barrier to investment.

The survey is managed by the Johnson Controls Institute for Building Efficiency, a new initiative of Johnson Controls, providing information and analysis of technologies, policies, and practices for efficient, high-performance buildings and smart energy systems. For more information, visit www.johnsoncontrols.com/InstituteBE.

Publication date: 07/26/2010