What should hospital facilities prioritize — maintaining healthy IAQ or decreasing energy consumption? Ideally, both could be accomplished equally, but while we figure out how to do this, let’s take a look at the current consequences of our decision.
If facility managers place IAQ as their top priority, they support patient healing but may increase energy consumption from frequent room air changes, running indoor humidifiers, and maintaining room pressures. If low energy cost is the primary focus, decreased fossil fuel consumption helps the outdoor environment as well as the hospital budget — but may not be the best choice for patients.