title: A Quantitative Analysis of Cold Water for Human Consumption in Hospitals in Spain.
abstract: An estimation of the water used for human consumption in hospitals is essential to determine possible savings and to fix criteria to improve the design of new water consumption models. The present work reports on cold water for human consumption (CWHC) in hospitals in Spain and determines the possible savings. In the period of 2005-2012, 80 Eco-Management and Audit Schemes (EMAS) from 20 hospitals were analysed. The results conclude that the average annual consumption of CWHC is 1.59 m(3)/m(2) (with a standard deviation of 0.48 m(3)/m(2)), 195.85 m(3)/bed (standard deviation 70.07 m(3)/bed), or 53.69 m(3)/worker (standard deviation 16.64 m(3)/worker). The results demonstrate the possibility of saving 5,600,000 m(3) of water per year. Assuming the cost of water as approximately 1.22 €/m(3), annual savings are estimated as 6,832,000 €. Furthermore, 2,912 MWh of energy could be saved, and the emission of 22,400 annual tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere could be avoided.
authors.affiliation: School of Design Engineering, Department of Mechanical, Energy, and Materials Engineering, University of Extremadura, 06800 Mérida, Spain.
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: González
authors.affiliation: Department of Projects, University of Extremadura, 06007 Badajoz, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García-Sanz-Calcedo
authors.affiliation: School of Industrial Engineering, Department of Mechanical, Energy, and Materials Engineering, University of Extremadura, 06007 Badajoz, Spain.
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Salgado
authors.affiliation: School of Industrial Engineering, Department of Engineering Design and Projects, University of Huelva, 21003 Huelva, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mena
mesh_terms: D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008330:Management Audit / Q000458:organization & administration; D013030:Spain; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water