IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i21p7285-d1268331.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Eco-Sustainable Energy Production in Healthcare: Trends and Challenges in Renewable Energy Systems

Author

Listed:
  • Domenico Mazzeo

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, 34 La Masa, 20156 Milan, Italy)

  • Cristina Baglivo

    (Department of Engineering for Innovation, University of Salento, Via per Monteroni Km 1, 73100 Lecce, Italy)

  • Simone Panico

    (Institute for Renewable Energies, Eurac Research, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy)

  • Matteo Manieri

    (Department of Engineering for Innovation, University of Salento, Via per Monteroni Km 1, 73100 Lecce, Italy)

  • Nicoletta Matera

    (Department of Energy, Politecnico di Milano, 34 La Masa, 20156 Milan, Italy)

  • Paolo Maria Congedo

    (Department of Engineering for Innovation, University of Salento, Via per Monteroni Km 1, 73100 Lecce, Italy)

Abstract

The shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy systems represents a pivotal step toward the realization of a sustainable society. This study aims to analyze representative scientific literature on eco-sustainable energy production in the healthcare sector, particularly in hospitals. Given hospitals’ substantial electricity consumption, the adoption of renewable energy offers a reliable, low-CO 2 emission solution. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the urgency for energy-efficient and environmentally-responsible approaches. This brief review analyzes the development of experimental, simulation, and optimization projects for sustainable energy production in healthcare facilities. The analysis reveals trends and challenges in renewable energy systems, offering valuable insights into the potential of eco-sustainable solutions in the healthcare sector. The findings indicate that hydrogen storage systems are consistently coupled with photovoltaic panels or solar collectors, but only 14% of the analyzed studies explore this potential within hospital settings. Hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) could be used to meet the energy demands of healthcare centers and hospitals. However, the integration of HRES in hospitals and medical buildings is understudied.

Suggested Citation

  • Domenico Mazzeo & Cristina Baglivo & Simone Panico & Matteo Manieri & Nicoletta Matera & Paolo Maria Congedo, 2023. "Eco-Sustainable Energy Production in Healthcare: Trends and Challenges in Renewable Energy Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-20, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:21:p:7285-:d:1268331
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/21/7285/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/21/7285/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ascione, Fabrizio & Bianco, Nicola & De Stasio, Claudio & Mauro, Gerardo Maria & Vanoli, Giuseppe Peter, 2016. "Multi-stage and multi-objective optimization for energy retrofitting a developed hospital reference building: A new approach to assess cost-optimality," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 37-68.
    2. Yashar Haghighi Bardineh & Fatemeh Mohamadian & Mohammad Hossein Ahmadi & Nazila Akbarianrad, 2018. "Medical and dental applications of renewable energy systems," International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies, Oxford University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 320-326.
    3. Nastasi, Benedetto & Mazzoni, Stefano & Groppi, Daniele & Romagnoli, Alessandro & Astiaso Garcia, Davide, 2021. "Optimized integration of Hydrogen technologies in Island energy systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 850-864.
    4. Maggio, G. & Squadrito, G. & Nicita, A., 2022. "Hydrogen and medical oxygen by renewable energy based electrolysis: A green and economically viable route," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 306(PA).
    5. Isa, Normazlina Mat & Das, Himadry Shekhar & Tan, Chee Wei & Yatim, A.H.M. & Lau, Kwan Yiew, 2016. "A techno-economic assessment of a combined heat and power photovoltaic/fuel cell/battery energy system in Malaysia hospital," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 75-90.
    6. Justo Garcia-Sanz-Calcedo & Fernando Lopez-Rodriguez & Talal Yusaf & Awf Al-Kassir, 2017. "Analysis of the Average Annual Consumption of Water in the Hospitals of Extremadura (Spain)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-10, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maria Psillaki & Nikolaos Apostolopoulos & Ilias Makris & Panagiotis Liargovas & Sotiris Apostolopoulos & Panos Dimitrakopoulos & George Sklias, 2023. "Hospitals’ Energy Efficiency in the Perspective of Saving Resources and Providing Quality Services through Technological Options: A Systematic Literature Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-21, January.
    2. Calise, Francesco & Cappiello, Francesco Liberato & Cimmino, Luca & Dentice d’Accadia, Massimo & Vicidomini, Maria, 2023. "Renewable smart energy network: A thermoeconomic comparison between conventional lithium-ion batteries and reversible solid oxide fuel cells," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 74-95.
    3. Francesco Calise & Francesco Liberato Cappiello & Luca Cimmino & Massimo Dentice d’Accadia & Maria Vicidomini, 2024. "A Novel Layout for Combined Heat and Power Production for a Hospital Based on a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Rômulo de Oliveira Azevêdo & Paulo Rotela Junior & Luiz Célio Souza Rocha & Gianfranco Chicco & Giancarlo Aquila & Rogério Santana Peruchi, 2020. "Identification and Analysis of Impact Factors on the Economic Feasibility of Photovoltaic Energy Investments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-40, September.
    5. Shi, Mengshu & Huang, Yuansheng & Lin, Hongyu, 2023. "Research on power to hydrogen optimization and profit distribution of microgrid cluster considering shared hydrogen storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    6. Shadram, Farshid & Bhattacharjee, Shimantika & Lidelöw, Sofia & Mukkavaara, Jani & Olofsson, Thomas, 2020. "Exploring the trade-off in life cycle energy of building retrofit through optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    7. Giovani Almeida Dávi & José López de Asiain & Juan Solano & Estefanía Caamaño-Martín & César Bedoya, 2017. "Energy Refurbishment of an Office Building with Hybrid Photovoltaic System and Demand-Side Management," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-24, August.
    8. Das, Himadry Shekhar & Tan, Chee Wei & Yatim, A.H.M. & Lau, Kwan Yiew, 2017. "Feasibility analysis of hybrid photovoltaic/battery/fuel cell energy system for an indigenous residence in East Malaysia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1332-1347.
    9. Gimelli, A. & Mottola, F. & Muccillo, M. & Proto, D. & Amoresano, A. & Andreotti, A. & Langella, G., 2019. "Optimal configuration of modular cogeneration plants integrated by a battery energy storage system providing peak shaving service," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 974-993.
    10. Ascione, Fabrizio & Bianco, Nicola & Mauro, Gerardo Maria & Vanoli, Giuseppe Peter, 2019. "A new comprehensive framework for the multi-objective optimization of building energy design: Harlequin," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C), pages 331-361.
    11. Mohamed Hamdy & Gerardo Maria Mauro, 2017. "Multi-Objective Optimization of Building Energy Design to Reconcile Collective and Private Perspectives: CO 2 -eq vs. Discounted Payback Time," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-26, July.
    12. Harkouss, Fatima & Fardoun, Farouk & Biwole, Pascal Henry, 2018. "Passive design optimization of low energy buildings in different climates," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PA), pages 591-613.
    13. Rad, Mohammad Amin Vaziri & Ghasempour, Roghaye & Rahdan, Parisa & Mousavi, Soroush & Arastounia, Mehrdad, 2020. "Techno-economic analysis of a hybrid power system based on the cost-effective hydrogen production method for rural electrification, a case study in Iran," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    14. Superchi, Francesco & Papi, Francesco & Mannelli, Andrea & Balduzzi, Francesco & Ferro, Francesco Maria & Bianchini, Alessandro, 2023. "Development of a reliable simulation framework for techno-economic analyses on green hydrogen production from wind farms using alkaline electrolyzers," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 731-742.
    15. Prada, A. & Gasparella, A. & Baggio, P., 2018. "On the performance of meta-models in building design optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 814-826.
    16. Sofia Agostinelli & Fabrizio Cumo & Meysam Majidi Nezhad & Giuseppe Orsini & Giuseppe Piras, 2022. "Renewable Energy System Controlled by Open-Source Tools and Digital Twin Model: Zero Energy Port Area in Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-24, March.
    17. Toopshekan, Ashkan & Yousefi, Hossein & Astaraei, Fatemeh Razi, 2020. "Technical, economic, and performance analysis of a hybrid energy system using a novel dispatch strategy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    18. Thirunavukkarasu, M. & Sawle, Yashwant & Lala, Himadri, 2023. "A comprehensive review on optimization of hybrid renewable energy systems using various optimization techniques," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    19. Tom Terlouw & Lorenzo Rosa & Christian Bauer & Russell McKenna, 2024. "Future hydrogen economies imply environmental trade-offs and a supply-demand mismatch," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.
    20. Meng, Xiangxin & Liu, Yan & Wang, Shangyu & Chen, Feiyu & Cao, Qimeng & Yang, Liu, 2022. "A fast solar architecture design method towards zero heating energy: A SHF-SLR-based model and its parameters," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:21:p:7285-:d:1268331. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.