Patient Flow Prediction-Based Energy Savings in Green Hospitals: A Simulation Study

To reduce energy consumption, green hospitals have received increasing research attention. In this letter, a patient flow prediction-based approach is introduced to control air conditioning system for energy savings in green hospitals. The patient occupancy in various hospital units is predicted through a discrete-event simulation model. Control policies are developed by using the predicted information to adjust parameters of a thermal model for fresh air and cooling load in air conditioning systems. It is shown that such an approach can lead to significant energy savings in hospitals.