Reduced use of tenant electricity in hospital environments

This thesis aimed to find how to affect and reduce the tenant electricity use in Sahlgrenska University Hospital (SU) through behavioural and technical factors. It also aimed to, in detail, chart and categorize the equipment that constitutes the tenant electricity and how large their contribution is to the total electricity usage. The research was delimitated to two separate departments within SU. To meet the goal of the thesis, a literature study on relevant fields of behavioural change science was carried out together with qualitative interviews with hospital staff. In addition to this, electricity use in both office and medical equipment was measured. The resulting analysis showed that lighting is by far the category of equipment that uses most electricity, about 50 % of the examined departments total use. The second largest category was office equipment, such as computers and computer monitors, followed by medical equipment. The analysis concluded that through use of feedback, nudging and transformational leadership it should be possible to change the staffs behavioural pattern. Although, it is probably more efficient to use technical solutions such as automated lighting and energy saving modes on computers to reduce electricity use. In addition to the analysis, or as a result thereof, this thesis resulted in a list of recommendations for the hospital, both for implementing a behavioural change programme and technical solutions aimed at reducing electricity use