Reclassifying hospital energy demand toward industry-like requirements for hygienic and resilient indoor environments

Hospitals, traditionally classified within the tertiary sector due to their service-oriented nature, nevertheless exhibit energy demands and technical characteristics akin to those of industrial facilities. Motivated by this, this paper redefines hospital energy demand by emphasizing shared energy forms and consumption processes between healthcare and industry. Methodologically, the study conducts a comparative analysis of energy intensity across regions, highlights process-level similarities and regulatory disparities, proposes a hybrid regulatory framework tailored to healthcare buildings, and reviews the literature on Distributed Energy Systems (DES) in hospitals. To complement these analyses with quantitative evidence, a dynamic TRNSYS 18 mini-scenario is introduced for a representative block of Specialities Operating Theatres (OTs). The simulation provides hourly cooling and electrical loads and yields an annual combined electricity intensity of approximately 780 [Formula: see text]m[Formula: see text]yr[Formula: see text], a value that exceeds legacy, medium-size, and even hyperscale data-centre benchmarks. This empirical result supports the claim that critical hospital zones behave energetically as clean-process environments, closer to industrial or infrastructural uses than to conventional tertiary spaces. The findings show that hospitals consume energy at levels closer to industry than to commercial buildings, with critical continuous loads. The industrial sector has already demonstrated rigorous adoption of DES, setting a precedent for their integration in healthcare. Despite progress, the literature lacks comprehensive and region-specific reviews on integrating DES in healthcare, including cogeneration (CHP), trigeneration (CCHP), solar energy systems, and medical waste-to-energy (WtE) recovery. Fully integrated solar-CCHP-WtE systems, in particular, remain underexplored. A novel contribution of this work lies in formulating a hybrid regulatory framework that redefines hospitals as industrial-scale energy hubs, bridging the gap between rigorous industrial DES practices and the specialized operational requirements of the healthcare sector. Overall, the integration of DES presents hospitals with significant opportunities to enhance energy efficiency, improve system reliability, and achieve substantial environmental benefits, all while maintaining the stringent quality standards required in healthcare environments.