According to a recent report, Boston hospitals consume four times more energy than other buildings in the city and remain some of the lowest-performing structures in their push toward net-zero emissions.
The CommonWealth Beacon investigation, titled “With Public Health at Stake, Many Boston Hospitals Struggle to Meet the City’s Air Pollution Goals,” found that many hospitals still rely on fossil-fuel-powered, centralized energy systems, making the city’s 2050 net-zero target harder to reach.
No one is suggesting that hospitals cut back on care to reduce their carbon footprint. The more realistic fix, and the one the mechanical insulation industry has pushed for years, is improving how efficiently these buildings run. Mechanical insulation wrapped around pipes, ducts, boilers and chillers is one of the most overlooked tools for cutting energy waste, and one of the cheapest to deploy at scale.
Based on City of Boston data cited within the report, about 70 percent of Boston’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings.
“Building owners are just starting to understand how their buildings perform,” said Aidan Callan, Program Manager for Boston’s Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance.
He added that reporting energy data is the first step toward reducing emissions.
Hospitals, the report noted, stand out as some of the lowest-performing buildings in the city.
A low-cost first step: A mechanical insulation energy audit
Hospitals and other large buildings looking to close that performance gap can start with a Mechanical Insulation Energy Audit.
Certified auditors inspect a facility’s mechanical insulation system and produce a written, engineering-based report detailing exactly how much energy and how many emissions are being lost to damaged, missing or inadequate insulation. These audits typically include remediation and construction cost estimates alongside projected savings. The payback period often runs just two to three years, which is a fast return for hospital administrators weighing tight capital budgets against sustainability mandates.
The push for accountability extends beyond Boston.
The Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, a partnership between the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers and signatory mechanical insulation contractors, supports the Federal Mechanical Insulation Act, HR-3474 and S-4312, now in Congress. The legislation would require mechanical insulation evaluations across more than 350,000 federal buildings nationwide. As the federal government moves to recognize the value of these inspections, the private sector, hospital systems included, have a reason to follow suit.
Newer buildings show what is possible
The difference shows up in the numbers.
The Hale Building at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a 650,000-square-foot clinical tower, opened in 2016, about three years after Boston adopted its emissions ordinance. The facility uses less than half the energy of the clinical building it replaced, which was built roughly 20 years earlier.
Hospital officials told the CommonWealth Beacon that the improvement comes from better mechanical insulation, energy-efficient windows and updated heating and cooling systems. Combined, these items enable newer facilities to be more energy-efficient because they are built to modern efficiency standards.
According to International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 6, Boston, Business Manager Jeff Saliba, mechanical insulation crews are already doing this work inside Boston’s hospital system.
“We have members working in every one of the hospitals mentioned performing capital improvements, as well as maintenance work,” he said. “All our members have been trained through a Registered Apprenticeship Program that delivers a highly trained and professional workforce in cooperation with specialized contractors to assist in addressing the energy and environmental concerns of Boston’s hospitals. Professionalism, craftsmanship and safety is why they keep bringing us back year after year.”
The Mechanical Insulators LMCT applauds the CommonWealth Beacon for publishing this report that puts a spotlight on building energy efficiency.
The union mechanical insulation industry already has a trained workforce and qualified contractors ready to help cut the carbon footprint of hospitals and other high-energy buildings nationwide. What is needed now is broader awareness, starting with a Mechanical Insulation Energy Audit, and a commitment across the building industry to evaluate and upgrade mechanical insulation systems.