Energy Retrofit Guide for Caribbean Hospitals

The Energy Retrofit Guide for Caribbean Hospitals outlines a three-step process—Find, Finance, and Follow-through—to help healthcare facilities reduce energy consumption. It highlights the high cost of electricity in the Caribbean (averaging $0.38/kWh) as a primary driver for deep energy retrofits, which can reduce energy costs by over 50%. The guide introduces a free online tool for benchmarking and identifying energy efficiency measures (EEMs), and provides a framework for securing financing and managing the technical implementation of retrofit projects.

• Energy costs in the Caribbean are significantly higher than in other regions, with an average cost of $0.38 per kilowatt-hour compared to approximately $0.12 in the United States.
• Deep energy retrofits are defined as whole-building processes that can achieve energy cost savings exceeding 50%, which is substantially more than individual efficiency retrofits.
• The guide proposes a three-step implementation process: 'Find' (identifying opportunities via benchmarking and audits), 'Finance' (securing capital through various funding sources), and 'Follow-through' (designing and installing measures with qualified professionals).
• Analysis of 118 healthcare facilities across more than 20 Caribbean islands revealed an average facility age of over 40 years and an average energy use intensity (EUI) of approximately 156 kWh/m2-year.
• Financial viability is demonstrated by specific examples, such as a hospital that recouped a $25,000 investment in high-efficiency variable speed drives for water pumps within two years.
• Potential funding sources for retrofits include owner-financing, third-party options (commercial banks, institutional investors, philanthropy), and various international development funds such as the World Bank, USAID, and the European Union.
• The guide identifies several categories of energy efficiency measures (EEMs), including building envelope improvements (e.g., reflective roof coverings), lighting upgrades (e.g., LED installation), and HVAC optimizations (e.g., variable speed drives on pumps).

APA

Fortier, M., Giefer, K., Locke, J., & Sherwood, J. (2015). Energy Retrofit Guide for Caribbean Hospitals. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI_2015_CaribbeanHospitalRetrofitGuide.pdf

Chicago

Fortier, Michael, Karin Giefer, Justin Locke, and James Sherwood. Energy Retrofit Guide for Caribbean Hospitals. RMI, 2015. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI_2015_CaribbeanHospitalRetrofitGuide.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fortier |first1=Michael |last2=Giefer |first2=Karin |last3=Locke |first3=Justin |last4=Sherwood |first4=James |title=Energy Retrofit Guide for Caribbean Hospitals |publisher=RMI |date=August 2015 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI_2015_CaribbeanHospitalRetrofitGuide.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fortier2015energy, author = {Fortier, Michael and Giefer, Karin and Locke, Justin and Sherwood, James}, title = {{Energy Retrofit Guide for Caribbean Hospitals}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI_2015_CaribbeanHospitalRetrofitGuide.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }