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ASHRAE Research: Medical Imaging Equipment Energy Use

Healthcare | Research & Pilots | Policy & Codes | Decarbonization | Thought Leadership | Resilience
Expertise MEP Engineering

ASHRAE Research Project RP-1816, Reporting the Energy Use and Heat Gain from Imaging Equipment, was awarded to Mazzetti in Fall 2019 under the oversight of ASHRAE Technical Committee 9.6 (Healthcare Facilities). The purpose of the research was to develop measured data on the actual energy use and heat gain of imaging equipment, providing a more accurate basis for HVAC sizing and load calculations than the nameplate values traditionally used in design. While the final ASHRAE report is still pending technical and editorial review and has not yet received an official publication date, components of the research and its findings have already been published and presented through various industry channels, though not yet under the final RP-1816 report.

Mazzetti’s Jacquelyn Tompkins presents her research at the 2025 CleanMed Conference

Why it Matters

Until RP-1816 is formally published by ASHRAE:

  • Designers still lack an official ASHRAE reference for realistic imaging equipment heat gain
  • HVAC loads for imaging suites often remain overestimated
  • Health systems pursuing decarbonization and right sizing must rely on:
    • DOE/NREL data
    • Peer reviewed literature
    • Project specific measurements

This gap is explicitly acknowledged in healthcare energy literature and decarbonization work.

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