Hospitals are notorious for their energy consumption. Between water use, lighting and heating, a typical hospital can use up to five times more energy than a hotel, according to US News & World Report. But in an effort to boost the bottom line, some hospitals are turning to energy efficient products and services.
The first hospital to produce more energy than it consumed was Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, Wis., which earned the label back in 2014. Former CEO of the facility, Jeff Thompson, said the hospital was saving $1 million to $3 million per year. According to US News & World Report:
Gundersen Health System in Wisconsin employs wind, wood chips, landfill-produced methane gas — and even cow manure — to generate power, reporting more than a 95% drop in its emissions of carbon monoxide, particulate matter and mercury from 2008 to 2016. Boston Medical Center analyzed its hospital for duplicative and underused space, then downsized while increasing patient capacity. Among other changes, it now has a gas-fired 2-megawatt cogeneration plant that traps and reuses heat, saving money and emissions, while supplying 41% of the hospital's needs and acting as a backup for essential services if the municipal power grid goes out.
The publication also mentions Theda Clark Medical Center in Wisconsin, which is saving almost $800,000 per year after making energy efficient upgrades. And health behemoth Kaiser Permanente is working to be carbon neutral by 2020.
Just last year, Windham Hospital in Willimantic, Conn., was rewarded for its energy efficiency initiatives. The hospital installed LED lighting and a steam system and repaired its steam traps and kitchen hood controls.
The hospital made out well financially. Environmental Systems Corp. and Eversource Energy financed more than $324,000 of the $405,000 cost of the project through incentives. Savings realized through lower energy bills will add further to the savings, of course. That savings will start immediately: The hospital’s out-of-pocket payment of $81,069 will quickly be paid for by the first year of annual utility savings, which are expected to be $80,578.
NYC Health + Hospitals – which represents facilities of all types from the southern Staten Island all the way up to the northern tip of The Bronx – consists of 11 acute care hospitals, six diagnostic and treatment centers, four long-term care facilities, a certified home health care agency and more than 80 community health clinics.
The organization reports that it has reduced energy use by 10% during its 2016 fiscal year. That, coupled with fuel cost reductions, led to savings of $21 million. The organization says that greenhouse gas emissions are down by 24.14 percent between 2007 and 2016 and the organization is on track to fulfill its goal of reducing them by half by 2025 based in a 2007 baseline.
