For facilities that operate 24 hours a day, energy is huge part of the budget. Hospitals, in particular, are known to use a tremendous amount of energy to stay lit and power large and sophisticated equipment.
Antonio Suaréz at Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, TX, has led a successful effort to reverse the trend of overusing energy at hospital facilities. Energy performance was monitored frequently by benchmarking it through the EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager. It gives an accurate assessment of energy use while comparing the facility to others in the industry. Midland Memorial Hospital went from the 12th percentile to 75th percentile nationally by improving its efficiency. The tests found that a bulk of energy was being wasted on rooms not commonly used every day, such as conference rooms, meeting rooms, and empty surgical departments.
In addition to savings thousands of dollars in energy costs, the hospital also received the Energy Star Award, which recognizes leaders in energy consumption.
