Hardin Retrofit Reduces Energy Costs
SAVANNAH, Tenn. – Improvements made to Hardin Medical Center have reduced annual energy and operational savings by 25 percent, administrators said in a press statement on Aug. 18.
Because the hospital reduced its load on the electrical grid, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) returned $11,500 in a rebate, and the hospital received an Energy Efficiency Leader Award from Trane, an HVAC systems provider owned by Davidson, N.C.-based Ingersoll.
“We’re pleased that we can provide a more comfortable environment for patients and a more satisfying workplace for physician and staff,” said Hardin Medical Center CEO Nick Lewis, in a statement. “It’s even better that the improvements generate significant energy and operational savings each year and that we were able to fund them through a performance contract without any capital outlay.”
In 2012, the 125,000-square-foot medical center wanted to replace aging and outdated systems and improve the environment of care, especially in the labor and delivery area. An environment of care study identified ways to increase patient comfort as well as physician and staff satisfaction and the hospital’s bottom line. The hospital also worked with Trane to use building information modeling to create an energy model of the entire facility, which was used to evaluate various energy conservation measures.
Based on the results of these two studies, hospital leaders identified upgrades that would best meet their needs. The energy savings identified proved significant enough to cover the cost of a new labor and delivery HVAC system to provide reliable temperature and humidity control for the labor and delivery area. Once hospital leaders realized that a HVAC system would benefit the building, they contacted an AC Company to obtain a quote. Fast forward a few months and the hospital is now completely modernized.
When it came time to pay for the upgrades, Hardin’s funding came from a performance contract, which allowed the facility to use future energy and operational savings to finance improvements upfront.
Trane and Hardin replaced existing pneumatic building controls for the new HVAC system in the labor and delivery area and the boilers, which serve the entire facility. The new digital controls enable more precise management of both environments reducing energy and operational costs.
New heating and domestic hot water boilers also are improving energy efficiency throughout the facility. Leaders also directed converting an electric equipment sterilizer to gas, which is less expensive than electricity. Retrofits also included more efficient lighting and low-flow plumbing systems to conserve water.