Northwest Hospitals Work to Reduce Energy Usage

PORTLAND, Ore. — The American Society for Healthcare Engineers recently announced the launch of the ASHE (Region 10) Energy Efficiency Commitment, a campaign to save energy and reduce operating costs.

 

The E2C initiative offers healthcare facilities in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Hawaii and Alaska the opportunity to work together to reduce energy consumption by 10 percent region-wide.

 

ASHE Region 10 E2C is supported by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance’s BetterBricks initiative, state chapters of the Society for Healthcare Engineers and the EPA’s Energy Star program. Partner organizations will provide hands-on guidance, training and other resources in support of the campaign goals to benchmark all healthcare facilities and achieve a region-wide 10 percent reduction in energy.In addition to free resources, all participants are eligible for prizes and recognition.

 

“The opportunity for energy savings is tremendous when we consider healthcare facilities are the second most energy intensive building type in the nation,” says Stephen Grose, director of ASHE Region 10. “This campaign encourages us to work together as professionals to reduce usage and save money.”

 

Campaign organizers encourage hospitals to consider a variety of strategies to reach their energy savings goals, including training staff in building operator certification, looking at no-to-low-cost operational improvements, and upgrading equipment.╩

 

According to NEEA’s BetterBricks initiative, cost reductions from tune-ups on energy related systems and improved operations and maintenance practices in hospitals can achieve 10- to 20-percent reductions in energy costs, with a return on investment of 150 percent to 300 percent.

 

To participate in the campaign, hospitals can register online through Aug. 1 at http://ASHEregion10E2C.betterbricks.com