Select Northwestern Region Hospitals Can Join Energy Efficiency Campaign







The American Society for Healthcare Engineers (ASHE) Region 10 has created a campaign to promote energy efficiency.

The group has created what it calls an Energy Efficiency Commitment (E2C), a program designed to save energy, reduce costs and protect the environment.

The program 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.

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

“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.”

ASHE Region 10 E2C is supported by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance's BetterBricks initiative, state chapters of the Society for Healthcare Engineers, utilities and the EPA's ENERGY STAR program.

The partners will provide hands-on guidance, trainings and other resources in support of the campaign goals to benchmark all healthcare facilities and achieve a region-wide 10 percent reduction in energy, according to a news release.

Campaign organizers encourage hospitals to consider a variety of strategies to reach the energy savings goals: train staff in building operator certification, look at no- to low-cost operational improvements, in addition to equipment upgrades.

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


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  posted on 5/21/2010   Article Use Policy




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