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Siemens has begun work on the second phase of a 10-year energy performance contract with UMass Memorial Health Care (UMass Memorial), designed to align with the health care system’s master energy plan to reduce energy consumption and energy purchasing costs, while maximizing the use of renewable energy wherever possible. With Phase 2 underway, UMass Memorial is projected to save almost 2 million kilowatt hours of electric energy in the project’s first year, and over the course of the 10-year contract, it is anticipated to generate $5 million in energy savings and operational cost savings. When combined with UMass Memorial’s Phase 1 contract with Siemens as well as other efforts, it is anticipated that the facility will generate a total savings in energy and operational costs of approximately $24 million over the next 10 years.
UMass Memorial is the largest health care system in Central Massachusetts and the clinical partner of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. As an important health care resource for the area, UMass Memorial will carry out the facility improvements in two phases, while maintaining the high levels of patient care and quality that are expected by the community.
Together, UMass Memorial and Siemens have developed a multidimensional approach to achieving the health care organization’s objectives, including short- and long-term projects that will maximize UMass Memorial’s return on investment. The first phase of the project included lighting upgrades in hallways, corridors, and stairwells, followed by upgrades to the administrative, physician and patient spaces in the second phase. To review the effectiveness of equipment, examine demand changes, and make recommendations for improvements or upgrades, a Siemens energy engineer is based on-site and embedded within UMass Memorial’s facilities team.
“Our partnership with Siemens through the energy performance contract has already proven to be an effective and beneficial model,” said Gary Valcourt, UMass Memorial Medical Center associate vice president of facilities and capital planning. “The goal is to establish a program that can be sustained for decades. As we update our patient and operating rooms, we know energy consumption patterns will change, but we’re relying on our partnership with Siemens to help build resiliency into our facility.”
The project will also expand to focus on renewable energy planning that includes solar net metering, a process that allows UMass Memorial to use solar power generated at offsite, third-party facilities. When fully implemented in the future, the solar net metering program will include 12 contracts, portable between buildings over the next two decades, allowing UMass Memorial to maximize its use of solar energy. UMass Memorial also plans to build a cogeneration plant, which will capture heat created within the Medical Center and repurpose it to generate electricity for the facility.
“This project represents a great opportunity to help UMass Memorial Health Care implement its long-term master energy plan so it can achieve its sustainability goals,” said Dave Hopping, president of Siemens’ North American-based building technologies division. “The upgrades we’re completing will help the organization address its evolving facility needs so it can continue to focus on patient care.”
Siemens has helped its customers realize more than $2 billion in savings over the past 10 years. The company has implemented more than 1,000 guaranteed performance contract projects for its customers, updating thousands of buildings with the latest energy savings technologies. Its energy services and solutions range from energy savings analysis, to implementation of facility improvement measures, to ongoing monitoring and verification.
