Bloomington, IL,
14
November
2017
|
14:35 PM
America/Chicago

EPA Energy Hunt Results in Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Savings

OSF HealthCare St. Joseph Medical Center is saving energy – and money – after a unique treasure hunt at the facility.

OSF Saint Joseph became the first hospital in the country to participate in an “Energy Treasure Hunt,” the voluntary program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-EPA. The end goal of the Energy Treasure Hunt is to shave energy costs, which in turn will make the facility “greener.”

For two days, OSF St. Joseph Medical Center hosted a national group of energy consultants to perform the onsite audit that engages employees in identifying low-cost energy savings opportunities from behavioral, operational, and maintenance actions.

In total, the group found 9 major opportunities for energy savings. The discoveries ranged from replacing all existing lighting with LED bulbs and running air handlers less frequently in unoccupied spaces, to installing an ultra-high efficiency boiler. In total, OSF St. Joseph could save up to $206,872 dollars a year if the changes are all made.

The Energy Treasure Hunt teams included OSF St. Joseph Mission partners and members of the Central Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Healthcare Engineers.