Mercy Medical Earns Energy Star Designation
by January 25, 2010 12:00 am 65 views
Mercy Health System of Northwest Arkansas recently received recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an Energy Star-labeled building.
The designation puts Mercy in a category with only 21 hospitals in the country and two in the state.
To qualify for the Energy Star, a building must score in the top 25 percent based on the EPA’s performance rating system.
An Energy Star-labeled facility uses less energy, is less expensive to operate and releases fewer greenhouse gas emissions than other commercial buildings and manufacturing plants.
According to the EPA, commercial buildings and manufacturing plants account for nearly half of all energy consumption in the U.S. at a cost of over $200 billion per year.
Mercy partnered with TME Inc. of Little Rock to improve its energy efficiency. TME designed the mechanical and electrical features of the hospital, which include hydronic boilers, which have higher operating efficiencies than steam boilers.
Other features include hydronic-free cooling systems, demand controlled ventilation and discharge air temperature sensors.
Rick Barclay, vice president of human resources for Mercy and chairman of the Mercy Green Team, said utility rates are down over $100,000 during the first four months of the fiscal year compared to the previous fiscal year.
Barclay said the hospital has also reduced its use of water bottles from 98 cases in October 2008 to zero in December 2009.
“We’re not perfect, we still see some progress that needs to be made, particularly in recycling,” he said. “That’s our next area of focus.”