Memorial Hermann Sugar Land One Of Three In Texas To Be Recognized By EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy have recognized Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital as an ENERGY STAR facility for its leadership in energy efficiency. The hospital joins three in Texas and 11 nationwide to hold the distinction in 2009.

Todd Harvey, facilities engineering manager for Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital, displays the Energy Star designation awarded to the hospital by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy. He is joined by team members Bill Hull and Uli Kallenbach, maintenance mechanics. Not shown is John Kocich, maintenance mechanic.

The ENERGY STAR certification comes after eight months of testing and fine-tuning the central plant and HVAC systems, including the installation of variable speed drives to control temperature settings. Staff education also resulted in drops in energy consumption as employees developed the habit of turning off lights and computers, said hospital representatives.

“We went through the whole energy management system and recalibrated every single temperature control without negatively impacting patient care or patient and staff satisfaction,” said Todd Harvey, facilities engineering manager of the Sugar Land hospital.

To qualify for the ENERGY STAR designation, a building must score in the top 25 percent on EPA’s National Energy Performance Rating System. EPA compares energy use among similar types of facilities across the country. Memorial Hermann Sugar Land earned a rating of 77, landing it in the top 23 percent of hospitals nationwide.

When completed in December 2006, the 228,700-square-foot, six-story Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital included high-efficiency HVAC systems and state-of-the-art lighting control systems. However, it ranked below the 50th percentile when EPA first reviewed its energy data. That’s when the engineering operations team set out its energy management goals, benchmarks and initiatives to meet the strict EPA standards.

Other Texas hospitals achieving the ENERGY STAR designation are Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital and Shriners Hospital for Children, Houston.