No where is reliable energy more critical than a healthcare facility. National Grid has been working with healthcare institutions statewide to support the most efficient ways to provide that care. In the past two years, National Grid has partnered with Albany Medical Center to identify five projects to help the health care provider reduce their energy use.

To pave the way to a more electric future, energy efficiency is one of National Grid’s key components of sustainability. These projects at Albany Medical Center created nearly $1 million in energy efficiency incentives saving nearly 7 million kilowatt hours of electricity and about 500,000 therms of natural gas.  

Chiller Plant

            Centrifugal chillers provide cooling for the medical center’s main hospital and are critically important for patient comfort, as well as controlling infection and air quality in care spaces and operating rooms.

After the installation of new, energy efficient, variable-speed chillers, the hospital upsized the piping to match the new capacity of the chiller plant. In the first year Albany Medical Center saw a two percent reduction in energy usage—approximately 1.2 million kWh per year and about $100,000 in savings. In the second year, the hospital reduced its energy usage by another 1.2 million kWh, saving another $100,000 annually in addition to the more than $400,000 in National Grid incentives they received.

Operating Room Humidity Controllers

            Operating rooms are set at specific temperatures within a humidity range to control infection, maintain comfort and manage air flow. By operating the chiller plant at 38 to 40 degrees when optimum chiller performance is 45-degree chilled water, more energy was being used. Once cooled, the 55 degree water can be used in the operating room.

National Grid estimated that installing three new units would save the hospital one million kilowatt hours of electricity per year. With the largest unit specifically designed to serve 20 operating rooms, National Grid incentives helped to offset the cost of the project and reduced the hospital’s operating expenses with gas savings of more than 390,000 therms.

Variable-Speed Drives

            National Grid’s programs also allowed Albany Medical Center to convert constant-speed drives to variable-speed drives. This switch allowed Albany Medical Center’s maintenance team to remotely control equipment across two million square feet by speeding up or slowing down units as needed based on each building’s energy load.

The installation of 73 variable-speed drives saved about 1.7 million kilowatt hours of electricity and 93,000 therms of natural gas per year.

LED Lighting

            Lighting is critically important to healthcare providers by striking the right balance to examine patients, but in a way that does not adversely affect patient recovery.

“National Grid set up space for hospital leadership and physicians to experience the new lighting and ultimately feel comfortable that the lights met patient and health care provider needs.

Lighting upgrades were made at some of the hospital’s offsite locations, which reduced their electricity usage by approximately 50 percent. The switch to LED lighting in the parking garages as well as installing sensors helped reduce electricity usage by 40 percent. Albany Medical Center is saving three million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, or about $240,000 per year.

Steam Traps

            Non-leaking steam traps control waste when working properly. National Grid provided incentives for steam trap surveys at the hospital’s South Clinical Campus. The survey determined the effectiveness of traps by using both ultrasound and thermal imaging technology. As a result of the surveys the hospital is saving 3,000 therms of natural gas per year and approximately $1,500 a year.

            “These energy saving projects not only enable Albany Medical Center to have a positive impact on environmental sustainability, the financial savings and incentives earned help us continue to fulfill our mission of providing the high level of care our patients expect,” said Karen Seward, Director of Energy Management at Albany Medical Center. “We are grateful to National Grid for its ongoing support and guidance in these efforts.”

Across the more than 25,000 square miles National Grid provides either electric, gas, or both to about 1.6 million customers, serving more than 450 health care facilities including hospitals, nursing homes and outpatient facilities. For more information about National Grid energy efficiency incentives, visit nationalgrid.com and search for “energy saving programs.”

About National Grid

National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York and Massachusetts. National Grid is focused on building a smarter, stronger, cleaner energy future — transforming our networks with more reliable and resilient energy solutions to meet state climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.