Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital is environmentally friendly
|
|
The WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital on the Apple Hill Health Campus boasts a number of green features, including occupancy sensors, a heat recovery wheel, an irrigation system to water the landscaping and more. The 73-bed hospital is scheduled to open in the spring of 2012.
|
Designing an environmentally friendly hospital was on Bill DeFelice’s mind when he started working with an engineering firm on the WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital on the Apple Hill Health Campus.
DeFelice, director of facilities management, said, “I didn’t want to do green things just for the sake of being green. I wanted to include green elements responsibly.
“When evaluating green features, I was looking for a five-to-seven year return on investment to be fiscally responsible.”
Some of the green features of the WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital, which is expected to open in the spring of 2012, are:
- A white roof directly on top of the building. It is unable to be seen from ground level. Typically, buildings such as the new hospital have a black rubber roof. Studies show that you can save 30 percent on cooling expenses with a white roof, as it reflects the sun’s rays instead of absorbing them.
- A flat-plate heat exchanger to take advantage of free cooling in the spring and fall. This mitigates the need to run expensive chillers for a minimal amount of cooling.
- Occupancy sensors will be located in all of the offices. They will automatically turn off the lights when a room is empty for a period of time. These sensors typically save about 50 percent on electricity costs for the
rooms in which they are installed. - A heat recovery wheel will help to heat up or cool down the air that goes into the operating rooms. ORs are required to use 100 percent outside air and have at least 15 air changes per hour. The new hospital will have 25 changes per hour. To help achieve these air changes cost effectively, the recovery wheel is an air-to-air exchange that will use the air leaving the OR to help heat up or cool down the outside air, without ever mixing the air streams.
- A fly wheel uninterruptable power source (UPS) will provide interim electricity until the emergency generator kicks in if the power goes out. A fly wheel UPS stores energy mechanically rather than chemically, as in typical battery fueled UPS devices. This is a much cleaner source of energy. With a traditional UPS device, the batteries which are very costly will need to be replaced every 10 years.
- An irrigation system will be installed to water the landscaping surrounding the new hospital. Drip irrigation ensures the water gets where it is needed when it is needed. It is much more efficient than watering with a hose. The irrigation system will save money on water and labor costs.