Energy Star

St. Anthony's Hospital earned the ENERGY STAR, which is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy that is designed to minimize energy consumption, cut costs and reduce impact on the environment through voluntary energy-efficient products and practices. ENERGY STAR’s ability to help businesses, organizations and consumers across the country reduce energy consumption and costs in 2010 was estimated at $18 billion. 

St. Anthony’s was the first hospital in Florida, and one of only 86 throughout the U.S., to qualify for an ENERGY STAR designation in 2009. Since then, this leading health care provider has continued to incorporate energy efficiencies throughout its operations to better manage costs and improve its conservation efforts.

Commercial buildings that earn the ENERGY STAR use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. St. Anthony’s improved its energy performance by managing energy strategically across the entire organization and by making cost-effective improvements to its buildings.  

To earn the ENERGY STAR, St. Anthony’s took the following actions:

• Educating the team on the energy management devices that control the  hospital’s cooling systems
• Retrofitting lighting controls
• Using more energy efficient light bulbs
• Shutting off computers, printers and other non-essential equipment when not in use
• Utilization  of  perimeter  natural lighting in the parking garage with the use of light-sensing switches and timers
• Use of lighting timers and motion sensors in public restrooms and environmental services utility closets
• The study and recording of building utility loads to learn the cost energy-efficient set point of the mechanical equipment and how it relates to the utility's cost schedule
• The  resetting of temperature settings in unoccupied areas of the building without  compromising the air flow /air pressure relationships and humidity control
• Being cautious of peak demand times initiated  by  Progress Energy and making sure not to  start  heavy-loaded equipment during these times
• Prioritization of the capital replacements of older, less utility-efficient mechanical equipment

Learn more about ENERGY STAR.