11/12/2010 // Riverdale, NJ, USA // Camfil USA // Lynne Laake // (press release)
U.S. – Two of the main goals of any hospital sustainability initiative are to reduce energy use and decrease waste. Those are worthy objectives for any enterprise, but especially so for hospitals and other healthcare facilities, which have traditionally used more energy and created more waste than non-medical buildings. Indeed, on a per-square-foot basis, hospitals use three to four times as much energy as the average office building. But perhaps that’s not surprising: Hospitals, after all, are operated 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and operate a vast array of sophisticated equipment that require a lot of electrical juice.
Then there is the air. Healthcare facilities put a premium on clean air, and rightly so — it not only creates a comfortable environment for patients and staff, but is necessary to keep infections at bay. The better a hospital air filter is at removing dangerous particles, the less chance there is that infection spreads. But traditional air filters can require an enormous amount of energy to do their job, especially as they age and become less efficient. In fact, about one fifth of all energy used by the average hospital is for ventilation, second only to lighting.
The good news is that this energy use can be cut without sacrificing patient comfort or health. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that hospitals can cut their energy use — and bills — by up to 30 percent just with improved maintenance and the installation of more efficient equipment.
For example, just by using more efficient air filters, hospitals can change their energy equation significantly. Healthcare facilities using Camfil USA clean air solutions, for example, have been able to reduce their HVAC energy use by 15 to 30 percent. That’s because Camfil USA air filters have been designed from the ground up for sustainability, using an innovative fine-fiber media that enables the filters to operate at peak efficiency throughout their service life — in sharp contrast to more traditional filters, which degrade, and require more and more energy, as time goes on.
The Camfil USA air filters show, too, that efficiency can pay off in a multitude of ways. Because the filters last longer, they need to be replaced less often, which means less waste (and lower disposal costs). That’s no small thing in a hospital or other healthcare facility, which not only uses more energy than the typical building, but generates more waste. Indeed, by one recent estimate, hospitals create some 6 million tons of garbage each year — a significant fraction of the 250 million tons of solid waste created annually in all of the nation. Reducing waste in hospitals goes a long way towards creating a more sustainable, healthy environment for all. The efficiency of sustainability-focused products like Camfil USA air filters reduces costs along with energy use and waste. That is deemed a triple play for hospitals — and a home run for the planet.
The world leader in air filtration systems and clean air solutions — for health care and other industries — Camfil USA provides the tools to achieve sustainability, maintain high air quality, and reduce airborne infections; all while lowering total cost of ownership. We’ve helped hospitals, office buildings, hotels, and other facilities go green without ever sacrificing performance. For more information on hospital sustainability, visit our newsroom at https://hvacairfiilters.submitmypressrelease.com, read about the Clean Air Solutions Company at https://cleanair.camfil.us, or call us at (toll free) 888.599.6620.
Media Information:
Address: 1 North Corporate Dr., Riverdale, NJ
Phone: 888.599.6620
Url: HVAC Air Filters
