Now reinvest savings in healthcare services

High maintenance costs, rising energy prices, and aging infrastructures can all have an impact on the quality of services delivered by hospitals and clinics. Regionservice, the organization that manages 31 healthcare facilities across approximately 16 million square feet across Region Skåne in Sweden, is no stranger to these challenges.

That’s why they turned to Schneider Electric™ to develop a strategy that:

• Tackled energy and maintenance costs
• Reversed negative cost trends for its aging property portfolio
• Reduced energy consumption through better meter structuring and energy monitoring

The promise of energy savings
Regionservice commissioned Schneider Electric in 2003 to uncover energy savings opportunities. The initial findings were promising. So they partnered with Schneider Electric to upgrade 11 buildings, including Lund University Hospital, a 1.5 million square foot facility and the largest property in the project. The next phase of the project covered an additional 20 buildings.

“By working with Schneider Electric, we have in a short time been able to carry out extensive improvements; improvements that the organization would never have been capable of on its own,” says Jonas Larsson, Energy Strategist at Regionservice.

Schneider Electric has guaranteed 85% of estimated heat savings for these EPC (Energy Performance Contracting) projects. Major updates in the first phase included:

• Installation of new heat recuperation unit in the ventilation systems
• Refurbishing of district heating sub-stations
• Replacement of valves and actuators and installation of new meters
• Installation of water saving nozzles at tap outlets
• Improvements to lighting efficiency using fluorescent lamps with voltage reduction systems
• Training of maintenance personnel

In the end, three buildings became GreenBuilding-certified. And the energy project helped to improve indoor climate, reduce maintenance costs, and deliver annual savings of approximately $2.8 million which is now reinvested in healthcare services.

Today, properties managed by Regionservice are visited by representatives of other regions seeking to learn more about energy savings.