The new hospital makes use of numerous earth conscious materials, such as water-based paints and cabinetry made of renewable resources such as bamboo.

But the truly green aspects of the project are energy saving efficiencies and smart building management systems.

“Our goal in building the new hospital was to be environmentally friendly while making good choices for patient safety and cost-effectiveness,” says Larry Kollerer, senior project manager for the new Mills-Peninsula Medical Center.

“Energy bills in a hospital are huge. So anything we could do to reduce our energy consumption is not only green, it’s good business.”

• Breathing easy
• Other green efficiencies

Breathing easy

To increase patient safety, the new hospital uses only outdoor air, not recycled air.

“From an energy standpoint, 100 percent fresh air is extremely expensive,” said Kollerer. “You’re bringing in air at say, 55 degrees, heating it to 70 degrees, and then blowing it back out the roof.”

The solution? A state-of-the-art ventilation system that uses wrap-around heat exchangers in the air stream. As air is exhausted, energy is recovered – either heat or cold – and used to preheat or pre-cool the new incoming air as it is brought back through the air handlers.

On a warm day, to keep patient rooms comfortable, air in each room must be exchanged with fresh air 10 times per hour. But in mid-winter in the middle of the night, only three changes per hour are required.

By installing “smart” variable volume systems, the amount of air going in and out of a room remains balanced on an as-needed basis.

“This is an example of technology that’s both very green and very good management,” Kollerer said. “This system was more expensive up front. But it’s an investment that, as energy costs continue to rise, will pay for itself over time.”

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Other green efficiencies

• The hospital’s architectural design takes advantage of natural light in all patient care and public spaces; energy efficient high performance
  glazing on windows; computerized lighting systems turn lights on and off based on demand


• A non-chemical “dolphin” system controls bacteria in the water of the condenser loops of the heating and cooling system, thus keeping harmful substances from flowing to the bay


• Low flow plumbing fixtures, low-VOC (chemical compound) materials for less toxic emissions


• All construction debris was sorted into bins for wood, steel, copper, etc. for effective recycling


• After demolition of the existing hospital, the old concrete will be used as landscaping material at the site


• Some 600 feet of abandoned concrete water lines have been reused to create an onsite cistern for rainwater storage

For new hospital updates, visit millspeninsulanews.org.
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