December 27, 2016
John T. Mather Memorial Hospital will become the first Long Island hospital to install a thermal (ice) storage system to help with cooling the hospital during warmer months. The new system, which is expected to be operational this summer, will shift a portion of the hospital’s peak electrical load from daytime to nighttime when electricity is more plentiful, less expensive and generated more efficiently, and will reduce consumption and peak demand.
“By incorporating an ice thermal storage system into Mather Hospital’s chiller plant operations, we are expected to reduce our peak energy demand usage by 20 percent,” said Kevin Koubek, Mather’s Director of Engineering, Design and Construction. “By shifting our higher electrical demand to the overnight hours (when we would be generating ice), we are able to take advantage of the lower off-peak electric rates.”
Ice storage technology, similar to the system being installed at Mather, is a form of energy storage where the consumption of a customer’s electricity is shifted into the nighttime hours where energy is stored each night by using specialized air conditioning units to freeze large tanks of water into ice. During the day, the stored energy (in the form of ice) is then discharged (melted) in coordination with the traditional air conditioning systems to provide cooling without having to use large amounts of power when the grid is the most stressed. As a result, air conditioning is provided during the day to a building’s occupants with energy that was consumed the night before.
In addition to enabling the hospital to take advantage of lower nighttime rates, the system qualifies for new thermal storage rebates offered by PSEG Long Island under the Commercial Efficiency Program. The rebate is based on an estimated number of tons (or amount of) of cooling being offset by the system during high demand peak periods. PSEG Long Island preapproved a rebate of approximately $1 million to Mather to help fund the system’s installation.
“PSEG Long Island commends Mather Hospital for their forward thinking and investment in this innovative technology,” said Michael Voltz, director of energy efficiency and renewables, PSEG Long Island. “Utilizing thermal storage systems is an efficient way to shift power usage from peak to off peak periods, which not only helps customers reduce operating costs and free up capital that can be directed toward other hospital investments benefitting patients, it helps reduce the demand on the electric system. It is a win-win for everyone.”
In recent years, Mather Hospital has implemented several energy efficiency and cost-saving projects including installing solar panels, implementing high efficiency lighting systems, installing variable frequency drives on many pumps, air conditioning chillers and cooling towers to reduce energy consumption, installing cool roofs that reflect sunlight and reduce summer heat gain, and Building Management System control of facility lighting, which turns off 30-40% of the non-critical space lighting during evening hours to reduce consumption A recent energy audit revealed that Mather operates at 97% efficiency as compared to other similar facilities.
For further information about Mather Hospital, visit www.matherhospital.org or “Like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/matherhospital.
About Mather Hospital
John T. Mather Memorial Hospital is an accredited 248-bed, non-profit community teaching hospital dedicated to providing a wide spectrum of high quality healthcare services to Suffolk County residents, showing compassion and respect and treating each patient in the manner we would wish for our loved ones. Mather has earned the prestigious Magnet® recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), which recognizes healthcare organizations for quality patient care, nursing excellence and innovations in professional nursing practice. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services awarded Mather four stars – the highest of any Long Island hospital – for patient experience, safety, and timely and effective care measures. Mather was ranked 19th out of almost 250 hospitals in New York State in U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Hospitals rankings.
About PSEG Long Island
PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system under a 12-year contract. PSEG Long Island is an industry leading electric company dedicated to providing the people of Long Island and the Rockaways with exceptional customer service, best-in-class reliability and storm response, and a strong level of involvement in the communities in which its employees live and work. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of approximately $10.4 billion.