E-CO articles

The rapidly rising cost of air conditioning energy is a problem for hospitals everywhere, and McAllen, Texas, is no exception.

In a town where over 90˚F days are common yearround, and the mercury can top the 100˚ mark even in winter, the seasons might be described as “hot and hotter.” But at McAllen’s Rio Grande Regional Hospital, administrators are staying cool with the knowledge that — even in the face of a 33 percent utility rate hike — their

If you think it’s hard to get HVAC money for schools and similar public buildings, there is a harder nut to crack: correctional facilities. It can be even more difficult to get additional funds appropriated to improve conditions in buildings where people are incarcerated.

Compounding the problem, many correctional facility employees are in close proximity with the inmate community daily. Moreover, the dense inmate population raises the risks of disease outbreaks, including TB, H

HVAC system downtime during coil cleaning can compromise humidity and temperature control, potentially leading to air quality or comfort problems. Florida Hospital has found that high-output ultraviolet-C lights installed in the AHUs reduce or eliminate coil- cleaning programs — yielding ongoing energy savings, a reduction in HVAC system maintenance, and the elimination of cleaning chemicals. The facility also reports IAQ and infection control benefits as the regimen continues.

Muskogee Community Hospital (Muskogee, OK) is using germicidal UVC (ultraviolet C) Emitters™ from Steril-Aire as part of an innovative infection control measure. The devices were installed in the air handling units and in custom-designed, ceilingmounted units in the surgical and procedural suites, marking the first time a hospital has used UVC technology in this way.

Steril-Aire devices use high output UVC energy to eradicate airborne viruses and bacteria as well as surface b