University Health System Thursday accepted a check for half a million dollars in rebates for energy savings. It was the second large, commercial rebate announced this week.
George Hernandez, president and CEO of University Health System, said the new University Hospital Sky Tower is designed to use 20% less energy than a similar structure built to “normal” building codes.
"It started off with building orientation because if you orient the building incorrectly, you use a lot more energy to cool it in a hot climate," Hernandez said. "So the building is properly oriented to the sun; it has an elongated east-west axis. It has energy-efficient windows, energy-efficient lighting, energy-efficient heating and cooling."
Hernandez saidthe hospital is so energy efficient that it could have earned more than the $500,000 rebate, but that’s the maximum a company can earn under the plan.
Scott Wudel with CPS Energy said the health district and other commercial users can qualify for rebates in a variety of categories.
"Those might be H-VAC systems, air-conditioning systems. There's lighting rebates. There's custom rebates which might be building materials, things like that," Wudel said. "So all of those things are available on our commercial websitefor any business interested in facilitating those."
CPS Energy earlier this week announced a $100,000 rebate for the Judson Independent School District, which uses the Demand Response System to lower its energy use. The school district plans to use some of the rebate it received to re-invest in other energy-efficient equipment for its schools.
