Hershey Medical Center receives funds for energy efficiency project

Campus Energy Engineer Kevin Kanoff, left, and Assistant Vice President of Facilities Marvin Smith, right, accept an incentive check for a recently completed phase of the Campus Chilled Water Optimization project from PPL Key Account Manager Jodi Hoffman.

PPL Electric Utilities presented Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center with a check for nearly $350,000 on Dec.13 for reducing energy usage. The Campus Chilled Water Optimization project phase 2 saves enough electricity to power 691 homes per year.

The project uses analytics and a software package to control equipment that produces chilled water to cool the interior spaces at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and saves about 5.6 million kilowatt hours per year. That’s enough to charge nearly 505 million smartphones.

“The multi-phased project has far exceeded our expectations,” said Kevin Kanoff, campus energy engineer. “By reducing operating costs, Hershey Medical Center can more cost effectively fulfill the core missions of the institution.”

Electric companies, which pay consumers like hospitals for finding ways to cut back on usage, have contributed more than $1.9 million to Hershey Medical Center during the past nine years. The annual energy savings from the efficiencies the projects have created amount to about $3 million.

The check for $335,375 was the second generated by the Campus Chilled Water Optimization project. An earlier phase of the project garnered a $416,000 incentive payment.

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