Children's Hospital of Alabama going LEED

BIRMINGHAM, AL — The Children's Hospital of Alabama is on its way to becoming the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified hospital in Alabama, thanks to an arrangement with Johnson Controls, according to Buildings.

Johnson Controls worked with the hospital to develop and maintain a central energy plant, the article noted.

The 740,000-square-foot expansion and energy plant should save the hospital 10 percent to 12 percent in projected life cycle cost, the article stated.

"We considered building the utility plant ourselves, but did not want to direct capital dollars towards an additional construction project on top of our ongoing expansion," says Mike McDevitt, executive vice president of the Children's Hospital.

"We realized that instead of becoming our own utility provider, we should look at heating and cooling service as a commodity, and purchase it from an efficient energy provider," McDevitt added.

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