ENERGY STAR Labeled Building Profile

Rockdale Medical Center
1412 Milstead Ave.
Conyers, GA 30012
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Rockdale Medical Center is owned by LifePoint Hospitals, headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee. Our 560,000-square-foot, acute-care hospital has 138 beds and is located in Conyers, Georgia, approximately 23 miles from Atlanta. The original hospital was built in 1953 but has since been torn down. The existing hospital was built in 1977 with several renovations since then. The most recent addition was the construction of a 290,464-square-foot East Tower expansion, which houses our Birth Center, ICU, Women's Diagnostic Center and more. Our campus includes acute care space, a cafeteria and deli, gift shop, classrooms, and office space.

Our ENERGY STAR score increased considerably without any capital investments or lighting retrofits from the T12 bulbs. We improved energy efficiency by changing the 68 percent of our HVAC system that was automated to a manual system. We adjusted the air handling equipment with the facilities needs and the weather outside. Here are some conditions that allowed us to significantly increase our score and save our facility an average of $1,000 a day on utility costs:

• The air handling equipment for the operating room suites has an additional cooling system that is fed from a glycol air cooled chiller system.
• Because of the way the facility was constructed, there are four heat exchangers that serve the hot water reheats for different parts of the facility.
• The chiller and boiler systems were already automated to the same system that communicated with 68 percent of the rest of the HVAC system.

In addition to adjusting the building automation controls, we made other changes to the mechanical side of the air handling units. All coils are thoroughly and routinely cleaned to keep the air flowing through them properly, which helps maintain the temperature. We also changed the type of filters to a higher MERV rating with a lower static pressure drop across the filter.

 

Through many hours of working with the facilities equipment, facilities personnel, and building automation systems, we have been able to conserve energy, save thousands of dollars in utility bills, lower the amount of heating and cooling issues throughout the facility, and allow more time for maintenance personnel to work on other projects.

Communications:

We presented about achieving the ENERGY STAR to senior management and discussed the major energy and cost savings that have occurred. We are planning to educate other hospitals and promote our efforts through various communications vehicles. We had an ENERGY STAR Celebration on November 11, 2009 to share this award with our community and the rest of the facility.

Testimonial:

"When I arrived at Rockdale Medical Center in April of 2007, I performed a complete evaluation of the entire facility, and it became obvious there was potential for greater energy efficiency. I am proud to have reached my goal of becoming an energy-efficient facility and becoming the only hospital in Georgia to earn the ENERGY STAR for superior energy performance."

-- Will Roddy, Director of Facilities Management, Sodexo

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Please note: Narrative information in this profile has been provided by Rockdale Medical Center or a representative of this facility. Other building information was verified and submitted to EPA at the time of application. Building energy performance, operating characteristics, and ownership/management may be subject to change over time.

Service Provider:
Life Point/Rockdale Medical Center

Building Owner:*
Rockdale Medical Center

Property Manager:*
Sodexo

Year(s) Labeled (Rating):
2009 (88)

Facility Type: Hospital (General Medical & Surgical)

Total Floorspace: 575000 sf

Year Constructed: 1977

Contract Type: None

Technologies Used:

Stage 1-Recommissioning

Stage 2-Lighting

Stage 5-Heating and Cooling Plant