Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and automation, today announced its solution for delivering smart energy management for healthcare facilities with a smaller footprint. It helps healthcare organizations ensure positive patient experiences and enhances the quality of care while reducing operating expenses and environmental impact. As the healthcare industry grows and changes, a trending emphasis on making healthcare facilities more accessible and cost-effective is leading to use of off-campus patient care clinics. However, many of the buildings that house today’s off-site healthcare facilities were not purpose-built for healthcare or do not have an appropriate building management system (BMS) – if they are even equipped with one at all.

Specifically designed to meet the needs of outpatient facilities such as clinics, ambulatory care centers, diagnostics and medical retail sites, the solution utilizes Schneider Electric’s application-specific room controllers and integrated BMS to address the unique needs of these smaller healthcare facilities. It provides smaller-footprint facilities with a state-of-the-art solution that is right-sized for outpatient facilities and assists facility managers with meeting healthcare regulations. Furthermore, it removes the complexity from building management technology that has typically been too robust and expensive for smaller-footprint facilities while enhancing patient comfort and lowering energy costs.

This industry-leading solution for smaller healthcare buildings leverages open standards to integrate new and existing building infrastructure such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting, energy and more into a single, easy-to-manage interface. The solution offers programmable control and intelligent management using StruxureWare™ Building Expert software, a web interface available without a license fee, for outpatient facilities. Outpatient facilities that have multiple locations can connect facilities together for central visibility to holistically manage energy costs and ensure comfortable settings for optimal healthcare delivery. The solution is also fully scalable for seamless networking into a larger BMS, such as Schneider Electric’s SmartStruxure™ solution, or for an enterprise view which enables control and monitoring across an entire healthcare system with multiple facilities.

“Smart energy management for smaller healthcare facilities enables these organizations to focus on what’s most important – their patients,” said James Winstead, Director of Healthcare and Life Sciences, Schneider Electric. “By optimizing building management in smaller facilities, organizations can quickly reduce their operating expenses. Savings can in turn be reinvested into optimizing patient care. In fact, a non-profit healthcare facility that is utilizing the Schneider Electric solution has realized more than 35 percent in energy savings in just three months.”

Additional benefits of the solution include:

· Connection to a larger BMS, such as SmartStruxure, for the healthcare system

· Management of multiple off-site facilities from anywhere, anytime

· Tools that track energy spending, savings opportunities and trends

· Alerts about equipment health and performance that can prevent expensive maintenance emergencies

·  Rapid and measurable return on investment (ROI)

By leveraging wireless technology, the award-winning solution is easy to install and reduces upfront costs to help ensure a rapid and measurable ROI. In addition, the solution can be installed during normal business hours without disrupting patients or staff. It is designed to grow with organizations over time and can seamlessly scale to integrate larger BMS.

Schneider Electric is delivering smart energy management for small- and medium-sized healthcare facilities worldwide. To learn more, please visit www.schneider-electric.com/smartstruxurelitesolution or contact your local Schneider Electric representative.