By Healthcare Facilities Today

Four years after Elgin's Advocate Sherman Hospital opened, with a geothermal system to heat and cool the facility, officials say the cost savings have mirrored estimates, according to an article on The Daily Herald's website.

The hospital is heated and cooled by a 15-acre, 18-foot-deep lake through a system of 185 miles of pipes that pull heat from the lake in winter, and discharge it into the lake in summer. It's the only geothermal hospital system in Illinois, and the largest in the country, Sherman's director of engineering Ray Diehl said in the article.

Before the hospital opened in 2009, officials estimated it would save $1 million a year in energy costs. In the first year, the hospital saved $1.29 million compared to energy bills at the old Sherman Hospital, according to the article.

The system requires a rigorous inspection schedule and there have been leaks in some of the system's plastic pipes, according to Diehl, who supervises a staff of 21 people. The most serious leak occurred in February 2012, when a plastic pipe fitting split and dumped antifreeze methanol, causing $1 million in damage to the medical records department.

Read the article.