University Health System in San Antonio, Texas, recently received a check for half a million dollars in rebates for energy savings, according to an article on the TPR website.
The new University Hospital Sky Tower is designed to use 20 percent less energy than a similar structure built to “normal” building codes, the article said.
"It started off with building orientation because if you orient the building incorrectly, you use a lot more energy to cool it in a hot climate," George Hernandez, president and CEO of University Health System said in the article.
"So the building is properly oriented to the sun; it has an elongated east-west axis. It has energy-efficient windows, energy-efficient lighting, energy-efficient heating and cooling."
Hernandez said the hospital is so energy efficient that it could have earned more than the $500,000 rebate, but that’s the maximum a company can earn under the plan.