Energy conservation: a powerful tool for hospital cost control.

As cost control becomes increasingly important, managers are looking for ways to save money. One often overlooked area is energy conservation. Energy costs can constitute 3 to 10 percent of a hospital's budget, but with energy conservation, that amount can be reduced 20 to 40 percent. Furthermore, with an energy conservation performance contract, both the technical and financial risks of energy efficiency improvements can be assumed by a third party. In return, the third party is paid only out of the resulting energy savings.