Palo Alto, CA – Healthcare facilities are some of the most energy reliant structures in our society today. Many of these facilities have outdated electrical consumption and distribution systems which cost the healthcare systems billions of dollars in utility costs. While many political battles rage over the Affordable Care Act, a simple solution at reducing costs is staring us in the face every day… The Sun.
U.S. health care facilities spend $8.8 billion per year on energy.
-Greenbiz.com
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory released a unique report in September 2013 designed to address the cost of fossil-fuel programs and implement new ideas to offset these costs with renewables. This guide is a great playbook for your everyday facilities managers, giving helpful tips to improve energy consumption by addressing everything from window treatments to ceiling panels. This initiative is a small step in the right direction.
But a giant leap was just announced on April 30, 2015 that could mean a dramatic shift in the way that we think about energy consumption, both from a commercial and a consumer standpoint. The Tesla Powerwall is aimed to turned the traditional utilities market upside down.
In his presentation, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors introduced the battery pack dubbed the “Powerwall,” a device which stores and distributes captured solar energy so the ebbs and flows of the renewable power remain consistent throughout the day and even during the nighttime hours.
In a conference call, Musk said, “The total addressable market size for Tesla Energy products is enormous and much easier to scale globally than vehicle sales.” The utilities industry is bigger than the tech industry and the healthcare industry. Why is that? Because they both rely on energy consumption to produce their product.
We have this handy fusion reactor in the sky called The Sun. You don’t have to do anything, it just works… shows up every day… and produces ridiculous amounts of power.
– Elon Musk
Tesla’s battery has the ability to offset the utility market through scalability and cost. The battery is only $3000 US/$3500 US for the 7kWh/10kWh, respectively. This is a dramatic reduction in price for a solar product, which was a significant barrier to making the switch from fossil fuels. The scalable design provides a solution for mid-level energy needs, like small hospitals. The Tesla Powerpack, a separate solution that is an infinitely scalable, allows for commercial applications that have even bigger needs.
Because the healthcare industry is one of the greatest consumers of energy, it has the power to adopt renewable energies and have a significant impact on carbon emissions. With new battery and solar technologies, this change in mindset is quickly becoming more realistic.
