CUB, hospital team up for energy-saving contest, Evanston family could win $900 in free power

Up to $900 of free electricity is top prize as Evanston’s Presence Saint Francis Hospital participates in a competition with 9 other hospitals to help homes go green and relieve the pain of high air-conditioning bills, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) announced Monday.

The Presence Health Energy Saver Competition is one step in a larger green campaign that last year saved more than $8 million for the Presence Health system. The competition—a collaboration of Presence Health, its “Inspirement Program,” and CUB—aims to help hospital employees and the larger community take green habits home by using CUBenergysaver.com.

CUB’s free, online energy-efficiency service has been showing people how to cut their home utility bills by more than $100 a year.

The contest is a good fit for Presence Health’s goal of reducing its carbon footprint while maintaining the highest quality of medical care, organizers say. They hope energy-saving actions employees take at home will spark the same types of actions at the hospitals.

“Going green is contagious,” said Stuart Hampson, director of facilities management at Presence Saint Joseph Hospital in Chicago and co-chair of the system’s green and sustainability council. “What we learn at home we can implement at work and vise versa. To be able to monitor your energy consumption routinely and research ways to reduce your energy bill is very important to us.”

The Energy Saver contest pits Presence Saint Francis and 9 other Presence Health hospitals in a friendly competition to see which hospital can recruit the biggest CUB Energy Saver team. Hospital staff and community members who are Commonwealth Edison customers can join a hospital team of their choice here: www.CUBenergysaver.com/teams/presencehealth.

This summer, the hospitals would like to increase the involvement of their surrounding communities. Residents in the area of any of the participating hospitals are invited to join the competition before the Aug. 31 deadline for signing up. At summer’s end, one member of the winning team will be randomly selected to win six months of free electricity, up to $900.

Managed by CUB and the software firm C3, based in Redwood City, Calif., CUBenergysaver.com allows ComEd customers to sign up and choose from hundreds of actions to build a customized plan to cut their home’s utility bills. Since 2010, the tool has shown people how to save $2.3 million on natural gas and electric bills, for an average of about $108 a year.

In 2011 and 2012, Presence St. Francis took part in a CUB Energy Saver competition involving Evanston’s top employers. That contest helped families cut energy usage by a total of $39,486.92 and 292,495 kWh—enough to power about 740 refrigerators for a year, according to federal statistics. 

“Presence Health knows that green actions are good for our planet, and great for our pocketbooks,” CUB Executive Director David Kolata said. “In its Energy Saver Competition, Presence Health has found a fun way to help homes across northern Illinois cut costs and go green—and one lucky family will win a big break on their power bills.”

In addition to Presence Saint Francis, the additional Presence Health hospitals involved in the competition are: Presence Mercy Medical Center, Aurora; Presence Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center, Chicago; Presence Resurrection Medical Center, Chicago; Presence Saint Joseph Hospital, Chicago; Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, Chicago; Presence Holy Family Medical Center, Des Plaines; Presence Saint Joseph Hospital, Elgin; Presence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Joliet; and Presence St. Mary's Hospital, Kankakee.

To join one of these teams, visit: www.CUBenergysaver.com/teams/presencehealth.