Hospital for the University of Pennsylvania Chiller Plant Optimization
Optimization unearths savings in a state-of-the-art chiller plant
Extreme Efficiency in a State-of-the-Art Plant
Kathleen Morlang, Energy Manager of the Hospital for the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, has one goal: reduce the energy used by Penn Medicine’s research hospital while ensuring a stable, comfortable environment for patients. To that end, she worked with Johnson Controls and Optimum Energy to turn Penn Medicine’s modern chiller systems into an ultra-efficient, ultra-reliable cooling plant.
The solution—Optimum Energy’s OptimumLOOP® for central plant optimization and OptiCx® platform for operational reliability—led to a rarely seen level of efficiency that’s saving Penn Medicine more energy and lowering operational costs more than anticipated. “We’re exceeding our predicted savings, and I expect that to continue year after year,” says Morlang.
Prior to optimization, the lead chiller plant was already operating at peak efficiency. After Johnson Controls and Optimum Energy completed commissioning, the plant was running at 0.511 kW/ton—an improvement of about 27%, and an unheard-of level for systems without the use of water-side free cooling. The plant has seen annual energy savings of 4.4 GWh/year and carbon emission cuts of 7.8 million pounds.
Two Plants. One Optimized System.
Lead Chiller Plant
Lag Chiller Plant
Optimizing an Already Efficient Plant
On paper, Penn Medicine’s state-of-the-art central facility appeared to be operating at peak efficiency prior to the project. Morlang suspected she could wring more savings from the cooling system—but because her department competes for funding with lifesaving medical equipment, she needed quantifiable savings and a quick payback.
Already High Baseline Efficiency
The lead chiller plant was running at 0.699 kW/ton before optimization—already meeting modern standards of high efficiency. Finding meaningful additional savings required a holistic, system-wide approach rather than isolated equipment upgrades.
24/7 Patient Care Requirements
Penn Medicine must maintain specific temperatures around the clock for patient comfort and safety, putting an immense year-round load on the chiller plant. Even in the middle of a Northeastern winter, the base load exceeds 2,000 tons.
Mixed Plant Equipment
Two very different cooling plants serve the hospital: the lead plant is all-variable-speed at 4,500 tons; the lag plant is an older 6,000-ton constant-speed auxiliary plant. Coordinating both required sophisticated real-time control logic.
Funding Competition
Energy projects compete directly with lifesaving medical equipment for capital. Morlang needed a solution with verifiable, quantifiable savings and fast payback—making ROI certainty as important as efficiency gains.
OptimumLOOP® Plus OptiCx®
Morlang chose to increase energy savings through optimization, deploying the solution in partnership with Johnson Controls, which integrates with the facility’s existing JCI Metasys building automation system to monitor plant conditions continuously and automatically calculate the most efficient operations in real time.
She also leverages Optimum Energy’s OptiCx® platform, which includes engineering support as well as cloud-based analytics, to monitor operations and collect and analyze data, ensuring that the plant is running at maximum efficiency and reliability.
The solution is also more reliable than ever before: it monitors the chillers for conditions that could indicate system failure, alerting Morlang’s team to deficiencies before they become real problems. Because the lead plant required no mechanical changes prior to deploying OptimumLOOP®, the entire savings result from applying optimization software to existing equipment.
Extreme Efficiency. Operational Reliability.
Annual Operations Cost Savings
Exceeding predicted savings — and Morlang expects continued improvement year after year
Annual Energy Savings
4,434,618 kWh saved annually — all from software applied to existing equipment
Annual CO₂ Reduction
Carbon emission cuts per year at the chiller plants
Post-Optimization Efficiency
Down from 0.699 kW/ton — an unheard-of level without water-side free cooling
Annual Water Savings
Over 1.8 million gallons of water saved per year
ROI
Plus a one-time $221,731 utility rebate earned at project completion
Beyond Energy: Operational Gains
We can see the immediate, quantifiable impact. The savings are verifiable — we know that our money is being quickly recovered and that the investment is helping patients.
Savings That Help Patients.
“In 20 years of experience, I’ve never seen chiller optimization like this,” said Morlang. “It has more depth, it analyzes the system as a whole, and it uses advanced algorithms to adjust for the system you have in a holistic way. We’re exceeding our predicted savings, and I expect that to continue year after year.”
The Penn Medicine project proves that even a modern, already-efficient hospital chiller plant holds significant untapped savings. With no mechanical changes required and ROI in just 1.6 years, OptimumLOOP® and OptiCx® delivered verifiable, quantifiable results — freeing up capital that goes directly back to supporting patient care.
