DENVER—An Indiana DaVita dialysis clinic using solar thermal technology has shown a 75 percent reduction in natural gas consumption versus comparable DaVita facilities in the region, according to a Sept. 29 news release.
The solar thermal technology was installed as a trial at DaVita's Scottsburg, Ind., facility in 2010 and initial data has been analyzed in 2011. In the dialysis process water must be heated to a temperature equivalent to the human body before it is filtered in the blood cleaning process.
To lessen the amount of fossil fuels consumed in the water heating process solar thermal panels were installed on the roof of the facility, using the sun to naturally increase the average temperature of water used for treatment.
"DaVita strives to identify innovative ways to reduce our energy consumption," said Kent Thiry, chairman and CEO of DaVita. "We're very encouraged by the initial results from this trial."
DaVita said will continue to analyze and evaluate the data for the remainder of the year. If the pilot remains successful after this time, DaVita hopes to expand the use of solar thermal technology at more facilities across the country. In the meantime DaVita is testing other energy reduction technologies, including a water turbine in San Francisco, in an effort to continuously improve and learn.
