Intermountain Health has a new Remote Operations Center that tracks and monitors energy use at 18 of its facilities in Utah and Idaho.

The system uses billions of data points that keep track of energy use and spots inefficiencies in systems that work poorly. One example provided by the company involved a glitch discovered in a boiler that was rapidly turning on and off to maintain the right temperature at a medical clinic, which led to a waste of energy and a catastrophic failure to the boiler. But maintenance crews were able to spot the problem in time and fix the issue.

“To keep a large building comfortable for patients, it takes a lot of systems working together just right, and there’s a lot of spots where things can go wrong,” said Matt Wilson, remote operations center manager for Intermountain Health. “This new system picks up the smallest problems so we can find it and fix it.”

The purpose of the Remote Operations Center system is to find and eliminate energy waste, which reportedly helped save about $300,000 in its first year of operation.

Rocky Mountain Power’s Wattsmart Business Program partnered with the new center, offering technical guidance and incentives for reducing energy consumption.

“Our partnership with Intermountain Health has not only saved money, but has increased energy efficiency and reduced our environmental impact,” said Jessen Doxey, regional business manager for Rocky Mountain Power, in a news release. “The Wattsmart Business Program provides the savings and solutions designed to help companies reach their long-term goals.”

Intermountain Health did not say which of its facilities are participating in the program, but the company plans to expand it to 30 facilities by the end of 2025.

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