HESGNY October 2026 Educational Seminar  

Meeting is Thursday October 8th

5:30pm to 7:30pm

1 hr CEU Credits

NEW LOCATION:  New York Presbyterian David H Koch Center

1283 York Ave, NY NY 10065

No Zoom link, you must attend in person!!

Optimizing Chilled Water Plant Performance in Healthcare Facilities

Presented and sponsored by Jamie Hahn with Exergenics

Optimizing Chilled Water Plant Performance in Healthcare Facilities: An ASHE-Aligned Approach to Energy, Reliability, and Compliance

Chilled water plants are often a hospital's largest energy load, typically 30–50% of total electricity use. They also cool mission-critical spaces such as ORs, ICUs, imaging and data centers. Aging equipment and control drift gradually erode efficiency and reliability, at an estimated cost of $400–$700 per bed per year.

This session examines common central plant inefficiencies and explains why rule-based control rarely finds a plant's true optimum. It reviews best-practice control strategies aligned with ASHE guidance and ASHRAE Guideline 36:

• Whole-plant optimization for the lowest kW/ton
• Dynamic condenser water reset
• Pump speed modulation
• Efficient equipment sequencing

Attendees will then see how historical BMS trend data trains a physics-based, machine-learning digital twin of the plant. The model runs millions of simulations across the full range of loads and operating conditions. From these, it identifies the most efficient setpoints and control strategies for that specific plant. These are programmed natively into the existing BMS. The plant delivers the same reliable chilled water using as little energy as possible, with no new hardware, software or cloud connectivity required. The same model projects savings before retro commissioning and tests equipment upgrades before capital is spent.

A measured and verified case study from Prisma Health Greer Hospital, where plant efficiency improved by 16.3%, shows the results in practice.

Participants will be able to:

1. Explain why chilled water plants are a major energy and operational risk in healthcare.
2. Identify common central plant inefficiencies.
3. Describe ASHE-aligned control best practices.
4. Evaluate how data-driven optimization supports compliance, resilience and sustainability.

Jamie Hahn — Vice President of Sales, Exergenics

Jamie brings over 15 years of experience in the smart building space helping clients across healthcare, higher education, REITs, and infrastructure adopt technologies that cost-effectively unlock efficiencies and fundamentally improve building performance. Known for a consultative approach, he partners closely with facility and operations teams, energy managers, and sustainability leaders to understand their goals and deliver results. As VP of Sales, Jamie leads the effort to bring Exergenics' ML-driven chilled water plant optimization and digital twin simulation capabilities to commercial and industrial facilities helping them reduce energy consumption, lower operating costs, and advance their decarbonization goals.