Creating an affordable eco-friendly clinic

A common misconception veterinarians have about sustainable clinic designs is that they lead to higher costs. Although these designs may require an initial investment, many technologies provide a quick return on that investment, ultimately saving money. Moreover, some eco-friendly strategies come at zero cost.

“Veterinary hospitals use more energy, gas, water, power, than other typical building types,” Heather E. Lewis, AIA, NCARB, AAA, an architect with Animal Arts—a veterinary hospital and animal shelter design architecture firm based in Boulder, Colorado—explained in an interview with dvm360. “If we can find some ways to reduce those costs for the veterinarian and in the veterinary practice, then that is a huge win.”

Beyond saving money, focusing on a sustainable design can help veterinarians provide a better standard of care for their patients. As Lewis explained, many eco-friendly design ideas are simply good design ideas. “They go hand-in-hand with creating a quality space that allows veterinarians to deliver the medicine they envision,” she said.

Building orientation and window placement

Image: Wassana Techadilok/MJH Life Sciences using AI

One sustainable design strategy that comes at no added expense and can benefit patients and staff and reduce costs is being strategic about the clinic’s orientation and window placement. In areas with colder climates, such as upstate New York, positioning windows facing away from the sun can lead to heat loss, making it difficult to keep the building warm. Meanwhile, if the clinic is in a region with a hotter climate, like Arizona, orienting the building so that the windows are in the shade most of the time will reduce heat gain and lower cooling costs. “We can make a much better space to work in, in a space that’s easier to heat and cool,” Lewis said.

According to Lewis, in temperate climate zones of the northern hemisphere, buildings should be oriented east-west, with the longer sides facing south and north. Additionally, rooms with fewer windows, such as utility rooms, should be placed on the north side.

Meanwhile, windows on the south side of the building should be equipped with large overhangs for shading. “If you think about how the sun travels, there’s usually sun on the south side of buildings in the northern hemisphere. We can get a lot of nice sunlight but then have overhangs to cut off the sun in the summer when it’s hot, and then let lower winter sun into the building,” Lewis explained.

Reusing existing buildings

Not everyone can afford to build a new clinic, and renovating an existing building is the greenest approach, according to Lewis. Reusing a building—whether an old human medical clinic, a bank, or something else—is cost-effective for the practice and eco-friendly, as it reduces the environmental impact of new construction.

Energy recovery systems and high-efficiency lighting systems

Energy recovery systems

The amount of power, water, and sometimes gas that veterinary hospitals consume is partly due to their air conditioning and ventilation systems. Installing energy recovery systems within the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system can help offset the amount of power, water, and gas used. Although the technology may require an initial investment, Lewis explained that these energy recovery systems typically pay for themselves quickly. “I think it’s important for...veterinarian[s] to know that we ought to pick and choose the products and systems that are going to apply to veterinary hospitals and get the quickest payoff,” she said.

High-efficiency lighting systems

A cost-effective measure for making older buildings more eco-friendly and reducing energy costs is installing high-efficiency lighting systems, as lighting can be expensive. Clinics can upgrade to LED lighting, which will lower electricity costs and create a more visually appealing environment, as the light can be dimmed and is of higher quality—offering more lumens per watt of energy used.

Sustainability beyond the building design

A sustainable clinic goes beyond the building itself. Having an eco-friendly practice means the operations within it are sustainable as well.

“I think that one of the huge pieces of a sustainable operation is good inventory management,” Lewis said. “There [are] gigantic amounts of waste in human...and animal medicine with not finding the right product, buying things that go out of date and have to be thrown away.

“Really getting a better handle on inventory management can make a gigantic difference for your practice and also the day-to-day operations,” Lewis continued. She also recommends researching eco-friendly initiatives in human medicine, as veterinary professionals can gain valuable insight from those practices.

Organizing the storage room, upgrading inventory management software, purchasing fewer disposable products and using more reusable products, and setting up a recycling program for the employees that includes composting can also make a clinic more sustainable. Lewis shared that the Animal Arts team has a compost bin, which stays in the freezer to avoid attracting flies. “Easy things like that can really make a big difference over time,” Lewis said.