Going Green

Solar Powered Veterinary Care

In 2005 we installed 324 solar panels on our roof, capable of generating 45,000 watts per hour, making Bishop Ranch Veterinary Center & Urgent Care the first commercial business in San Ramon to be a self-generator of electricity. The photo at left shows the dark solar panel arrays which shade about 2/3 of our roof, further reducing our need for cooling during the summer months.

The use of efficient, renewable energy at our hospital prevents the production of 236,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually, a gas that contributes to global warming. This is the equivalent of planting 14,100 trees! As a result of our efforts, we have been recognized by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as a leader in the use of renewable energy and were awarded membership in the EPA's Green Power Partnership at the Leadership Level.

Going Green
At Bishop Ranch Veterinary Center & Urgent Care we are making every effort to be a more environmentally conscious hospital. Below are some of the other steps we’ve taken to help our environment:

• Installed a digital radiograph X-ray system. This eliminates the use of X-ray film containing large quantities of silver, and eliminates the use of chemicals for developing those X-rays.
• Converted our HVAC (heating/ventilation/air conditioning) to a high efficiency system which utilizes re-circulated water that condenses on our air conditioning equipment to further lower the temperature of the coolant within. This results in a 40% increase in efficiency.
• Implemented a recycling program.
• We "Planted" drought-resistant landscape..