The Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Elecnor Foundation collaborate on the construction of the Ronald McDonald House Madrid

The president of Ronald McDonald House Charities, Ramón Lamazaresand his counterpart at Elecnor Foundation, Fernando Azaola, signed an agreement today to collaborate on the energy efficient construction of Ronald McDonald House Madrid, a home for families with children receiving medical treatment.This agreement will support the implementation of energy solutions which are modern, sustainable and efficient, reducing impact on the environment and cutting the House’s annual running costs.

Within the framework of the agreement, a donation of €300,000 will be provided to the project by the Elecnor Foundation. This is the equivalent sum of the average annual running costs of aRonald McDonald House. This donation, combined with the ongoing financial contributions made by McDonald’s, will allow the Ronald McDonald House Madrid to start providing accomodation from the start of 2014.

During the signing of the agreement, Patricia Abril, president and CEO of McDonald’s Spain, was also present along with representatives from McDonald’s, the Elecnor Foundation and Ronald McDonald Houses Charity.

The Ronald McDonald House Charity president, Ramón Lamazares, has thanked the Elecnor Foundation for their involvement in the project, as “it will not only encourage research into energy efficiency, but it will also benefit the families of sick children living at the Ronald McDonald House Madrid, substantially reducing the House’s energy costs, and reinvesting these savings into other services which can improve the comfort and quality of their stay”.

The president of the Elecnor Foundation, Fernando Azaola, has stated that “it is an honour to participate on a project such as the one carried out by the Ronald McDonald Children’s Charity, which contributes to the wellbeing of children and allows us to demonstrate engineering’s commitment to human beings and society. Thanks to the Elecnor Foundation Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Chair, organised by the Polytechnic University of Madrid, we can work on the development and implementation of energy efficiency standards and energy and water consumption savings at the Ronald McDonald House Madrid”.

The president and CEO of McDonald’s Spain, Patricia Abril, has ensured that “McDonald’s is a company which is strongly commited to society, wanting to give back to the communities which give so much, and in turn has promoted the founding and development of Ronald McDonald House Charity. All of us at McDonald’s are incredibly proud to be able to contribute to helping children and families who are going through difficult times and are in need of special support”.

A home from home characterised by high energy efficiency

The Elecnor Foundation will contribute through a development that will allow for the construction of a House characterised by high levels of energy efficiency. In this respect, some of the most efficient technologies have been introduced to the design and development of the House, such as: producing hot water through solar thermal systems and a geothermal heat pump; producing hot and cold water for air conditioning through geothermal heat pumps; producing electricity through solar photovoltaic panels. The implementation of these systems seeks to reduce the House’s consumption and achieve a total energy saving of around 46.5% when compared to a House without these energy efficient solutions.

Similarly, it is expected that the efficiency of the planned installations will reduce CO2 emmisions by 52.45 tons, cutting the envionmental impact of these kind of facilities by a quarter and achieving the same result as if planting over 8,700 trees.

The Ronald McDonald House is located within the Niño Jesús University Children’s Hospital premises and will measure 3,000 square metres. It consists of 23 different appartments for each family, kitchens, dining rooms, living rooms, games and computer rooms, a gym, and even a study area so that the children don’t fall behind with school work. Children are made to feel as if they were “at home” and parents can lead a family life which is as normal as possible.In summary, a “home away from home”.

This is the fourth House that the Ronald McDonald House Charities will have opened after those in Barcelona, Malaga and Valencia. Since the Barcelona House was opened in 2002, more than 654 different families have been accommodated involving over 2,500 stays. When the fourth Ronald McDonald House in Spain is in operation, a total of 68 rooms will be available, addressing the needs of approximately 1,000 families in our country per year. Not only is this an aid which provides accomodation free of charge to families, but it also results in an average saving per family of around €4,500.