BEL AIR, MD.—Green Roof Technology, a design and installation firm specializing in green (vegetated) roofs, announced the completion of an exclusivity agreement with German green roof manufacturer Optigreen. Per the agreement, Green Roof Technology will become the exclusive North American supplier of the Sun-Root system.The Sun-Root is the first fully integrated solar plus green roof combination. The weight of the green roof holds the entire system in place, negating the need to drill into the roof membrane to support the solar panels. The cooling effect from the vegetation dramatically increases the efficiency and output from the solar panels.“Partnering with...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Winsulator as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. The Winsulator is a clear acrylic interior window attachment custom measured, assembled and professionally installed by a team with 20 years of hospitality experience. The Winsulator reduces noise levels up to 60 percent and energy costs tied to heating and cooling. In addition to reducing a property’s overall carbon footprint, The Winsulator reduces UV ray penetration. The Winsulator has been tested by NASA, Kennedy Space Center and is in use in hundreds of hotels.For more information, e-mail info@winsulator.com,...

SILVER SPRING, MD.—Econo Lodge hotels, franchised by Choice Hotels International, one of the world’s largest hotel companies, announced it will be the first national economy hotel chain to promote green practices across an entire lodging portfolio. All Econo Lodge hotels in the United States will implement the Choice Hotels Room to be Green (RTBG) program in 2013. The program is designed to reduce environmental impact and waste, meet the changing expectations of today’s environmentally conscious guests and potentially lower operational expenses, (including energy and water costs) at the property level.Econo Lodge, which currently has almost 900 domestic hotel properties...

MENOMONEE FALLS, WIS.—After introducing the new 4.10 ESi CT Express Combitherm in May of 2012, Alto-Shaam has re-launched this product with the additional features of an integrated catalytic converter, toasting/finishing element and smoking abilities. The new features were debuted at the 2013 NAFEM Show in Orlando.With the integration of a 4.10 CCi catalytic converter that “scrubs” the airstream of normal grease-laden byproducts, the CT Express now has the versatility to be placed in areas without a hood.Going beyond the usual Combitherm technology, the CT Express can be used as a finishing oven; quickly and efficiently toasting sandwiches, breads and...

NATIONAL REPORT—Wyndham Worldwide’s headquarters has one. So does the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, Ill., the Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway, the Hampton Inn Elmira/ Horseheads (Horseheads, N.Y.) and numerous other hotel properties. What they all have is a white roof—a solar-reflective white coating to help reduce temperatures inside and out during those times when the building is most vulnerable to the sun’s impact. Having a white coating on a rooftop instead of a black coating can have a significant positive environmental and cost impact, especially in warmer climates. A roof covered with solar-reflective white paint reflects up to 90...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Onity as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Onity is a leading global provider of energy management systems (EMS) for the hospitality, commercial, education, government and marine markets. The company’s EMS products merge digital temperature control with setback strategies that adjust the temperature to energy efficient levels when a room is unoccupied. Onity’s system offers many benefits such as: up to 35 percent HVAC run-time savings, works with all types of HVAC configurations and light control, and wireless capability. For more information, e-mail steve.lyons@onity.com, call (866) 866-6489,...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Anyone attending The NAFEM Show from February 7 to 9 with the goal of greening up their kitchen would have found hundreds of ways to do so thanks to the innovations brought to the trade show floor by the more than 500 exhibitors in attendance. The North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers event, held every two years, attracted approximately 20,000 foodservice professionals to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.Companies touted advancements in cooking, ventilation, water filtration, water recycling, water heating, cooking oil management, ice making, warewashing, food waste management, refrigeration, balers, and even vegetable, herb...

DELRAY BEACH, FLA.—Taft Durst Inc., a Delray Beach, Fla.-based company that does business as Vet LEDs, announced the formal launch of the Veterans Lighting Initiative. The CEO of Vet LEDs, Randy M. Durst, a Vietnam veteran, created the concept after reading a news article about the difficulty veterans were having getting good jobs in today’s economic climate. “It occurred to me that hiring veterans to install LED lighting was a no-brainer,” Durst says. Over the course of the next two years, hundreds of thousands of military servicemen and women will be returning to a very uncertain future as they...

WEST CALDWELL, N.J.—MaxLite introduces the LED Round Flat Panel Pendant, which recently received Lighting for Tomorrow’s Honorable Mention in the Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Residential Lighting Products Design Competition and has been added to the FlatMax family of LED Flat Panels. The LED Round Flat Panel Pendant can be cable-hung or surface mounted easily in offices, hospitality and retail environments, and other spaces that demand sophistication.“Our LED Round Pendant is an aesthetically pleasing, decorative fixture that delivers style, technology and functional lighting levels in a variety of applications,” said MaxLite’s director of product marketing Pat Treadway. “Still very new to...

NEW CASTLE, PA.—Berner International Corp., a leading U.S. manufacturer and innovator of air curtains, expanded its In-Ceiling Mount (ICM) Series by adding the FCB, the HVAC industry’s first in-ceiling flush mount air curtain rated for doorways with up to 16-foot-high ceilings in hotels, hospitals, office buildings, schools and other commercial facilities.Efficient one-hp motors combined with Berner’s proprietary Pro-V Nozzle design, which generates 50 percent more velocity at the floor versus standard ceiling mount units, makes the FCB’s 16-foot range possible. The improved velocity also allows for lower speed operation resulting in up to half the decibel ratings and energy...