OBERLIN, OHIO—One of the world’s most innovative green hotels—The Hotel at Oberlin—is just one month away from its soft opening in Oberlin, Ohio. The hotel is owned by Oberlin College and eventually will qualify for the rare LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The 70-room Hotel at Oberlin is the first LEED Platinum hotel owned by a college and anchors the Peter B. Lewis Gateway Center, the cornerstone of Oberlin’s Green Arts District, an ongoing development conceived by the city and college to transform Oberlin into a model for environmentally aware economic development based on education...

NEW YORK—Sina Pearson, designer/manufacturer of New York City-based Sina Pearson Textiles, premieres Fast Track, a new high performance upholstery fabric collection. Five complementary patterns in a total of 30 colorways reference iconic athletic motifs and colors from the world of competitive sports. The collection consists of a knit mesh, a textured chenille, a PVC-free polyurethane, a bleach cleanable polyester/acrylic, and an indoor/outdoor Sunbrella Contract jacquard weave. Fast Track is ideal for workplace, healthcare, institutional, hospitality, or any application calling for visually striking, exceptionally durable solutions.Marathon is a large scale pattern featuring dramatic diagonal bars that seem to be on...

NATIONAL REPORT—Many hotels rely on a Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner (or PTAC) system to reliably provide both heating and cooling for individual rooms as well as other areas of the hotel; such as the lobby, meeting rooms and gyms. PTAC units are popular heating and cooling solutions for any single living space such as those provided by hotels, motels, dormitories, hospitals and apartments. There is no need to install expensive and intrusive ductwork to use PTAC units. The units are self-contained and can easily be installed through a wall.Older PTAC units are relatively inefficient compared to the increased energy...

SYOSSET, N.Y.—Emerald announced its conversion to Penske Truck Leasing compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled trucks. Emerald’s New York based fleet will move to CNG this month, furthering Emerald’s mission of global conservation and mainstreaming sustainability.Each year, Emerald drivers deliver thousands of tons of its alternatively sourced, sustainable products to clients around the country. This conversion will greatly reduce the company’s environmental footprint by lessening the amount of gas emissions released into the air as compared to traditional diesel fueled vehicles.“We are always striving to discover new ways to help the environment and reduce our footprint, and the conversion to...

NORTH WALPOLE, N.H.—Len-Tex, a leading manufacturer of contract wallcoverings, announces the introduction of Celeste, a Mylar-printed design. Styled with layers of painterly horizontal bands on a mylar surface, Celeste creates an airy, ethereal quality. The opaque bands printed on metallized film provide a striking contrast of matte and shine. This signature design offers a handcrafted look and a luminous glow with delicate reflectivity. Colors range from an alluring white to soft or radiant metal tones.This new Mylar design incorporates the Len-Tex Clean Vinyl Technology, a phthalate-free construction, eliminating health risks and contributing to cleaner indoor air.The complete selection of...

DAVIE, FLA.—AirRevive, a leader in sustainable HVAC refurbishment and retrofit services, recently announced its been awarded a guestroom air-conditioning project at the Houston Marriott Medical Center during the hotel’s renovation. Utilizing its sister company’s expertise as a specialty engineering solutions manufacturer, AirRevive developed an affordable method to re-commission fan coil units comparable to off the shelf units. Improvements to existing units that increase guest comfort include quiet operation, faster cooling and heating, accurate temperature sets and reduced humidity.Before AirRevive created its niche in the hospitality industry, the 34-year-old units could have been deemed at the end of their life,...

NEW YORK—Buildings of at least 10 stories in height have the most potential to suffer from the chimney effect if rooftop vents are open at the top of elevator shafts. The chimney effect occurs when heated air is given an opportunity to escape through a rooftop. This can add costs, of course, as makeup air coming into the building through the lobby must be heated. According to Grant Salmon, Deputy Director, Steven Winter Associates, New York, the taller the building, the greater the chimney effect. “In a taller building there is greater pressure,” he says. “The temperature differential also...

BOURNE, MASS.—Onset, a leader in data loggers, announced the availability of a new white paper, “Managing Carbon Dioxide Risk: What You Should Know.” Developed by Onset and Greg Lowitz, CEO and founder of the structural forensics firm Buildera, this 13-page guide explains the risks associated with elevated carbon dioxide levels and discusses how data logging can be a cost-effective indicator of degraded indoor air quality and sick-building syndrome.Facility managers and building engineers can utilize the practical information and tips included in the guide to help them make informed decisions about CO2 data logger selection, calibration, and deployment.A free copy...

EAST LONGMEADOW, MASS.—Excel Dryer, Inc. introduces the new ThinAir Hand Dryer, a high-efficiency surface-mounted model that protrudes no more than four inches from the wall, making it ADA-Compliant. ThinAir dries hands in 15 seconds, operates on 960 watts.“The ThinAir Hand Dryer eliminates the need to recess the dryer into a restroom wall to achieve ADA compliance, which is beneficial for facilities with walls that are difficult to modify,” said Excel Dryer Vice President of Marketing, William Gagnon. “ThinAir has a lower cost of ownership than other hand dryers, and is easier to install making it a cost effective and...

NATIONAL REPORT—Earlier this summer hand dryer maker Dyson Inc. released an e-mail linking to a video that demonstrates how one of its competitor’s hand dryers can potentially blow washroom air containing bacteria, viruses and even fecal matter onto your hands. Of its competitor’s hand dryer, the video said, “It sucks in the dirty air and blows it straight onto your hands so you think your hands are clean…but are they?” Other Dyson videos focusing on two other competing hand dryers make similar claims—that the two dryers just redistribute dirty air. Whether true or not, what the videos show is...