SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—As a highly efficient, all-season HVAC solution, ductless systems are increasingly popular for conditioning air faster, maintaining accurate temperatures and reducing energy costs. Now, Friedrich Air Conditioning Co., a leading U.S.-based manufacturer of heating, cooling and other air-conditioning products, is making installation and servicing residential and commercial ductless systems easier than ever. Launched at 2019 AHR Expo, Friedrich’s re-engineered Floating Air Pro and Floating Air Premier ductless solutions featuring FastPro are designed with the HVAC contractor and installer in mind. Friedrich FastPro makes ductless installation and maintenance much simpler, opening up new business opportunities for the trade and decreasing...

DANBURY, CONN.—FuelCell Energy, Inc., a global leader in delivering clean, innovative and affordable fuel cell solutions for the supply, recovery and storage of energy, announced that the company received ISO 14001:2015 certification for its Environmental Management System (EMS) last quarter reinforcing FuelCell Energy’s core values of continual improvement and commitment to environmental stewardship. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001:2015 is the international standard that focuses on practical tools for companies looking to manage their environmental responsibilities. FuelCell Energy, as the largest publicly traded fuel cell manufacturer in the United States and an international supplier to utility companies, municipalities, corporations and...

SANTA FE, N.M.—La Fonda on the Plaza Hotel has been named “Sustainability Champion” in the Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide 2018 Awards of Excellence. Each year, the Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence honor the most exemplary historic hotels, hoteliers, and leadership practices in multiple categories. The winners were chosen from more than 200 nominees. “Congratulations to the recipients of the 2018 Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence,” said Lawrence Horwitz, Executive Director, Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. “These 2018 winners represent more than 400 years of history and include the finest legendary and iconic historic...

MURRIETA, CALIF.—The pieces to put together a net zero hotel are here and ready to go—and at a cost less than typical hotel construction. So says S2A Modular, a Murrieta, Calif.-based company specializing in electrically self-sustaining, custom luxury homes and commercial buildings such as hotels. S2A Modular combines modular construction techniques with Tesla solar panels and Powerwalls (Powerpacks for larger buildings such as hotels) to create structures that get by without electricity provided by a utility. In fact, S2A buildings are built to provide surplus energy to the local utility when possible, creating “surplus energy income” for the building...

Tesla has built a huge following because of its sleek electric vehicles (EVs) but the company offers much more than EVs. It has also developed its own unique solar panels, solar tiles made from tempered glass, Powerwalls for home energy storage, and Powerpacks for larger-scale energy storage for buildings such as hotels. I bring up Tesla because a California company, S2A Modular, is combining its modular building techniques with Tesla energy storage technology to make net zero hotels not only possible but affordable as well. What S2A Modular is doing has the potential to dramatically change our industry. I spoke with...

HOUSTON—Daikin North America LLC introduced The Daikin One+ smart thermostat, an architecturally-inspired intelligent air management controller. Beyond a typical smart thermostat, it is a controller for a full professional HVAC system with a growing ecosystem of air quality modules to give consumers more control over the air they breathe and a premium HVAC experience. With the introduction of the Daikin One ecosystem, Daikin is up-ending the status quo in the HVAC market, where players have been conservative in adopting IoT technologies and, until recently, relegated leadership in the smart thermostat category to consumer electronics brands. The Daikin One+ smart thermostat is...

As posted on Green Lodging News earlier this week, Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., the nation’s largest lodging real estate investment trust, released a Corporate Responsibility (CR) Highlights report for the very first time. The 2018 report provides a summary of results and progress over the last reporting year along with future commitments. I read through the report and this is what I found most compelling: Host achieved 2020 environmental targets three years ahead of schedule, including a greenhouse gas target verified by the Science Based Targets initiative. Host says it is the first hospitality company to have its...

ATLANTA—Honeywell, a global leader in connected hospitality, announced that the Avista Resort installed the Honeywell INNCOM e7 Thermostat and Deep Mesh Network throughout its 378-room property. The Avista Resort is operated by Seaside Properties in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The INNCOM e7 Thermostat offers a modern design with easy-to-use controls based on a patent-pending Smart Wall Plate that provides hotels with a reliable back-up of the device configuration. The e7 automatically reduces in-room energy costs in some cases as much as 35 percent and is compatible with most HVAC solutions and equipped for Honeywell’s Connected Guest integration. The e7 Thermostat comes...

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Hydrofinity (formerly known as Xeros), announced that it signed a series of regional full-service sales and distribution service agreements across the United States for its sustainable near-waterless commercial laundry systems. These partnerships follow on the agreements Hydrofinity signed with Eastern Laundry System (ELS) covering New England, New York and New Jersey and with Your Laundry Source in Georgia, which is covering its home state as well as Alabama and South Carolina. Hydrofinity’s new regional sales and service partners include: Viking Services, SAESPY and ECW, covering California; Clean Source, covering Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona; RJ Kool, covering the Midwest; Industrial Laundry...

SEATTLE—Hyatt Regency Seattle announced its opening, located in the heart of downtown at 808 Howell Street and near some of Seattle’s top attractions including the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Pike Place Market. With its sprawling, dynamic event space and number of guestrooms, Hyatt Regency Seattle is the largest hotel in the Pacific Northwest and new premier destination for meetings and events in the region. It joins two other Seattle-area Hyatt Regency hotels. Hyatt Regency Seattle is targeting LEED Gold Certification in 2019, which is the second highest green building rating in the world. As part of their efforts, Hyatt...