BALTIMORE—Energy Products Distribution (EPD) announces 3M’s new Thinsulate Climate Control Window Film technology. While no film can stop fading completely, Thinsulate can slow it down to keep possessions looking better longer. Not only does Thinsulate helps to block out the sun’s heat in the summer, but it also helps trap man-made heat inside during the winter, providing extra insulation and comfort in the colder months. Great for the environment and your wallet, the 3M Thinsulate Window Film allows you to save on your heating and air-conditioning bills. The film is added to existing windows, providing a nearly invisible layer of...

Cary, N.C.—The Umstead Hotel and Spa, a five-star property located just outside Raleigh, N.C., has selected Evolve Controls and Intelity to deploy a fully integrated wireless room control and guest services solution through hotel tablets. This innovative approach is designed to enhance each guest’s stay at the property by combining the power of in-room control features with convenient access to hotel services and information through tablets provided to each guestroom. The Evolve Controls Connected Room Solution allows guests to manage their environment by wirelessly controlling in-room temperature and lighting through Intelity’s intuitive ICE Bedside guest engagement platform. In addition to Evolve’s...

LONGMONT, COLO.—Terralux, a leader in the design and manufacture of commercial LED lighting and building control products, announces the release of a new energy efficient LED retrofit kit for upgrade of existing commercial HID downlights. The DRVH is an easy-to-install, high output LED upgrade for 8” to 12” commercial downlights that utilize vertically mounted Compact Fluorescent (CFL) or High Intensity Discharge (HID) bulbs. “The DRVH is a high output retrofit kit, designed to replace up to a 175 watt HID lamp inside existing downlights,” said Paul Pohl, Product Manager. “It’s the perfect solution for high ceilings, atriums, and canopies such as...

NATIONAL REPORT—Earlier this year, in September, Green Lodging News reported on a field study of rack and flight conveyor warewashers conducted by Pacific Gas and Electric Company Food Service Technology Center (FSTC). That study documented the energy and water savings and economic benefits of replacing an old inefficient warewasher with a new efficient or best-in-class warewasher. In this article Green Lodging News takes a look at what the leading suppliers of warewashers are currently offering and what makes their machines efficient from an energy, water and chemical perspective. Perhaps with no other water consuming machine in a hotel has there...

WAUKESHA, WIS.—EcoSmart by Telkonet has completed a three-year phased installation of its EcoInsight intelligent thermostats at the Ibis Hotel in Al Barsha, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The thermostats, which feature Recovery Time technology, help to better manage air-conditioning in guestrooms and are now installed in each of the property’s 480 guestrooms to help reduce wasted energy usage in unoccupied rooms. “Warm climates can pose a great challenge to multi-unit property managers trying to balance guest comfort and hard to achieve energy efficiency,” said Jason Tienor, President and CEO, Telkonet. “The EcoSmart platform provides property managers with the tools to be...

KELOWNA, B.C.—Stemming from a mission to help businesses profitably tackle climate change, sustainability consulting firm GreenStep Solutions has created an innovative program, ecobase Certified, that has helped award winning green hotelier, Greg Salloum, achieve his dream of installing a solar PV array at the Best Western Plus Kelowna Hotel and Suites. “We strive to go above and beyond with our green initiatives,” says Salloum, proprietor of the Best Western Plus Kelowna. “We started with a solar thermal system in 2002 and we’ve done almost everything else we can to reduce our impacts, including our recent LEED Silver Certified environmental wing and...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Resorts International announced that the U.S. Green Building Council has awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification to MGM National Harbor, the company’s newest resort. Located minutes from Washington, D.C., in Prince George’s County, Md., the resort is scheduled to open December 8. The LEED Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. Meeting the rigorous environmental standards of this designation is a testament to the complete integration of sustainable principles throughout the design and construction of MGM National Harbor. “Environmental responsibility is a...

MUSKEGON, MICH.—EarthTronics introduces its new energy efficient, smooth dimming 2200 lumen, 15-watt T8 LED linear tube that delivers 146 lumen per watt and its 25-watt, 3200 lumen T5 that easily replaces 54 watt T5HO fluorescent lamps providing 128 lumens per watt. These LEDs feature glass tube construction to ensure proper cooling to support high lumen maintenance for a 50,000 hour rated life combined with over 50 percent energy savings to offer a quick return on investment. The energy efficient T8 and T5 Type A LEDs from EarthTronics are Design Light Consortium (DLC) listed and UL rated for Type A “plug...

Hotel venues of all types contain many plug-in refrigeration and freezer units (“coolers”).  Examples include plug-in refrigerators and freezers in kitchen/foodservice areas, vending machines, ice machines, beverage merchandisers, and the like. These appliances contain a condenser coil unit that is responsible for rejecting to the atmosphere the heat that is extracted from the enclosure being cooled. To do this job effectively, these coils need to have good airflow so that good heat transfer is achieved. Unfortunately, since the coils are exposed to the atmosphere, they become progressively clogged with dust and other debris over time (see photo at right...

ODESSA, FLA. & SINGAPORE—Green Lodging News, lodging’s leading environmental news source, and Greenview, a leader in advancing hotel sustainability, have released the Green Lodging Trends Report 2016. The report details the results of the first annual Green Lodging Survey conducted earlier this year and is available at no cost by clicking here. The report is based on data from more than 2,000 hotels in 44 countries and covers topics ranging from air quality to energy management to staff involvement. The report includes results of more than 100 questions asked in 11 categories. Supporters of this year’s survey include The Arbor...