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...

ATLANTA—Tools and techniques for measuring, managing and improving the performance of a facility as demonstrated by its energy and water use and indoor environmental quality, are contained in a new ASHRAE guide.“This is the book that facility managers, building operators, technicians, consultants, commissioning authorities, architects and design engineers need to ensure that their buildings are green, energy efficient, highly productive, healthy and attractive to others,” said Jim Bochat, chair of the project committee that wrote the book. “This guide gives building owners and their consultants the practical performance measurement guidance to meet market demands for keeping operating costs down...

IRVING, TEXAS—The Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB) announces the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas (ICCLC) project as the fifth convention center in the country to achieve LEED Silver certified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). LEED is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. “We had a distinct opportunity with the design and construction of the ICCLC to create a new icon for the destination that would set a standard, for sustainability as well as for a new category...

GRANVILLE, OHIO—Acuity Brands, Inc. introduces Wallpack LED luminaires from Holophane that deliver up to 6,500 lumens while reducing energy consumption by as much as 77 percent compared to traditional lighting units. Ideal for replacing 35-watt to 400-watt metal halide fixtures, Wallpack LED luminaires are designed with the same classic appearance that made the Wallpack line popular. Wallpack LED fixtures are offered in two styles with die-cast aluminum housing: W4G with prismatic glass lens and W4P with a polycarbonate lens for lower mounting heights requiring vandal resistance.Available with 10, 20 or 30 LEDs, Wallpack LED luminaires employ individual optics over...

NEW YORK—Xero Flor America (XFA) announced the selection of the Xero Flor Green Roof System for the 292,000-square-foot green roof being installed atop the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York. With 840,000 gross square feet of exhibit space, the Javits Center is New York City’s largest convention center and hosts about 150 events annually. Headquartered in Durham, N.C., XFA is the official and exclusive distributor in the United States of the Xero Flor Green Roof System from XeroFlor Green Solutions, which is based in Germany.The Javits Center has embarked on a major renovation project that includes replacement...

WESTPORT, CONN.—Rheem Manufacturing Co. was selected as the 2013 AHR Expo Product of the Year Award winner for its H2AC Rooftop Unit, a restaurant integrated AC and water heating system.During a special ceremony at the world’s largest HVACR expo in Dallas on January 29, it was announced that the product that Rheem entered was selected from among the 10 AHR Expo Innovation Award winners as the Product of the Year. The new product features refrigerant-to-water heat recovery that can reduce the water heater’s energy consumption by an estimated 50 percent. Rheem was an Innovation Award winner in the Cooling...

SANTA CLARA, CALIF.—WattStopper announced the release of a time-saving Niagara AX driver module that streamlines integration when WattStopper Digital Lighting Management (DLM) controls are combined with Niagara controllers in high performance buildings. The driver automatically discovers all the DLM lighting controls on the BACnet network, and all the data points available for integration. Originally developed for a WattStopper-specific JACE, the driver is compatible with other Niagara AX stations, and is now available for free download to integrators using a third party JACE. In addition to discovery, the driver adds product-specific icons to the objects tree, and gives integrators easy...

UPLAND, CALIF.—Green Suites Hotel Solutions has announced a newly formed partnership with LED lighting provider, Kaydas. Citing the targeted LED lighting portfolio, technical support and expertise of Kaydas, Green Suites Hotel Solutions believes its new offering of LED lighting will be an in-line enhancement for its 4,000+ hotel customers seeking products that deliver both environmental and economic advantages.In an effort to expand in the innovative and growing LED technology, plus further its commitment to providing high-quality, sustainable products, Green Suites Hotel Solutions is now providing an exclusive online web portal where its customers can specify and buy any of...