LOS ANGELES—Orbit Industries introduces an innovative LED exit sign/emergency light combo unit for all public access areas. The new Orbit EECLA-R fixture features an exit sign with two adjustable emergency lights that can be positioned at the top of the sign or re-aligned to either side.Constructed from heavy-duty, impact-resistant thermoplastic, the EECLA-R combo unit includes two 5.4W DC 5 wedge-based incandescent lamps in the emergency light and a 1W LED lamp in the exit sign for energy savings.The glare-free emergency lighting heads are fully adjustable and provided with test switch, status indicator and rechargeable battery. A remote capable option...

BOSTON—Through a program that includes electric and gas utility NSTAR and electrical supplies distributor Munro Distributing Company, Inc., Boston area hotels are benefiting from LED lamps at no cost to them. The program began this fall and bulbs must be installed by the end of 2011. According to Jeffrey Pollock, manager energy efficient marketing for NSTAR, the LED program most likely will be continued in 2012.NSTAR customers are funding the program. NSTAR currently transmits and delivers electricity and gas to 1.1 million customers in Massachusetts, and gas to nearly 300,000 in that state. Munro Distributing is supplying the bulbs...

SANTA CLARA, CALIF.—WattStopper’s LMLS-400 and LMLS-500 digital photosensors were selected by Building Operating Management (BOM) readers as recipients of BOM’s 2012 Top Products Awards. The photosensors are part of WattStopper’s Digital Lighting Management (DLM) product line, and are specifically designed for easy integration with occupancy sensors and other lighting controls. DLM maximizes energy savings and return on investment (ROI), and meets or exceeds the latest code requirements. Both products include a two-way infrared (IR) transceiver for communication with a wireless configuration tool, and the LMLS-400 features automatic commissioning for either switching or dimming. Either sensor can be configured for on/off...

NEW ALBANY, MISS.—Master-Bilt’s patented Master Controller Reverse Cycle Defrost for walk-in refrigeration systems has been upgraded. While maintaining a 27 percent increase in energy savings and offering up to an 80 percent decrease in defrost energy usage, a new enhancement over the current system includes high-tech features that now allow users to have complete access of their system remotely and globally. The Master Controller Reverse Cycle Defrost System (MCRCD) features a valve that reverses the flow of high temperature refrigerant through the evaporator coil, heating along its entire length and eliminating frost buildup. Now, it’s been upgraded to include Web2Walk-In,...

MIAMI—Some important project details are currently confidential—the name of the owner and developer, for example—but information released by Miami-based Oppenheim Architecture + Design indicates that a 244-room, 440-foot high hotel is in the pipeline for the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y. The hotel is being design to earn LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. According to Carolina Botero, a designer at Oppenheim Architecture + Design, the hotel is still in the early stages of development and will be completed by 2015. Key sustainability features will include vertical access wind turbines, green roof, rainwater harvesting and reuse,...

ATLANTA—Guidance on increasing energy efficiency in existing buildings through measuring and tracking efficiency and implementing an efficiency plan is featured in a new book from leading built environment organizations. “Energy Efficiency Guide for Existing Commercial Buildings: Technical Implementation” provides clear and easily understood technical guidance for energy upgrades, retrofits and renovations by which building engineers and managers can achieve at least a 30 percent improvement in energy performance relative to a range of benchmark energy utilization indexes. It features practical means and methods for planning, executing and monitoring an effective program, based on widely available techniques and technologies. “Energy efficiency improvement...

PARIS—Accor recently decided to assess its environmental impact 15 years after it took a stand and started taking concrete action to embrace sustainable development. The company began working on gauging its environmental footprint at the end of 2010. The study stretches beyond measuring greenhouse-gas emissions to encompass energy and water consumption, water pollution and waste generation throughout lifecycles in the Group. “Four thousand and two hundred hotels in 90 countries, 145,000 employees, 56 million breakfasts a year and almost 545 million liters of water a year all add up to the environmental impact that we are now in a position...

WESTPORT, CONN.—More than 1,700 companies have already reserved more than 414,500 square feet of exhibit space for the 2012 AHR Expo in Chicago January 23 to 25, making it the largest HVACR exposition of all time. With several weeks remaining before the Show opens at McCormick Place, the 2012 event has already surpassed the previous all-time record of 410,415 square feet set at the 2006 exposition in Chicago. “We are very pleased about achieving this new all-time record, especially as this is our company’s 100th Anniversary,” said Clay Stevens, president of International Exposition Company, which produces and manages the AHR...

COOPERSBURG, PA.—Energy-saving light control manufacturer Lutron Electronics announced that its Washington, D.C. Commercial Experience Center has been awarded LEED Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED is the USGBC’s leading rating system for designing and constructing the world’s greenest, most energy-efficient and high-performing buildings. Lutron Experience Centers are showcases of Lutron’s most impactful residential and commercial products and solutions. The Washington, D.C. facility specifically showcases commercial products in use in a variety of vignettes (conference rooms, offices and more). “We’re pleased to have achieved USGBC’s LEED Gold Certification,” said Andy Wakefield, director of Government Relations at Lutron. “Knowing...

MILWAUKEE, WIS.—Telkonet, developer of the EcoSmart intelligent energy management platform including patented Recovery Time technology, has been approved to partner with Hilton Worldwide through their online Suppliers’ Connection. Hilton franchisees can now find Telkonet on the Suppliers’ Connection section of the Hilton Franchise website, listed under Sub-category 15900 HVAC Controls, located in Category #15 Mechanical. The Suppliers’ Connection allows Hilton franchisees, as wells as their designers and contractors, to view vendor information relating to designing, building and equipping a hotel. All those listed in the database must meet extensive criteria prior to inclusion. Hilton Worldwide’s senior director of engineering, Norm Nelson,...