ATLANTA—Seeking to promote best practices and offer a “how-to” approach, ASHRAE has released updated guidance on building energy audits. While energy audits are a commonly used component of the industry, there is great diversity in the services delivered to customers, and little industry standardization. The second edition of “Procedures for Commercial Building Energy Audits” promotes best practices, provides “how-to’s” and fills a void in available information for engineers, building owners, managers and government entities. The new publication includes time-saving tips for energy auditors, how to hire an auditor, what to ask for in a comprehensive audit report and how...

COLUMBIA, S.C.—“It just happened that way,” says Hema Patel, in regard to her company’s Holiday Inn & Suites Columbia-Airport opening on Earth Day 2010. Planned or not, it certainly was appropriate that the five-story, 122-room hotel opened on a day that recognizes the birth of the modern day environmental movement. The hotel, which is owned by Patel and her husband’s Capital Hospitality, LLC and operated by the couple’s Courtesy Management Inc. of Orangeburg, S.C., is expected to earn LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in early 2012. Patel says the intent initially was not to build...

ATLANTA—The Atlanta Airport Marriott has acquired two additional compressed natural gas (CNG) shuttle vehicles for its guest operations as part of the property’s participation in the Clean Cities Atlanta Petroleum Reduction Program. Clean Cities Atlanta is a government-industry partnership that works to reduce America’s petroleum consumption in the transportation sector. The alternative fuel shuttle buses join the property’s existing fleet of two compressed natural gas (CNG) and two fossil fuel vehicles. “We remain committed to reducing our carbon footprint by utilizing renewable natural gas rather than fossil fuel, helping to maintain a clean, safe environment for everyone,” said general...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. cable industry announced a new initiative dedicated to improving the energy efficiency of set-top boxes and other devices and developing advanced cable-enabled services designed to promote innovative energy conservation measures. A key element of the initiative is the “CableLabs—Energy Lab,” a new facility within the cable industry’s R&D consortium that will concentrate exclusively on improving energy efficiency, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and CableLabs announced. The energy initiative will promote the development, testing, and deployment of technologies that will enable cable subscribers to reduce and manage energy consumption, including establishing new requirements for both cable...

SAN FRANCISCO—BuildingIQ, an energy management software company, announced the availability of ManagerIQ, the latest addition to its growing suite of SaaS Predictive Energy Optimization applications. ManagerIQ enables the remote configuration, monitoring, and management of the BuildingIQ suite of energy applications for facilities, campus, and real estate portfolio owners, as well as BuildingIQ’s partners who implement and service the BuildingIQ product suite for multiple customers and multiple sites. “As a partner of BuildingIQ we see ManagerIQ as a valuable platform to help us better service the buildings we manage for our customers,” said Scott Wallace, general manager of Syserco Energy Solutions....

CHICAGO—Cintas Corporation has released a complimentary white paper for hotels. The paper provides hotel owners and operators with critical information on how to maximize the appearance, quality, and longevity of assets such as tile and carpeting and air-conditioning (A/C) units through deep cleaning solutions. Offering an in-depth overview of the process—complete with statistics and testimonials—the white paper reveals how deep cleaning solutions improve guest satisfaction, audit scores and the bottom line. “Tile, carpeting and A/C units undergo a lot of wear and tear and are significantly expensive to replace,” said Todd McKeown, vice president of Hospitality, Cintas. “The white paper...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Developer Orange Lake Resorts, operator of seven Holiday Inn Club Vacations resort destinations, announced that it is taking steps towards minimizing the impact of the company’s carbon footprint by introducing a new $1.4 million PulseFlow tunnel system by Pellerin Milnor Corporation that will save them 15 million gallons of water per year at their flagship Orlando resort. For nearly 30 years, Orange Lake Resorts has operated the laundry facility for their Orlando resort using three 600 pound washer extractors and six 200 pound dryers processing 1,800 pounds of laundry per hour with 3 gallons of water used per pound,...

BALTIMORE—Constellation Energy and Marriott International, Inc. announced an agreement to develop more than 23 megawatts of load response capability across more than 250 Marriott-managed hotel properties in the mid-Atlantic, New England, New York, Texas and California. Load response is the reduction of electrical consumption in response to high wholesale electricity prices, system resource capacity needs or system reliability events. Constellation’s load response program is designed to improve energy efficiency and reduce electricity costs at Marriott properties, while ensuring guest comfort through expanded building automation capability and customized load curtailment strategies. “Marriott International sees this program as a direct link to our...

HOUSTON—Toshiba International Corp. announced that it is introducing a 40-watt equivalent A19 LED lamp. Unlike many other LED lamps launched to date, Toshiba’s A19 boasts a more traditional light bulb shape—a feature that research shows is important to lighting designers, specifiers and consumers. Toshiba’s new A19 lamp is manufactured with patented technology enabling omnidirectional light distribution that is similar to an incandescent lamp. The lamp is also dimmable and comes in 2700K and 4000K color temperatures. Manufactured to Energy Star standards, Toshiba’s A19 LED light bulb lasts up to 40 times longer than incandescent lamps and reduces energy use by...

NATIONAL REPORT—Items that plug into the walls of your hotel using a three-pronged plug can eat up energy in three ways: while operating, while using standby power, or even while they are off. Yes, some electronic devices draw some power even when they are turned off. This is commonly referred to as vampire power. Other than waiting for your monthly utility bill, how do you really know how much energy plugged-in items are consuming? At least two companies—P3 International Corp. and ThinkEco, Inc.—are making it easier to not only measure electricity consumption in real time but also control it...