SAINT PAUL, MINN.—3M Architectural Markets introduces the 3M Sunlight Delivery System, a new daylighting solution that captures and harnesses sunlight in an energy-efficient lighting system for commercial buildings. This hybrid system combines multiple technologies to bring sunlight deep into interior spaces and provides consistent light levels throughout the day. The technology holds promise for both energy efficiency and improving the productivity and morale of building employees.  The 3M sunlight delivery system provides the industry with a new method of daylighting that offers significantly greater capabilities than existing alternatives. Traditional daylighting methods such as skylights or tubular daylighting devices present a...

SAN RAMON, CALIF.—The EnOcean Alliance, a consortium of companies working to standardize and internationalize energy harvesting wireless technology for green intelligent buildings, recently announced that its wireless, battery-less energy harvesting sensors and associated control systems are now fully interoperable with TCP/IP. With escalating customer demand to manage and monitor building automation controls over IP networks, the EnOcean Alliance has responded, enabling building owners to fully leverage the flexibility of IP technologies that offer interoperability and convergence advantages to more effectively manage their facilities’ energy consumption. By establishing TCP/IP interoperability with its wireless, battery-less enabled end-devices and their associated IP-based control...

NIANTIC, CONN.—By adding INNCOM’s Integrated Room Automation Systems (IRAS) to Intelity ICE (Interactive Customer Experience) Touch on iPads, guests can now control room temperature, lighting, drapes and alarm clock directly from their iPad tablet computers—even when they are not in their rooms. INNCOM is an industry leader in advanced guestroom automation systems for hotels and resorts. IRAS is INNCOM’s customizable multi-purpose platform for in-room guest controls. Intelity is the hospitality software developer of ICE, the award-winning integrated, customizable, branded interface that enables hotel guests to request all services instantly via in-room tablet, TV, laptop or mobile device. “By placing the INNCOM...

SNOWMASS, COLO.—Viceroy Snowmass, which opened to rave reviews in late 2009, announced that it has been awarded LEED Gold certification, established 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. Viceroy Snowmass is the first hotel in Aspen/Snowmass to be awarded LEED Gold as well as the first luxury hotel in Colorado to receive this prestigious designation. By incorporating sustainable design and construction, innovative operational practices, and a culture of environmental stewardship, Viceroy Snowmass aims to...

DALLAS—VingCard Elsafe, part of the ASSA ABLOY Group, has launched a new combined corporate website. The newly designed site is meant to replace the current individual sites for the company’s brands, which include VingCard, Elsafe, Orion and Polarbar. VingCard Elsafe is a leader in developing locking systems and electronic in-room safes for the hospitality industry, offering security systems that meet the operational needs of hotels and resorts. Additional product lines include Orion energy management systems and Polarbar minibar systems, which are offered in selected regions of the world. This newly launched VingCard Elsafe website unifies the company’s comprehensive hospitality product range...

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Pineapple Hospitality introduces the new TruDim CFL from TCP, Inc. The TruDim CFL performs like a traditional incandescent bulb—with dimming capability all the way down to 2 percent of lighting capacity—with all the environmental benefits of CFL technology. “In the past, dimmable CFL bulbs would flicker when they got to the lower end of their lighting range,” says David Geraci, CFL product manager for TCP. “This is because typical dimmer switches are built for incandescent bulbs, not CFLs. This flicker creates not only a bad visual experience, but it can actually cause early failures for the bulbs. The...

QUINCY, MASS.—Elevators don’t use a lot of energy compared to air-conditioning, heating—or even compared to computers and lighting. But when you add together all the little ways to cut energy use in a large building, the savings can add up. According to John Powers, president of Century Elevator Co., a family-owned firm based in Quincy, Mass., new elevators use a small percentage—less than 5 percent—of a building’s overall energy consumption. Elevators more than 20 years old use motor generators that must convert AC power into DC power to move the cab. DC used to be the current needed to control...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the release of the comprehensively updated LEED Demand Response Pilot Credit. Originally launched in 2010, the revised and enhanced Demand Response Pilot Credit establishes guidelines that are anticipated to increase participation in automated demand response programs. Leading industry experts from the Demand Response Research Center at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL), Schneider Electric and Skipping Stone contributed to the development of the credit. LEED projects that satisfy the credit by demonstrating their ability to shift energy consumption during peak events by 10 percent of peak load demand will earn a point towards...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Verve Living Systems has introduced a new line of energy-saving automation products developed specifically for the needs of the hospitality industry. The products combine radio frequency and energy-harvesting technologies and incorporate wireless room controls. The products include an assortment of sensors and control devices that can be combined to work together in an organic network to determine the occupancy state of the room, set back temperature, and turn off lights and miscellaneous electrical loads to help hotels manage energy costs. The new portfolio of products uses highly efficient radio frequency technology in an attractively designed family of temperature and electrical...

OSHKOSH, WIS.—Continental Girbau recently released the new MG-Series hard-mount washer-extractors, available in 40- and 55-pound capacities. Continental’s highest performing hard-mount washers, MG-Series Washers feature up to 200 G-force extract speeds, superior energy-efficiency, and advanced programmability. The new MG-Series Washers—suited for an array of on-premise laundry facilities—are engineered to reduce utility costs and labor, while boosting productivity. Unlike many other hard-mount washers on the market, which typically produce extract speeds between 70 and 120-G-force, MG-Series generates speeds of 200 G-force. In addition to the new 200 G-force MG Series hard-mount line, Continental offers a full array of washers for on-premise laundries, including...