CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, has added a ClearWater Tech, LLC case study to the Green Lodging News website. The case study details how Manoir Pierrefonds in Pierrefonds, Quebec has benefited from an EnvirO3matic Advanced Laundry Oxidation System. (For the record, the name EnvirO3matic was developed and trademarked by Coinamatic for equipment manufactured by ClearWater Tech in the United States, for which it is the exclusive Canadian distributor.) The senior care facility has benefited in many ways from the ozone system: 16-minute reduction in cycle time, resulting in an increase of 26 loads per...

HOWARD, PA.—For Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the 16-room, 18,500-square foot Nature Inn at Bald Eagle is just the first of many more green buildings to come. DCNR has committed to pursue the United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for the inn and at least LEED certification for all of its future buildings. The Nature Inn at Bald Eagle is green from ground to rooftop and a great start for DCNR. The Nature Inn at Bald Eagle had its grand opening on September 2 earlier this month and innkeeper...

ITHACA, N.Y.—Putting sustainable ideas into practice will be a top focus of the Cornell Hospitality Research Summit (CHRS), scheduled for October 6 to 8, 2010, on the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, N.Y. Breakout sessions will cover both sustainable design and sustainable operation, with a focus on the specific areas where sustainability can be most effective. Presenters will share their first-hand experiences with sustainable hospitality practices. Building on his firm’s 150-plus years of experience in innovation, Paul Hamilton, Schneider Electric’s senior vice president for Energy Efficiency, will focus on the immediate and long-term risks and challenges to implementing energy saving...

SALT LAKE CITY—Salt Lake County, owner of the Salt Palace Convention Center, recently announced a project guaranteed to set a new standard for hosting sustainable meetings and conventions: the installation of the nation’s largest rooftop solar array atop the Salt Palace Convention Center in the heart of downtown Salt Lake, scheduled to be completed and online by January 2011. The 600,000-square-foot project—larger than six football fields, including 11,319 solar panels—will more than double the current solar capacity of the state of Utah and generate approximately 25 percent of the annual energy consumed at the Salt Palace Convention Center. Salt Lake...

NEW YORK—The International Copper Association (ICA) announced a new heat exchanger coil technology that benefits from smaller diameter copper tubes. The new product designs and associated manufacturing processes are a culmination of years of research. Heat transfer from the refrigerant to the tube wall is more effective inside copper tubes with diameters smaller than the conventional diameter. Consequently, coils can be made less bulky and air conditioners with higher energy efficiency can be made smaller and lighter. “It is true that highly efficient air conditioners currently are being made with conventional copper tubes,” says Nigel Cotton, global leader of OEM Initiative...

NATIONAL REPORT—The American Hotel & Lodging Association is about to release the results of its 2010 Lodging Survey. Green Lodging News was provided with a copy of the survey results prior to the survey’s official release. The survey, which is conducted approximately every two years, was funded by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation and prepared by Smith Travel Research. A total of 48,954 hotels were polled. The response rate was 18 percent (more than 8,500 participants). The survey report covers 14 green-related areas: Allergy-Free Rooms, Air Purifiers, Liquid Soap Dispensers, Linen/Towel Reuse Program, Energy Management Sensors in...

DENVER—Sage Hospitality has upped its own ante on helping the environment with its new Green Choice program. The “opt in” initiative offers guests the choice to decline daily housekeeping to reduce their carbon footprint while saving hotels money on energy, water and other costs. Introduced in March 2010 and currently offered at 18 Sage hotels across the country, such as The Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel and the Nines in Portland, Ore., Green Choice reflects a growing trend as hotel groups seek innovative solutions to save money—and the planet—amid challenging times for the travel industry. Green Choice has seen great success...

MT. VERNON, N.Y.—ICE AIR, the developer and manufacturer of a wide variety of HVAC units, has released ExactFit  PTACs (Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners) for demanding renovation or retrofit applications in the hospitality industry where existing cooling and heating units need to be replaced. PTACs, which are self-contained, individually- controlled air conditioners, installed through the wall of rooms with an outside wall, are found throughout the hospitality market. The ICE AIR ExactFit PTACs include the RS, RSC and RSMK Series, and replace existing equipment from various OEM PTAC manufacturers common in this market, including Carrier, Heil Quaker, ZoneAire, McQuay, Applied Comfort...

MOONACHIE, N.J.— Demonstrating its latest innovation of energy efficient LED technology, BULBRITE has received an ADEX Award for Design Excellence for its Super High Power Dimmable LEDs. These LEDs are featured in the company’s extensive line of energy efficient LEDs. This year alone, BULBRITE has received three ADEX Awards for Design Excellence. BULBRITE is a leading supplier of innovative, energy efficient light source solutions and an educational resource for lamping technology. BULBRITE’s line of High Power Dimmable LED PAR30 and PAR38 bulbs has received a Silver ADEX Award for Design Excellence. These LEDs provide all of the benefits of traditional...

BANGKOK—Soneva Fushi’s 70-kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant system has achieved eight months of successful operation. It is the largest renewable energy plant currently operating in the Maldives, a country that has brought international attention to the issue of global warming and rising sea levels. Soneva Fushi is Six Senses’ flagship resort. “This is a significant first step in achieving our commitment of a net zero carbon footprint for Soneva Fushi by 2012 as well as supporting the carbon reduction goals of the Maldives government,” said Sonu Shivdasani, CEO and chairman of Six Senses. “We are hoping that our example...