BROOMFIELD, COLO.—The government’s recent Cash for Clunkers program helped the environment by getting thousands of gas-guzzling cars off the roads. Now, PhoneSuite is bringing that concept to the hospitality industry in an effort to rid hotels of older, energy-guzzling telephone systems. PhoneSuite, a leading provider of telecom solutions designed exclusively for the hospitality industry, and participating Authorized PhoneSuite Resellers have set up a $1 million fund to reward hoteliers for replacing their aging, environmentally unfriendly phone systems. From now until March 31, 2010, or when the fund is gone, hotel owners who purchase an energy-efficient PhoneSuite hotel/motel PBX will...

VICTORIA, B.C.—Carmanah Technologies unveiled its newest design in solar LED lighting: the EverGEN 1710 solar-powered area light. Designed as a compact stand-alone lighting alternative for off-grid parking lots and other municipal, commercial or industrial areas, the new EverGEN 1710 light combines advanced motion-sensing capabilities with a range of energy saving operating profiles to ensure bright, reliable illumination. Featuring a dark-sky friendly LED fixture designed by lighting manufacturer BetaLED, the EverGEN 1710 solar light incorporates all of the elements of a complete solar power system in a compact, pole-mounted design developed by global innovation firm frog design. According to Ted Lattimore, Carmanah...

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—With its recent $1 billion in renovations, the Holiday Inn brand has earned well-deserved publicity. Perhaps the Holiday Inn property deserving of the most buzz this year, however, is the brand new Holiday Inn Northwest/Sea World in San Antonio. The 194-room hotel is on track to be the first LEED certified hotel in Texas and the first LEED certified property within the 3,300-property Holiday Inn brand. The hotel, which opened on October 5, is owned by a group of investors out of Lubbock, Texas, and managed by Dallas-based Hospitality Management Corp. Green highlights of the 100 percent...

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—Electrolux Professional introduces its air-o-speed combi oven—one of the first high speed combi ovens that combines convection, steam, combi (steam and convection) and “multi-wave” for a completely integrated cooking process. The patented “multi-wave” microwave technology combines with the other cooking modes to reduce cook time by 50 percent without sacrificing food quality, while also allowing for the use of metal pans, trays and grids. Cooking up to four times faster than conventional equipment, the air-o-speed can roast 24 frozen chickens in 30 minutes. With three simple cooking options: automatic, pre-programmed and manual, the air-o-speed can automatically cook up...

AUSTELL, GA.—YKK AP America, a leader in manufacturing high quality architectural products, announced that it has expanded its enerGfacade product line with the launch of the most energy-efficient aluminum window in its AW class, the YOW 350 XT. Designed to ensure high performance and operation, the architectural grade window offers thermal resistant properties and barriers to minimize energy loss, making it up to 30 percent more efficient than standard, thermally broken windows. When using industry standard Low-E glazing, the YOW 350 XT achieves an aggressive U-value of 0.34 in a fixed window configuration. With the same glass type, casement and...

NEW YORK—Humanscale, a leading manufacturer of high-performance ergonomic work tools, has formed a partnership with Artemide, a world leader in high-end residential and professional lighting. Under the partnership, Humanscale will have the exclusive rights to distribute the new LED version of Artemide’s Tolomeo task light to the U.S. contract market. Already available with halogen, fluorescent and incandescent fixtures, the Tolomeo’s highly efficient LED version will be ready to ship to the United States in January. “With Tolemeo Classic being the No. 1 seller in the world for Artemide, I look at the Tolomeo LED as a brand new extension in...

NEW YORK—Carnegie, a leading manufacturer and innovator of textiles and wallcoverings, announced that its product line, Surface IQ, has achieved SCS Indoor Air Gold Certification. Surface IQ is built from the polymer up: eliminating the hazardous use of vinyl, chlorine, plasticizers, heavy metals, formaldehyde and dioxin. Built on thermoplastic olefin technology (TPO), it delivers both performance and ecology simultaneously, and features the colors, patterns and textures that the Carnegie name has become synonymous with. SCS is a global leader in the independent certification of environmental, sustainability, food quality, and food purity claims. Products that qualify for Indoor Advantage...

EAST LONGMEADOW, MASS.—Excel Dryer, Inc. announced that it has released the findings of a peer reviewed Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for its high-speed energy efficient hand dryer, XLERATOR. The LCA study, conducted by Quantis, an international life cycle assessment research firm, determined that when compared to traditional electric hand dryers and paper towels (virgin and 100 percent recycled content), XLERATOR reduces the Climate Changing Score (carbon footprint) of hand drying by 50 percent to 75 percent. Each hand drying system was evaluated on 10 years of service, or drying 260,000 pairs of hands. The LCA measured the entire environmental...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes WiSuite as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. WiSuite’s Central Control and Monitoring system interfaces with WiSuite’s ZigBee Wireless Digital Thermostats to provide real-time building, zone, room and device level controls, monthly temperature schedules, device history and maintenance alerts. The WiSuite real time PMS I/F is the key to achieving a 35 to 40 percent reduction in heating and cooling costs. WiSuite’s centrally controlled energy management supports a walk-in quota system that allows hotel managers to specify a quantity of rooms to keep ready for sale at...

DALLAS—More than 40 Marriott hotels throughout Texas are doing their part to help the Texas environment. TXU Energy recently conducted energy audits at several large Marriott properties in the state. The recommendations, if fully implemented, would reduce electricity consumption by more than 2 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year—enough to power 115 homes—for a savings of $250 thousand per year. “Our goal was to do things that make sense from an environmental and financial perspective,” said Rob Bahl, regional vice president of engineering for Marriott. “TXU Energy helped identify the green steps we can take to achieve that goal.” The audits were...