LONDON—Whitbread, the United Kingdom’s leading hotel and restaurant group, confirmed details of its plans for a second green hotel and its first low-carbon restaurant. The Burgess Hill Premier Inn, in West Sussex, represents the latest evolution in environmentally-friendly budget hotels. It follows Whitbread’s pioneering green hotel pilot in Tamworth, Staffordshire—the United Kingdom’s first green budget hotel which opened its doors to guests in December 2008. The 60-bedroom Premier Inn at Burgess Hill, due to open in autumn 2010, will adopt the best-performing green technologies trialed in Tamworth to deliver 70 percent carbon and 60 percent water savings. Adjacent to the...

NATIONAL REPORT—With advancements in controls technology and equipment design, washer-extractors (washers) are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and flexible. This is good news for hoteliers looking to save money in a recovering economy. In the race to gain new business, vendors are manufacturing higher G-force machines that spin off more water faster, allowing linens to dry in less time. In some cases, advancements have allowed rinse cycles and dryers to be eliminated entirely. While innovation has allowed vendors to squeeze just about as much water as they can out of the washing process, other advances, especially in software programming, are...

FLUSHING, N.Y.—The Queens Zoo is continuing its commitment to protecting the environment—this time through pedal power. The zoo has replaced gasoline-powered golf carts with heavy-duty human powered tricycles to transport equipment and animal food and supplies throughout the 11-acre facility. This eco-friendly move not only improves the environment by releasing no carbon emissions, but also the zoo budget, as the cost of maintaining these fuel-free bikes is far less than that of the carts. The zoo expects to save significantly on fuel costs. The cycles are from Worksman Cycles, an eco-friendly company based in Ozone Park, Queens, that manufactures zero-carbon...

NORWALK, CONN.—HEI Hotels & Resorts (HEI), the United States’ fastest growing private owner/operator of hotel real estate, announced that it received the Corporate Energy Management award from the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) at the 32nd World Energy Engineering Congress 2009. One of the nation’s premier energy management and renewable energy events, the AEE Corporate Energy Management award is presented to companies and individuals who make important strides in energy conservation, sustainability efforts and/or products. HEI joins Toyota, General Motors, the U.S. Postal Service and McDonald’s as past winners of the award. “Since launching our energy management programs in 2005,...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News has just added a new case study to its website. The case study focuses on the LEED-certified Hilton Garden Inn Gatlinburg’s new laundry operations that include two Continental Girbau 55-pound capacity soft-mount washer-extractors, each with an ozone system, and three Continental Girbau 75-pound capacity high-efficiency drying tumblers. Jeff Large of Laundry Systems of Tennessee worked closely with the Hilton Garden Inn to design the on-premise laundry. Over the next five years, the new equipment is expected to save more than $60,000. “The laundry will pay for itself in 48 months,” Large says. “Right now, everyone wants...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Energy Eye as a Founding Sponsor. Founded in 2001, Energy Eye’s HVAC energy management systems have been successfully used to control all types of heating and air-conditioning systems—driving immediate, day one cash-flow positive investments to hoteliers worldwide. The company’s EYEPOWER Solution is currently being used by hotels and resorts ranging from under 30 rooms to more than 600 rooms, across the United States, as well as in Mexico, the Caribbean, Australia, Asia and the Middle East. The EYEPOWER solution has been installed in many property types, including limited...

MOONACHIE, N.J.—BULBRITE introduces dimmable compact fluorescents (CFLs) featuring the new Coil, R30 and R40. BULBRITE is a leading supplier of energy-efficient light source solutions and an educational resource for lamping technology. BULBRITE dimmable Coil, R30 and R40 CFLs are ideal for use with portable lamps, recessed and track task lighting. The dimmable CFLs offer a savings of up to 77 percent in energy costs. Producing a warm white light, the bulbs offer a continuous smooth dimming down to 20 percent lumen output and work with most incandescent dimmers. They have a minimum starting temperature of 0 degrees F. Integrated...

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—EverGlow, a leading manufacturer of photoluminescent signs and markings, announced that its exit signs and exit path markings are now code compliant throughout the United States. Most local building and fire codes currently allow the replacement of electrical exit signs with photoluminescent exit signs. And increasingly, local and model codes require the use of exit signs above the door and at floor level—excellent applications for the use of both electrical exit signs (above the door) and photoluminescent exit signs (at floor level). Photoluminescent (non-electrical) emergency lighting, in the form of code compliant exit signs and exit path markings, represent...

ATLANTA—Improving energy use all comes down to green—the green of energy efficiency and resource sustainability as well as the green of money. So, show them the money. Building owners and managers of existing buildings need to understand the economic benefits of improving systems and operations. A new publication from leading industry organizations provides guidance for the business case to achieve energy savings as much as 30 percent. Energy Efficiency Guide for Existing Commercial Buildings: The Business Case for Building Owners and Managers provides the rationale for making economic decisions related to improving and sustaining energy efficiency in existing buildings. Approximately...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—The award–winning Environmental Information Center (EIC) website from GE Consumer & Industrial now offers visitors, hungry for knowledge about the U.S. Green Building Council‘s LEED certified building program, direction about how lighting and electrical products can account for more than 30 percent of LEED certification points. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. “The lighting and electrical products now listed on the EIC possess inherent LEED certification value,” says Heather Wilson Coode, marketing manager, GE Consumer & Industrial. “Notably, we added new environmentally relevant electrical products to help us lead the charge in environmental excellence. The...