BENTON HARBOR, MICH.—Whirlpool Corp., a leading home appliance manufacturer, has been recognized with the 2009 Energy Star Sustained Excellence award by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The award recognizes the company’s leadership in offering consumers appliance energy and water efficiency through its portfolio of brands. This is the company’s tenth Energy Star award and fourth consecutive Sustained Excellence win. Whirlpool Corp. will accept the award at ceremonies in Washington, D.C., on March 31, 2009. “Whirlpool Corporation is honored to again receive the Energy Star Sustained Excellence award,” said Mike...

SAN FRANCISCO—Meraki, an award-winning provider of wireless networking solutions, announced the availability of Meraki Solar, the world’s first self-powered WiFi mesh device. Meraki Solar is powered by its own solar panel and solar-charged battery and represents a quantum leap forward in enabling the rapid deployment of large outdoor networks. Meraki Solar is completely energy independent, making it ideal for providing WiFi coverage in hard-to-wire areas without easy access to power supplies such as business districts, resorts, rural areas, parks, golf courses, and more. Each unit is completely self-contained and ready to mount on roofs, walls, poles and anywhere that receives...

With all the “green” talk going around about reducing electrical consumption, one major energy user is rarely discussed—hotel PTAC/VTAC units. A dirty PTAC must often work twice as hard and consume twice the electricity to reach the desired room temperatures of demanding guests. Simply cleaning the filter on a regular basis is not enough. PTACs should be removed and thoroughly cleaned a minimum of once per year. Removing the dirt will increase efficiency significantly, and improve air quality immediately. Hoteliers that put an HVAC deep-cleaning plan into action for the first time can realize huge savings on their electric...

KENNER, LA.—Pellerin Milnor’s V-Series washer-extractors, with 40-160 lb. (18-72 kg) capacities, now feature NEW RinSave™ water saver software that eliminates excessive rinse and intermediate extract steps. This innovative process allows a precise high G-Force to “sling” the wash liquor (including water, chemistry, and soil) out of the goods between the last wash step and following rinse cycle. Milnor’s V-Series washer-extractors with RinSave software conserve water use without compromising superior wash quality. RinSave water saver software replaces as many as two rinse steps and saves up to 10 minutes per load. No matter what capacity, Milnor’s V-Series washer-extractors with RinSave...

GUANGZHOU, CHINA—Mayland Seaside Hotel, a five-star hotel project to be situated along the Zhujiang River, will feature an architecture style focused on sensibility to social responsiveness, energy use, urbanism and ecological awareness. The hotel is currently in the design phase and is due to be completed in 2012-2013, according to Narendra Patel, Patel Architecture, Rancho Mirage, Calif. The design provides for wind turbines on the upper portion of the tower and a massive array of photovoltaic panels covering the entire south façade. In the basement is a provision to incorporate a fuel cell power generator that would run on clean...

BOSTON—EnOcean announced a fundamental commitment to protect the environment by becoming an Energy Star partner. EnOcean, through its voluntary partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Program, is helping to sustain green initiatives by fitting energy-inefficient buildings with self-powered wireless controls. EnOcean’s energy harvesting and wireless technologies simplify the installation of the energy-stingy wireless controls (sensors, switches, gateways and actuators) by replacing wires and batteries with self-powered wireless links. “The Energy Star partnership clearly communicates to architects, contractors and building owners that EnOcean is committed to protecting the environment and strengthening the economy,” said Jim O’Callaghan, president of...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Hobart introduces Cle, its next generation of durable and reliable conveyor warewashers. The Cle is more productive, more energy efficient and uses less space than most other conveyor warewashers in the industry. Incorporating the latest warewashing technology in one machine, the new CLe delivers clean and sanitized dishware at a lower cost. Hobart also now offers the new CLe blower dryer, which uses 76 percent less energy and 45 percent less space than prior models and is designed to operate with the warewasher as one CLe system. The new CLe Warewasher is Energy Star qualified by the U.S. Environmental...

AURORA, OHIO—EcoVations, the fixture division of lighting innovator TCP, Inc., introduces a 16-watt LED Dock Light as an energy efficient alternative to halogen and incandescent dock lights used in shipping and receiving loading docks. The EcoVations LED Dock Light exceeds IESNA industry recommendations by providing a uniform light level averaging six footcandles at the back of a 53-foot trailer. It is available as an easy retrofit for existing dock arms or as a combo package including dock arm and mounting hardware for new construction or complete replacement. The 16-watt LED Dock Light uses 82 percent less energy than 90-watt PAR...

ATLANTA—Servidyne, Inc., a building performance efficiency and real estate company, is pleased to announce that it has been named 2009 Energy Star Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This is the seventh time that Servidyne has won the coveted award, more times than any other service and product provider. The 2009 Partner of the Year Award recognizes efforts to use energy efficiently in facility operations and to integrate superior energy management into overall organizational strategy. Servidyne, an Energy Star partner since 1995, will be honored for its commitment...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News has added a Heat Transfer Products case study to its Vendor Case Studies section. The case study focuses on the Riviera Beach Resort on Cape Cod in Bass River, Mass. It explains how the resort replaced two old boilers with a highly efficient Phoenix Gas Fired Water Heater with 119 gallons of built-in storage, and a separate 119-gallon storage tank. The sealed combustion, direct-vent Phoenix delivers domestic hot water—and even space heating when connected to an air handler—at a combustion efficiency of 96 percent. Overnight, the resort went from two boilers and a million BTUs, to...