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Energy Management

Everyone has felt the sting of rising energy costs recently. Savvy hoteliers have implemented plans to address these increases. It could be a simple operational change or a complex capital investment. Green Lodging News covers the latest news and trends pertaining to energy management. Got news or a story idea to share? Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Energy Management

Home Energy Management
Everyone has felt the sting of rising energy costs recently. Savvy hoteliers have implemented plans to address these increases. It could be a simple operational change or a complex capital investment. Green Lodging News covers the latest news and trends pertaining to energy management. Got news or a story idea to share? Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Green Meeting Inspired Renaissance Boston Waterfront to Tackle Waste

BOSTON—When you host the annual conference of a national environmental organization, there is a good chance you will make some changes to your operations—whether to impress or to meet the demands of the group you are hosting. That is what happened at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel earlier this year when it hosted the Ceres annual conference. Ceres is a national network of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups working with companies and investors to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change. According to David Keamy, director of sales and marketing at the 456-room property, Ceres event...

Energy Curtailment Specialists Launches PowerPay! PLUS in PJM

BUFFALO, N.Y.—Energy Curtailment Specialists, Inc. (ECS), a privately held demand response provider, announces the addition of its PowerPay! PLUS program to its menu of demand response programs. PowerPay! PLUS is offered to members of PowerPay! PJM and allows businesses to choose when they want to reduce their electricity, giving them an extra revenue stream for their electric demand reduction efforts. This program is a best-efforts, no penalty program in which participants are paid for reducing electricity when electricity prices in the market reach a threshold pre-determined by the company and ECS. ECS will provide detailed price forecasting...

Bekaert Specialty Films Certifies Carbon Footprint

SAN DIEGO—Bekaert Specialty Films, LLC reaffirmed its pledge to environmental stewardship by announcing that it has defined its carbon footprint. Bekaert Specialty Films’ solar control window films, sold under the Solar Gard and Panorama brands, have long been recognized for their role in reducing energy consumption, and the company is now the first specialized film manufacturer to make this level of operational commitment to environmentally-responsible practices. “The certification of our carbon footprint is an important step in our overall strategy to improve our environmental practices,” said Christophe Fremont, President, Bekaert Specialty Films. “As leaders, we are pushing the...

GLN Adds HD Supply Hospitality Solutions as Founding Sponsor

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes HD Supply Hospitality Solutions as a Founding Sponsor. HD Supply is committed to doing business in a manner that is responsible to its associates, customers and the environment. With HD Supply’s new ideallygreen icon, the company has made it easy for its customers to identify environmentally preferable products throughout its catalogs and at www.hdsupplysolutions.com. Products marked with the ideallygreen icon can increase energy efficiency, help reduce water consumption, create a healthier indoor environment, facilitate waste reduction, and prevent hazardous materials from entering the environment. HD Supply is one of...

Host Hotels’ Sheraton Parsippany Property Earns EPA’s Energy Star

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—The 370-room Sheraton Parsippany Hotel has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) prestigious Energy Star, the national symbol for superior energy efficiency and environmental protection. Commercial buildings and industrial plants that rate in the top 25 percent of facilities in the nation for energy efficiency may qualify for the Energy Star. The hotel is owned by Host Hotels and Resorts and managed by Starwood Hotels and Resorts. “The Sheraton Parsippany Hotel has worked hard on efficiencies and energy savings and is pleased to accept EPA’s Energy Star in recognition of our efforts,” said Edward Costello, director of operations...

Adding Wind Power a Breeze for Port Clinton’s McKenna’s Inn B&B

PORT CLINTON, OHIO—Approximately 120 feet above the grounds here at the McKenna’s Inn Bed and Breakfast, a 10-kilowatt wind turbine catches the breezes coming off of Lake Erie. For the owners, Joe Jessen and his wife, Becky, the turbine represents more than an alternative source of power for their four-room inn. It is their way of helping to create a better future for their daughter—one where renewable energy is the rule, rather than the exception. The wind turbine at the McKenna’s Inn Bed and Breakfast just went “live” a few weeks ago. It is something Joe says he and his...

Bill Marriott Joins Voices Calling For Action on Energy and Fuel Costs

BETHESDA, MD.—With sky-high fuel prices threatening the airline industry and potentially stifling travel throughout the United States, Marriott International, Inc. last week joined other leaders in the travel and tourism industry to call on the U.S. Congress and the Administration to forge a bipartisan response to the new energy crisis. J.W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr., chairman and CEO of the company, supported an industry letter calling on senators, representatives and the president to stay in Washington through the summer to develop a comprehensive national energy policy. He said that Americans’ family budgets have been squeezed both by higher prices at the...

Inn at Hickory Run Prepares to Erect $60,000 Wind Turbine

WHITE HAVEN, PA.—Thanks to a grant from the State of Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Program, the Inn at Hickory Run here is getting closer to its goal of erecting a 6.6-kilowatt wind turbine. Construction is expected to begin within the next two weeks. Combined with its use of geothermal heating and air-conditioning, as well as high efficiency lighting and computer control systems, the turbine will help the inn achieve 80 percent of its energy from off-grid, renewable energy sources. David Pfeil, who owns the inn with his wife Nancy, says the wind turbine will cost $60,000, with the State of Pennsylvania...

Power Purchase, Lease Agreements Make Combined Heat & Power More Affordable

NATIONAL REPORT—With electricity and natural gas prices about to follow gasoline prices into the stratosphere, there is no better time to consider combined heat and power (CHP) as a means to lower utility bills—especially with CHP system providers offering so many attractive financing options. In fact, with some vendors you can have an on-site utility (power plant) installed with no upfront capital cost. CHP is ideal for hotels with 100 rooms and above. CHP, also known as cogeneration, is generated onsite by a plant powered by any number of systems: fuel cells, reciprocating engines, turbines, or microturbines. Electricity generated is...

Control4, LG Electronics Partner to Co-Develop Integrated System

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Control4 Corp. and LG Electronics announced plans to co-develop an integrated automation system for HDTV sets that will allow hotel guests to control lighting, room temperature, draperies and entertainment systems through the television with a single remote control. The companies are collaborating on a card, based on the proven Control4 Operating System, which will be integrated with LG Electronics’ hospitality HDTVs via their unique interface port—eliminating the need for a separate controller box. “Integrating our automation operating platform with LG hospitality TVs represents a new chapter for Control4 and the industry,” said Will West, chief executive officer...