GERMANTOWN, MD.—Telkonet, Inc., a leading provider of innovative, centrally managed solutions for integrated energy management, networking, building automation and proactive support services, announced that it has won an energy management contract with Cornerstone Hotel Management as part of Wisconsin’s Focus on Energy incentive program. Cornerstone Hotel Management will initially install the in-room, occupancy-driven Telkonet SmartEnergy (TSE) energy management system at three of its properties to lower utility bills by eliminating unnecessary heating and cooling of unoccupied guest rooms. Launched in March 2008, Telkonet and Focus on Energy provide eligible hospitality customers in Wisconsin with discounted energy management products and installation...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Control4 Corp., a leader in IP-based control and entertainment systems, announced the release of Control4 Suite Systems, a customized version of the company’s home automation and entertainment control technology. Control4 Suite Systems provides a platform of innovative convenience and automation for the in-room environment by enabling hotel guests to control lighting, room temperature, television/video systems, music, draperies and requests for services through a single remote. “We’ve worked closely with the industry to develop a fully customized room automation platform that is incredibly easy to use, install and maintain,” said Will West, CEO at Control4. “Control4 Suite...

ALSIP, ILL.—Litetronics International, Inc. has introduced Spiral-Lite Covered CFLs into its product line. Spiral-Lite Covered CFLs come in a variety of familiar shapes to combine the energy savings of compact fluorescent lamps with the attractive look and feel of an incandescent. Available in 9-watt and 14-watt A19, 11-watt G25, 15-watt R30, 23-watt R40, and 23-watt PAR38, Spiral-Lite Covered CFLs provide up to 80 percent energy savings in a wide range of applications. These energy savings help lower utility bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Spiral-Lite Covered CFLs are Energy Star qualified and have an average life of 8,000 to...

ST. LOUIS, MO.—Emerson Climate Technologies, a business of Emerson, announced the launch of its Big Blue Humidity Control Touchscreen Thermostat. This universal thermostat, which features a large blue touchscreen, controls single-stage, multi-stage and heat pump systems with up to four stages of heat and two stages of cool. The Emerson Big Blue Humidity Control Touchscreen offers two selectable program schedules or can be dedicated non-programmable. It has up to four time and temperature settings per program and can be either battery powered with power stealing assist or hardwired. “Contractors now have an easy sell to their customers that desire premium comfort...

VANCOUVER, WASH.—The Hilton Vancouver, Washington, one of America’s first sustainably-designed hotels, is making history again this month as the first hotel in the world to earn both Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Green Seal certifications. The Green Seal environmental certification accolade comes three years after the hotel became the first major U.S. hotel—and the first Hilton Hotel—to earn LEED certification. “The Hilton Vancouver, Washington is the only hotel in the world to achieve environmental sustainability certification from two top universally accepted and independent analysts,” said Jeff Diskin, senior vice president, brand management—Hilton Hotels & Resorts. “This hotel...

STAR ISLAND, BAHAMAS—There have been many changes in the few years since “travel” and “sustainable” first appeared in the same sentence. Emerging technologies coupled with mounting consumer demand have given us thousands of green travel options—from luxury eco-lodges (that make a negligible impact on their ecosystems) to carbon-neutral resorts, tours and airlines. A new leader in this green revolution is Star Island, a private-island destination currently under development in the Out Islands of the Bahamas. It will open its doors in late 2009. “This is a very exciting time in the field of green technology and, by extension, sustainable tourism,”...

HOUSTON—Led by a dramatic increase in utility costs, the overall cost of running a facility is 10 percent higher than it was just four years ago, according to results from a recent International Facility Management Association research report. The study, Benchmarks V: Annual Facility Costs, shows that utility costs—which include electricity, gasoline, fuel oil, steam water and sewage—have jumped 19 percent compared to similar data from 2006. While the increase in utility costs may come as no surprise to some, it is happening at a time when energy consumption is down. When compared to IFMA’s 2006 benchmarking figures, average electricity...

DALTON, GA.—Shaw Industries Group, Inc. announced that the company is a Founding Reporter of The Climate Registry. Shaw is among a select group of just over 200 founding reporting entities. The Climate Registry is a nonprofit organization established to measure and publicly report greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in a common, accurate and transparent manner consistent across industry sectors and borders. Thirty nine U.S. states, eight Canadian provinces, six Mexican states, three Native American tribes, and the District of Columbia are the founders of the organization. The Registry sets consistent and credible standards for the measurement, verification and public reporting of...

NEW YORK—In a major initiative to reduce energy and carbon emissions significantly, the New York Marriott Downtown, a 500-room full-service Marriott hotel managed by Marriott International, Inc. and owned by Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc., celebrated the inauguration of its new “microturbine farm” with a ribbon cutting on June 3 in Lower Manhattan. The installation of two hotel owner-funded PureComfort systems built by UTC Power, a United Technologies Corp. company, makes the hotel the first in New York City to use this ultra clean technology to provide its own electricity, cooling and heating on-site. Waste heat generated by the system’s...

NIANTIC, CONN.—INNCOM International, a global leader in energy management systems and products for the lodging industry, has joined with one of the nation’s leading HVAC manufacturers to develop technology that will deliver greater levels of precision HVAC control to guests and better energy efficiency—and, thus, lower operating costs—to hotels. Niantic, Conn.-based INNCOM is teaming with Oklahoma City-based Williams Applied Products Group whereby INNCOM is developing a controller that Williams Applied Group will use in fan-coil units. The state-of-the-art controller will maximize guest comfort—thus increasing guest satisfaction—and will drastically reduce hotel operating costs, thanks to dramatically improved energy efficiency while simultaneously...