DETROIT—General Motors announced the introduction of Ultium Home and Ultium Commercial, which in combination with the existing Ultium Charge 360, create a holistic ecosystem of energy management products and services that will be housed under a new business unit called GM Energy. GM Energy’s connected product and service offerings are designed to offer cohesive energy management for home, commercial and EV customers, with solutions ranging from bi-directional charging, vehicle-to-home (V2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) applications, to stationary storage, solar products, software applications, cloud management tools, microgrid solutions, hydrogen fuel cells and more. GM Energy’s services will also enable the sale of energy...

OXFORD, U.K.—Energy management technology start-up, EcoSync, has announced the launch of its room-by-room, dynamic energy management platform across all commercial property sectors in a bid to reduce energy waste and costs for commercial buildings across the U.K. The launch comes after successful installations within the education sector generating energy savings between 30 percent and 50 percent. While the government has introduced a scheme to protect businesses, charities, and public sector organizations from escalating energy costs by fixing gas and electricity prices, this cap only applies to wholesale costs, which make up approximately 41 percent of a gas bill, and is...

BASSANO DEL GRAPPA, ITALY—Italy Mitsubishi Electric Hydronics & IT Cooling Systems, through its brand Climaveneta, has recently supplied HVAC units to the new luxury hotel now under construction at Benitses Beach in Corfu, also known as the “Green Island” for its thick vegetation. The complex includes a 5-star hotel, 40 bungalows and furnished villas, with a total capacity of 893 beds. It is the first large hotel in Greece, designed to avoid the use of fossil fuels and therefore does not emit CO2 into the atmosphere. Climaveneta heat pumps provide cooling, heating, and domestic hot water guaranteeing the rooms...

JAMESTOWN, N.Y.—Hope’s Windows, Inc. announces the release of their fully developed, tested, and certified product line—Hope’s Old World Suite. The new product, with its thin and arrow-shaped steel frame profiles, is the culmination of over a century of technological innovation: a complete product line that combines the striking visual appearance of the past with performance of the present, including Hope’s innovative Thermal Evolution technology. Old World Suite steel windows and doors offer extremely narrow sightlines with the ability to accept monolithic or insulated glass for energy efficiency. The historically accurate profiles and sightlines are ideal for new buildings as well...

HELSINKE, FINLAND—Scandic Helsinki Hub recently opened its doors in the Finnish capital. Located in downtown Helsinki, the hotel is housed in a 1920s printing house that has been transformed into a large 352-room hotel. Along with unique loft-style rooms, the hotel features inspiring event, meeting and coworking spaces along with a trattoria and bars. Scandic Helsinki Hub is strategically located at the crossroads of downtown Helsinki and the charming Helsinki south district. Vestiges of the former printing house have been elegantly preserved in the design throughout the building, and guests can choose accommodations that offer a variety of special features...

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CALIF.—If you think you see a tree while walking along the outdoor deck of Maggie’s Restaurant at the Desolation Hotel in South Lake Tahoe, you are not imagining things. The outdoor deck of the restaurant is wrapped around a live pine tree. It is just one example of how Desolation Hotel founder and owner Chet Pipkin attempted to leave the site of his eco-luxury micro resort as unscathed as possible. Trees that had to be harvested from the site where a motel once stood were repurposed for the hotel’s construction. Additional lumber from offsite came from...

ATLANTA—ASHRAE and the International Code Council announced joint development of a standard to assess carbon emissions across the entire building life cycle. Proposed ASHRAE/ICC Standard 240P—Evaluating Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Carbon Emissions in Building Design, Construction and Operation, will provide a whole life carbon approach to support emissions reductions in buildings. The proposed standard establishes how to measure and verify the greenhouse gas (GHG) and carbon emissions of a building, or group of buildings, over the entire life cycle. The goal is to provide consistent procedures and data to be referenced by policies, codes, and other standards that address new and...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The JW Marriott Washington, DC announced, during Environmental Awareness Month, that the hotel has been awarded a Gold level LEED certification for Building Operations and Maintenance. LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and an international symbol of excellence in green building. The JW Marriott Washington, DC is also expected to receive the Energy Star award in late September. The LEED Certification achievement, along with JW Marriott Washington, DC’s energy conservation awards, achievements, and efforts, such as using solar energy,...

SAVAGE, MD.—Blue Whale EV, an innovative end-to-end advisory and service organization to the EV charging community, announces its partnership as a certified reseller with Xeal, a leading provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and smarter technology for the multifamily industry. Through this partnership, Blue Whale EV will extend the capacity of the EV charging startup by providing sales, installation, and maintenance for prospective and existing customers. This will enable Xeal’s teams to focus on expanding production and continuing to develop cutting-edge technology. Xeal’s technology aims to solve major connectivity problems that plague the EV industry. Recent studies have shown that more...

SAN DIEGO—NeoVolta Inc., manufacturer of Smart Energy Storage Solutions, announced that its systems will be installed in electric vehicle charging stations at a national hotel brand. This initial phase of installations continues an expected nationwide rollout of NeoVolta batteries in 1,000 EOS Linx charging stations at various hotel chains, gas stations, and convenience stores nationwide over the next three years. With EOS charging stations on site, guests at these hotel locations will be able to charge their electric vehicles overnight while they rest, enhancing their stay. The parent company of the brand is one of the world’s largest lodging franchises,...