SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—When you’re homeless, getting off the streets is hard enough and dreams of living in comfort and dignity can seem far out of reach. But working together with Austin-based nonprofit Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Friedrich Air Conditioning Co. is turning that dream into a reality for more people lifted off the streets in the Central Texas region. Friedrich has made a massive donation of 30 ductless heating and cooling systems to support the second development phase of the Community First! Village, a program of Mobile Loaves & Fishes which helps provide sustainable shelter and community support for...

SHANGHAI, CHINA—Architecturally, and from a sustainability standpoint, the 337-room InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, set to open this month, is one of the most unique hotels in the world. Built into the side of the abandoned Shenkeng Quarry in Songjiang, about 22 miles outside of Shanghai, the hotel will create its own power—including heat and lighting—through geothermal and solar energy. The roof is covered with greenery. Water runs throughout the structure. A waterfall, built into the center of the hotel, pours into the pool at the bottom of the quarry. The two bottommost floors are built completely underwater. Every room in the hotel—aside...

ATLANTA—Honeywell, a global leader in connected hospitality, announces its new INNCOM Spectre Energy Control, an easy-to-install, efficient lighting and power management system that fulfills California Title 24 requirements. Spectre extends occupancy detection to guestroom lights and outlets to conserve energy while also offering welcoming lights when a guest enters the room. Spectre from Honeywell integrates with its e-Series thermostats to combine lighting and power management in retrofit and new build projects. Spectre will be available for installation in September 2018. The e-Series thermostat detects when a room is unoccupied and using the Spectre technology, it automatically turns off a room’s...

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—Friedrich’s VRP (Variable Refrigerant Packaged) Heat Pump system has landed top honors as one of the best new products of 2018 by Consulting-Specifying Engineer in the “HVAC: Air Movement and Compressors” category. “The Friedrich VRP is a game changer for the industry because it offers so many benefits in an easy-to-install, highly efficient package,” said TJ Wheeler, Friedrich VP of Marketing and Product Management. “Engineers in particular recognize and appreciate true innovation, so we are very honored to be selected for this award.” The Gold award from Consulting-Specifying Engineer is the latest in a string of honors that the...

ATLANTA—Honeywell, a global leader in connected hospitality, announced that Zenique Hotels installed Honeywell’s INNCOM e7 Thermostats at its new 127-room Aloft Dublin-Pleasanton hotel in California. “We picked Honeywell for its robust integration capabilities with other software, its energy savings, and because the e7 Thermostat looks great,” said Rupesh Patel, President of Zenique Hotels. “Its flat panel controls are perfect for the exceptional Aloft guest experience we wanted to create. The e7 also communicates with our property’s Alexa voice activated room controls powered by Volara. The systems work well together and provide the innovation and convenience our guests love. Patel noted...

ORLANDO, FLA.—More than 8,000 food industry professionals gathered at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando last week for the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show. Among the hundreds of exhibitors were companies introducing products to reduce energy and water consumption and material waste. The following is a quick rundown of those companies and the products they featured: PowerTrak Efficiency Systems, LLC—PowerTrak Efficiency Systems introduced its VX Series Energy Management Thermostat that includes an occupancy sensor that allows for energy saving when rooms are unoccupied. Fully configurable settings allow for temperature setback, temperature recovery, setback optimization, setback limits, and set point...

NEW ALBANY, MISS.—Master-Bilt, manufacturer and supplier of a full line of commercial refrigeration, has named Chris Greer as Continuous Improvement Manager effective August 20, 2018, reporting directly to VP of Operations at Master-Bilt, Tom Machingo. As Continuous Improvement Manager, Greer will drive operational excellence initiatives and be responsible for developing consistent improvement in the manufacturing operation at Master-Bilt. “The primary focus for Chris will be to help develop new continuous improvement projects going forward,” stated Machingo. “We are very excited about the opportunities to improve and implement best-practice training, methods and tools.” With over 10 years of manufacturing and management experience in...

ATLANTA—Honeywell, a global leader in connected hospitality, announced the Saybrook Point Inn, Marina and Spa has successfully implemented Honeywell’s INNCOM e7 Thermostat and guestroom controls in all guestrooms and public spaces. The e7 Thermostat is the core of Honeywell’s guestroom energy management system that delivers energy savings and comfort via its use of occupancy sensing technology and easy-to-use control plate. Having maintained the AAA Four-Star rating for 16 consecutive years, Saybrook Point is widely recognized in New England as a premier destination with award-winning sustainability practices. “On the front end, the new e7 unit is easy for our guests to use,”...

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS–Keeping cool while dreaming big for kids. That’s the motivation behind Friedrich’s latest major donation to help turn the dream of KidSTREAM Children’s Museum in Ventura County into a reality. Friedrich has become the first major manufacturer to donate to the nonprofit museum, whose vision is to create a facility for all children in the community to have opportunities to explore science, technology, reading, engineering, arts and math (STREAM) in a fun, interactive learning environment. With designs to transform a large, former 30,000-square-foot library into the new Ventura County children’s museum, KidSTREAM is first creating a 1,200-square-foot “preview...

ATLANTA—ASHRAE has published a revised edition of its standard that provides a more comprehensive approach to preventing the growth and spread of Legionella. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2018, Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems establishes minimum legionellosis risk management requirements for building water systems. The 2018 edition provides clarification of compliance requirements, as well as an update to enforceable, code-intended language to facilitate adoption of the standard for code and regulatory purposes. The standard was originally developed to help designers and building operators establish water management plans that include practices specific to the systems that exist in a particular building, campus or health care facility....