PORT ORFORD, ORE.—“It feels like you are on another planet.” That is how Michelle Duarte describes the WildSpring Guest Habitat that she and her husband own along the coast of Oregon in Port Orford. Their small, eco-friendly resort sits on five acres of 100-foot trees and includes five cabins. “The cabins are built like small homes,” Duarte says. “They are not rustic.”Just about everything possible was done to minimize the environmental footprint of the five cabin suites. Duarte’s husband, Dean, who once worked on Hollywood sets in construction, played an integral part in the building of the cabins. Only...

MILWAUKEE, WIS.—Telkonet, Inc., developer of the EcoSmart energy management platform featuring Recovery Time technology, announced continuing demand for its EcoSmart technology with a completed installation at Park Hyatt Chicago.Park Hyatt Chicago installed Telkonet’s EcoInsight energy management thermostats in all 198 guestrooms, including 13 suites. Located in Chicago’s Gold Coast Historic District, Park Hyatt Chicago joins several of Telkonet’s neighboring hospitality clients, including a 1,200-room luxury hotel property. The EcoInsight, integrated with the company’s Recovery Time technology, is a programmable, controllable thermostat with more than 125 configurable settings used to control the efficiency of a property’s heating, ventilating and air-conditioning...

SEATTLE—DewStop is a new fan switch that monitors humidity and dew point levels in a room and automatically switches the exhaust fan on or off to adjust for condensation in order to help minimize damage to walls and other items, as well as lessen or stop the growth of mold. Without proper ventilation, condensation produced from taking a shower can ultimately lead to mold growth. It is common practice to leave the exhaust fan running while taking a shower or even for long periods of time afterwards but in the long run, doing so will generate higher energy usage...

MILWAUKEE, WIS.—Telkonet, Inc., developer of the EcoSmart energy management platform featuring Recovery Time technology, announced that three Hilton Worldwide hotels in the Greater Chicago area have installed EcoSmart energy management systems.Green to Guest, a firm specializing in energy management for the hospitality industry, installed EcoInsight thermostats in a collective 750 rooms. In utilizing Telkonet’s proprietary hardware and energy management platform, the Hilton Northbrook, the Hilton Lisle/Naperville, and the DoubleTree Alsip will reduce their energy usage by 35 percent.“Sustainability has become an important criterion for both leisure and business customers when selecting a hotel,” said Frank Allgauer, co-owner of the...

SAN FRANCISCO—BuildingIQ, an energy management software company with a mission to redefine the way energy is managed in commercial buildings, announced it has partnered with Johnson Controls to bring its applications onto the new Panoptix platform. Using Panoptix, Johnson Controls customers will be able to access BuildingIQ to automatically reduce energy consumption and costs while improving the operational efficiency of a building. BuildingIQ offers a unique, next generation service to automatically fine tune the building management system (BMS) based on weather forecasts, occupancy patterns and energy prices in order to optimize HVAC energy. The Panoptix Platform will provide cloud-based...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Dream Green Services as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Dream Green Services provides air conditioner cleaning, installation and repair services. The company specializes in Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners (PTACs). The company has provided services for major brands including La Quinta, Motel 6/Studio 6, and Marriott International. A single annual cleaning with the company’s unique process could extend the life of PTAC units another three to five years. Also, an annual cleaning can decrease one’s electric bill up to 6 percent per month.For more information, e-mail...

BUFFALO, N.Y.—Salvatore’s Grand Hotel has just entered into an agreement to become the first hotel in the world to benefit from joint technology integration between ZENO Controls LLC and its newly acquired division, Verve Living Systems. Last month ZENO, developer of the ZENO wireless gateway and universal controller, announced the purchase of the Verve Living Systems product line of guestroom switches, sensors and thermostats, as well as HVAC, lighting and load controls.Buffalo’s famed independent boutique hotel will immediately begin installation of the Verve Keycard Switch that will provide point-to-point communication with the room PTAC air conditioners and be centrally...

SUNRISE, FLA.—Advantix Systems, a manufacturer of energy efficient liquid desiccant air-conditioning and cooling technology, and the Desarrollos Hotelco Group, announced their partnership to deliver Advantix’s liquid desiccant technology to the Caribbean’s hospitality industry. Advantix’s units utilize liquid desiccant, a salt water solution, to provide three important benefits for hotels: significantly lower energy costs, humidity control and improved indoor air quality. Conventional air-conditioning systems have one method for cooling air: chilling the air to its dew point to remove humidity and then reheating that air to a comfortable temperature, an intensive process that requires much energy. Advantix’s units simultaneously remove humidity...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News has just added a new case study to its website. The case study focuses on the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers and its installation of Telkonet motion sensing thermostats in every single one of the 1,214 rooms of the hotel. The installation was done as part of the Commercial Buildings Initiative (CBI)—a component of Retrofit Chicago that aims to dramatically reduce the energy needs of Chicago’s commercial buildings.A team of roughly 10 workers were employed for nearly a month, alongside the building engineers and the team from Telkonet. The Sheraton was eligible for a rebate...

BUFFALO, N.Y.—The SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Richardson, Texas, is realizing the benefits of wireless energy management by using the Verve Keycard Switch from ZENO Controls LLC. Property operator Lowen Hospitality Management is saving energy and money by empowering guests to control lights, outlets and the HVAC system in rooms. Lowen Hospitality Management is planning on implementing the Verve Keycard Switch at all new-construction projects going forward.“At Lowen Hospitality Management, our eye is on energy conservation and being green,” said Sanjay Naik, Lowen Hospitality Management vice president. “Rather than investing in costly occupancy sensors and associated technologies, we banked...