OGUNQUIT, MAINE—Committed to sustainability and preserving the environment, The Cliff House Resort & Spa has installed one of Maine’s largest solar thermal projects. The installation uses 2,100 tubes on 70 collectors. That’s 10 times the size of an average solar project. The solar installation will save an estimated 11,000 gallons of propane annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 140,000 pounds per year.Solar energy will be used to provide heat and hot water for the resort’s spa building, which includes 32 guestrooms and 10 treatment rooms. The resort estimates it will reduce fossil fuel consumption in this...

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, COLO.—Glenwood Hot Springs is famous for many things, particularly its two enormous spring-fed mineral hot springs pools and its award-winning Spa of the Rockies. Equally impressive, though less well known, is the fact that Glenwood Hot Springs has been an environmental trailblazer since long before terms like “carbon footprint,” “eco-friendly” and “sustainability” became commonplace. Now, in addition to harnessing geothermal heat sources on-site, Glenwood Hot Springs has adopted practices that include the use of state-of-the-art materials and energy-efficient technology that add up to not only dollars saved, but to a cleaner, healthier environment for visitors and the...

NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y.—Evolve Guest Controls, a provider of guestroom controls and Intelity, a hospitality software solution company, have announced that the companies will establish a partnership. This decision comes after more than a year of successfully working side by side in guestrooms at Philadelphia’s Hilton Inn at Penn.Through this new agreement, Evolve will take advantage of the Intelity ICE (Interactive Customer Experience) enterprise platform to power its Evolve room controls with guest service applications. Intelity’s customers will also be able to use Evolve’s room controls, which are capable of manipulating factors such as lighting, temperature, room status and...

DALLAS—VingCard Elsafe, a leader in hospitality security and part of the ASSA ABLOY Group, announced an integrated product solution with Lutron Electronics, a leading designer and manufacturer of light and shade control solutions for commercial and residential applications. Through this collaboration, VingCard Elsafe and Lutron have developed a total guestroom control solution package for luxury hotels, which integrates Lutron’s premier lighting, drapery and shade control modules with VingCard Elsafe’s Orion energy management system, as well as guestroom door locks, electronic safes and minibars. Using this solution, hotels can provide their guests with total in-room comfort and increase energy efficiency with...

LAS VEGAS—Bartech, a provider of automatic minibar solutions, will debut its new Green Automatic Minibar (G32 model) at HITEC 2012. It uses advanced compressor technology that consumes 70 percent less energy than typical absorption minibars. Thanks to a new and improved insulation known as cyclopentane, that is thicker and more environmentally friendly, the G32 minibar stays cool longer. Once its target temperature is reached, a eutectic plate mounted in the rear of the unit provides more than 12 hours of cooling without consuming additional electricity.Bartech’s green technology extends to a remote digital component as well. A standard feature on...

NIANTIC, CONN.— INNCOM will unveil its new, programmable switch series to complement its Integrated Room Automation System (IRAS) at the 2012 Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC). Built on the same core as MODEVA, the EVORA Switch allows hotel guestroom designers to create lighting scenes and provide a pleasing light control environment and combine it with the ability to also control temperature, drapes and shades and guest annunciation functions without the expense of horizontal wiring within the room.“EVORA was developed to extend INNCOM switch capabilities beyond those offered in the well-established S-Series and the innovative MODEVA series,” said...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A new online calculator from American Rivers lets individuals discover the benefits of installing green roofs on their businesses. Green roofs are gaining popularity as cities look for cost-effective ways to protect and restore clean water. A green roof is one that is covered with plants and shrubs. By absorbing rainwater and providing insulation for the building, a green roof prevents storm runoff from polluting local streams and reduces heating and cooling costs. The “Get More Green” calculator allows visitors to enter an address via Google Maps, and determine the square footage of a building’s roof. Visitors then get a...

MORRISTOWN, N.J.—Honeywell International Inc. said Monday that it has acquired INNCOM, a Connecticut-based, privately held manufacturer of advanced software-based energy management solutions and in-room controls for lodging, healthcare and educational institutions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Honeywell said the acquisition will enhance its existing building management control systems offerings and broadens its customer base into the high-growth global lodging industry, particularly in the Middle East, India and Asia Pacific. INNCOM’s lodging customers include leading global brands ranging from mid-scale hotels to five-star luxury properties, including Hilton, Sheraton, Hyatt, St. Regis, Four Seasons, Radisson, Kimpton, among many others. INNCOM had...

LAKE GENEVA, WIS.—What if a hotel or building could install cogeneration with no investment, purchase electricity at a discount and reduce their carbon footprint? It may sound impossible, but the Green Leaf Inn in Delavan, Wis., has signed a 15 year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with a third party owner-operator of cogeneration, or combined heat and power systems, providing the benefit of on-site cogeneration with no investment in equipment, and an electricity bill 20 percent below the local utility cost.The key benefit for the inn and any business is savings—both in energy cost and capital equipment. Similar to wanting...

SALT LAKE CITY—Control4, a provider of IP-based home and hospitality control systems, has completed installation of the Control4 hospitality solution in three revitalized Dorchester Group hotels including 45 Park Lane in London, and Hotel Bel Air and Beverly Hills Hotel, both located in Los Angeles.“Our vision at the Dorchester Hotel Group was to integrate state-of-the-art technology to deliver a guest experience reflective of our upscale properties,” said Mark Campbell, chief information officer at Dorchester Collection. “Building on the growing popularity of home automation, we wanted a hotel room solution that vastly improved the comfort of our guests by allowing...