NATIONAL REPORT—If you are reading this article, it can be assumed that you either own or operate a heated swimming pool. If so, you probably would like to reduce your pool heating costs and save money. Beyond turning down the pool’s thermostat and keeping the pool covered, your options are limited. The purpose of this article is to explore those options. Businesses such as hotels, motels, resorts and water parks have no choice but to keep their pools at a comfortable temperature. Fossil fuel prices fluctuate significantly and are expected to rise over the next decade. Commercial pools are perfect...

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Verve Living Systems, developers of wireless, battery-less control products, will be exhibiting a new line of energy-saving automation products during Greenbuild 2012. Greenbuild will be held in Toronto October 4 to 7. The new Verve product portfolio uses highly efficient radio frequency technology in an attractively designed family of sensors and control devices that enable significant energy savings without compromising comfort. The Verve product line consists of four primary categories of product: Occupancy Detection, HVAC Control, Lighting and Load Control, and User Interfaces. Verve sensors determine the occupancy state of a room, and communicate wirelessly with other Verve devices...

RENO—Being part of the unique high desert canvas of Reno-Tahoe has inspired the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino to adopt sweeping green initiatives to dramatically reduce the resort’s carbon footprint. For several years the resort has been mindful to minimize the impact of operations on the environment while maintaining a premiere level of service and experience for guests. The resort has used geothermal energy to heat the domestic hot water for the Tuscany Tower, including the 43,000 square foot Spa Toscana and Fitness Center as well as the two outdoor swimming pools and spas, since the 2007 expansion project. With...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Verve Living Systems as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Verve Living Systems is the one of the innovative brands of Masco Corporation, a Fortune 500 company and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of brand-name products for the home improvement and new home construction markets. Verve products include wireless, battery-less sensors and controls that can be easily installed in minutes using existing resources. When combined with its HVAC setback module or thermostat and its in-line switch module, Verve Living Systems’ wireless occupancy sensors can be used...

MILWAUKEE, WIS.—Telkonet, Inc., developer of the EcoSmart energy management platform incorporating patented Recovery Time technology, announced that it will install its EcoSmart Suite energy management platform at the Westin Alexandria Hotel, owned by Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, LLC and located in the exclusive Carlyle section of Old Town Alexandria, Va. Telkonet’s EcoSmart platform will control existing water source heat pumps in each of the 341 luxury rooms and 7 luxury suites of the hotel—an upgrade that complements many green initiatives already in place. The EcoSmart products will be networked using a wireless communications infrastructure consisting of EcoWave wireless thermostats and...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Eco Smart Energy as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Eco Smart Energy LLC is a distributor of the highly efficient Sun Equinox solar hot water system. The Sun Equinox System can be engineered to produce hot water for any hotel application. Sun Equinox can be used as a pre-heat system for pools, spas, and motel and hotel laundry rooms. Typical savings range from 25 percent up to 60 percent in gas or electricity bills. Thousands of systems have been installed around the world—all producing more than...

INDIANAPOLIS—Jackson Systems introduces the T-21-P touchscreen thermostat, a feature-rich thermostat that can be battery powered or hardwired which makes it ideally suited for use in light commercial applications. The thermostat features a slim profile that makes it an attractive addition for many applications. The large backlit display helps illuminate the large numbers and icons, thus making the T-21-P easy to read and use. “Simplicity of design coupled with an attractive profile, large touchscreen display, and outstanding price point, make the T-21-P a perfect stocking thermostat for every HVAC contractor. We are excited to offer our contractors a great product that is...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Aquatherm Industries as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Aquatherm provides hybrid solar pool heating systems for hotels and resorts. A hybrid solar pool heating system can reduce 40 percent to 60 percent of the annual gas used to heat a year-round pool (the solar contribution is even higher for pools that are not heated year-round and can range up to 100 percent.) A typical gas pool heater uses around 8 therms per square foot of pool surface per year to maintain a constant temperature of approximately...

MAMMOTH LAKES, CALIF.— Britannia Pacific Properties, a Lewis Trust Group company, announced that the town of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., has granted entitlements to build an innovative hotel and residences project called “Handmade Hotel Mammoth View.” With an extensive portfolio of properties, Britannia Pacific Properties has now set their sights on driving business and providing jobs to the town of Mammoth Lakes with their latest initiative, a 5.51-acre project which will feature geothermal heating for purposes of encouraging conservation of natural resources. Handmade Hotel Mammoth View will be an entirely new concept for the hospitality market in the small but...

MILWAUKEE, WIS.—Telkonet, Inc., developer of the EcoSmart energy management platform which incorporates patented Recovery Time technology, announced that the Waterfront Hotel has become the latest hospitality leader to deploy a networked EcoSmart energy management system. In partnership with Ecology Action, a nonprofit consulting firm, Telkonet helped the Waterfront Hotel, located in Oakland, Calif., take advantage of the LodgingSavers utility ratepayer funded program. Telkonet installed a fully networked EcoSmart Energy Management System (EMS), replacing the hotel’s existing thermostats with the Telkonet EcoInsight intelligent thermostat. Because the thermostats are ZigBee-enabled to create a mesh network, they develop a facility-wide wireless network dedicated...