ASHLAND CITY, TENN.—A. O. Smith has redesigned its line of commercial electric water heaters. The new Gold Series, Gold Xi and Custom Xi models include innovative features intended to provide customers with enhanced performance and reliability. “We’re really excited about the debut of our new commercial electric line,” said Matt Schulz, A. O. Smith standard commercial product manager. “Customers will truly appreciate and benefit from what we believe to be the smartest and most innovative commercial electric water heaters available.” The new Gold Series DRE incorporates several new features, including the addition of Goldenrod elements as a standard feature on all...

ATLANTA—To help drive the building industry toward market-viable net-zero-energy buildings, ASHRAE is hosting a specialty conference on the topic in March in San Francisco. “We have a reached a time when the building industry is being called to shift to a new level of performance that will reduce our energy and carbon footprint,” Bill Harrison, ASHRAE president, said. “It is time to advance net-zero-energy building knowledge.” ASHRAE’s Countdown to a Sustainable Energy Future...Net-Zero and Beyond conference will take place March 29 to 31 at Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. The conference will provide a forum to discuss the...

BOYLSTON, MA.—Owl Power Co., developer and manufacturer of clean energy cogeneration systems, has announced Vegawatt, an innovative new cogeneration system for restaurants and food service facilities. Vegawatt uses waste vegetable oil from any food service operation as a fuel to generate on-site electricity and hot water, saving the restaurant thousands of dollars as well as providing a clean, renewable source of energy. Vegawatt is installed and has been running since early December at Finz Seafood & Grill. “As a restaurant operator I am constantly looking for more efficient methods, and especially for cost-saving measures,” said George Carey, owner of Finz...

ATLANTA—The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), along with nine other leading organizations, is forming a consortium in response to the U.S. Department of Energy request for consortia to advise the department on high-performance building issues. The High-Performance Commercial Green Building Partnership (HPCGBP) brings together leading organizations from all aspects of the building community to provide guidance and technical leadership on key sustainability issues to the Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Program. “This partnership will ensure that the voices of the building industry are being heard,” says Bill Harrison, ASHRAE president. “At a time when reducing energy...

GOLDEN, COLO.—Novan Solar Inc. of Golden, Colo., has installed one of the nation’s largest solar hot water systems ever built for a hotel at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Novan solar thermal system will provide domestic hot water for guestrooms, the main laundry services room and all the restaurants at the 492-room resort. The 27-acre Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa has complete resort facilities, including a 2.5 acre “water playground,” 27 holes of championship golf, world-class tennis, Spa Avania and the Native American and Environmental Learning Center as a part...

ROANOKE, VA.—The Comfort Inn, Butte Montana, which is managed by Town Pump, Inc., has installed Lodging Technology’s GEM System Energy Management in all 145 guestrooms. GEM System, an infrared sensor-based guestroom energy management system, reduces room energy costs 35 percent to 45 percent by maintaining “management-preferred” temperatures in rooms while guests are out. By taking this responsible step to become more energy efficient, NorthWestern Energy has given the Comfort Inn a very substantial rebate. The Comfort Inn has a mixture of GE and LG through-the-wall PTAC units, ranging in age from two to 20-plus years. Since GEM System is compatible...

ATLANTA—As the federal government prepares for the presidential transition in January, it will face challenges in dealing with increasingly complex issues and new directives from the Obama administration and the new Congress, especially concerning energy issues. A new report from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) provides a potential roadmap for addressing the nation’s dependence on foreign energy sources and its greenhouse gas emissions while growing the economy. “Buildings are often overlooked as an opportunity to reduce energy consumption and offer an excellent opportunity to achieve national energy goals,” says ASHRAE president Bill Harrison. Buildings are...

MINNEAPOLIS—New McQuay scroll-compressor Templifier water heaters reduce energy costs by recovering waste heat and making it available for space heating and domestic hot water. Ideal for hotels, McQuay Templifier units with scroll compressors range from 500 to 3,000 MBh and can heat water up to 160° F (71° C) compared to 140° F for competitive units. The Templifier’s hermetic scroll compressors feature low sound levels for quiet operation and use R-134a refrigerant, which has no ozone-depletion potential or phase-out schedule. The McQuay Open Choices control feature allows easy integration with the building automation system of choice using BACnet, LonTalk...

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. announced that its flagship Element hotel—Element Lexington—is the first Starwood hotel to earn Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program and the first hotel in Massachusetts to achieve this prestigious rating. Element Lexington earned LEED Gold certification in recognition of its superior performance in areas including water and energy conservation and improved indoor environmental quality measures. The hotel, which opened its doors in July 2008, expects to recoup its investment in green building in less than five years, due to associated operational savings....

YOUNTVILLE, CALIF.—The Napa Valley community of Yountville, Calif., with a population of a little more than 3,000 people, is now home to one of the greenest lodging establishments in the United States—the 62-room luxury Bardessono hotel, restaurant and spa. Set to open the first week of February, the development should earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification later in 2009. If it does reach that goal, it will be only the second hotel in the United States to do so. The Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., is the other. The owner and developer of the property is...