MOONACHIE, N.J.—Designed to be used with a multitude of new and existing lighting fixtures with GU24 sockets, Bulbrite has added a line of dimmable GU24 compact fluorescents to its family of energy efficient CFLs. “The GU24 socket system was designed to replace the Edison socket and base, transforming standard lighting into energy efficient fixtures,” says Bulbrite president Cathy Choi. “With the industry’s surge to become more environmentally friendly, an ever-growing number of suppliers, distributors and specifiers are using lighting fixtures that feature GU24 sockets. To meet this growing demand, we have launched dimmable GU24 CFLs that offer an energy...

NEW YORK—Greening some of the bright lights of the Great White Way has translated to another kind of green—$13,200 in cash and more than $130,000 in annual savings in electricity costs—for the Crowne Plaza Times Square. The hotel is the first business to receive a rebate from Consolidated Edison (Con Edison), for an energy-saving initiative under the utility’s new Commercial and Industrial Energy Efficiency Program. The hotel received the rebate as a reward for replacing the 3,300 40-watt incandescent light bulbs of its 80 by 20 foot Crowne Plaza Times Square sign with 8-watt compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. The...

NEW YORK—Humanscale’s groundbreaking Element LED Task Light received a 2010 Green GOOD DESIGN Award. Among thousands of submissions from more than 46 countries, Element was selected as an outstanding example of green design. The Green GOOD DESIGN Awards are organized by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. Green GOOD DESIGN’s goal is “to emphasize the importance of sustainable design and to develop a public awareness program for the international general public about which companies are doing the best job in sustainable design for our environments,” said Ioannis...

TORONTO—A three-floor, 114-bed hostel in Toronto that will open within the next couple of weeks could very well be the most energy efficient lodging establishment in North America. Incorporating solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, geothermal and heat capture technologies, the “low carbon” hostel will produce 75 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a comparable building its size. The hostel’s name is the Planet Traveler and co-developer Tom Rand says the property is by far the best in class for hostels and was built to the standards of a boutique hotel. The cost for the energy-saving systems was $200,000, just 5 percent...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Consumers searching for the latest hybrid can soon look beyond their local car dealership. Beginning in 2011, GE Lighting will bring hybrid technology to the lighting aisle in the form of a unique, new incandescent-shaped light bulb that combines the instant brightness of halogen technology with the energy efficiency and longer rated life of compact fluorescent (CFL) technology. The initial product launch will bring U.S. and Canadian consumers GE Reveal and GE Energy Smart Soft White varieties that offer significantly greater instant brightness than current covered CFLs, while preserving the energy efficiency and long life attributes that have elevated...

OREM, UTAH—ILLUMRA, a supplier of self-powered, battery-free, wireless lighting and HVAC controls, recently won the “Best Dimming or Control” award at The LED Show in Las Vegas. A panel of LED experts reviewed the dimmer. The constant voltage dimmer is available in a wireless or wired configuration that responds to hardwired or wireless battery-free controls to adjust the brightness of LED fixtures. “ILLUMRA is providing the LED community with game changing technology,” said James Highgate, lighting consultant and director of the LED Show. “We are impressed with the dimming capabilities in such a small package. We see the potential for...

SAN FRANCISCO—The Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) ruling on mercury labeling will require all compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) manufacturers to provide information on proper handling and cleanup when a CFL breaks. CFLs have gained in market share in recent years because of their energy efficiency. Amy Galland, research director of As You Sow, said, “Consumers have learned that CFLs use less electricity than incandescent bulbs, which is good for the environment. But as more CFLs entered the market we have been concerned that consumers do not fully appreciate the potential dangers if a CFL is broken. There is mercury...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Reflect and Glow Products as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Find-A-Light from Reflect and Glow Products helps guests find the light switch at night without leaving a light on and wasting electricity. With exposure to day light or electric lights the advanced technology of this material provides a super bright glow. Find-A-Light products come in different styles and are available for both rocker and toggle type switch plates. They are easy to install. Simply use the existing screws on the wallplate to fasten Find A Light.For...

CARLSBAD, CALIF.—The La Costa Resort and Spa, a 400-acre property located near the beach in Carlsbad, Calif., has reduced its kitchen food waste volume by a factor of almost five times thanks to two industrial compost machines that rely on heat and agitation. According to Sam Bumgarner, purchasing director for the property, the machines, which each handle 250 pounds of food waste per day, are located in two different kitchens and compost 182,000 pounds of food scraps annually. Each day, approximately 40 pounds of compost is produced and given to the groundskeeping team to use around the property. "It sends...

TAMPA, FLA.—LEDnovation, a leading innovator in LED lighting and replacement lamp technology, unveiled its new EnhanceLite LED MR16 replacement lamps. LEDnovation’s new lamps are suitable to fully replace both 20-watt and 35-watt halogen lamps in a package that is sized for exact fit into any standard MR16 fixture. The new lamps boast center beam candle power (CBCP) figures ranging from 1100 candela for the 3.9-watt MR16 to 1420 for the 6-watt version, at efficacies of 64 lumens/watt and 54 lumens/watt respectively. The EnhanceLite MR16 family joins the Tampa, Fla.-based company’s previously introduced line of A19 or “Edison” type LED replacement...