ROCKLAND, ME.—Quietly, yet tenaciously, the Historic Inns of Rockland, Maine are working hard to reduce their environmental impact. All three have been certified by the State of Maine as Hospitality Environmental Leaders, making them the first known B&B association in New England totally dedicated to sustainable eco-tourism. Beginning on October 3, in recognition of National Change a Lightbulb Day, the inns will offer an Energy Star compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) to each guest. With each bulb, more than 400 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions will be saved from entering the atmosphere. “If just 100 guests change their lightbulbs with...

NATIONAL REPORT—In the areas of your hotel that guests rarely see—offices, kitchens, corridors, stairwells, storage rooms—there is no need to keep the lights burning 24 hours a day. Yes, in some hotels there is activity in those spaces around the clock but certainly not constantly. During those times when workers are not present, why not employ lighting control systems to turn out the lights, save energy and reduce costs? Inevitably, power plants will not have to work so hard, which means less pollution and fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Carlos Villialobos, senior product manager for Wattstopper/Legrand in Santa Clara, Calif., says...

DANVERS, MASS.—Osram Sylvania has announced its association with The Climate Project, the nonprofit organization founded by Al Gore in 2006, with the mission of training and supporting a diverse group of people to increase public awareness of and take action about the climate crisis at a grassroots level throughout the United States and abroad. The Climate Project has already trained more than 1,000 volunteers from every corner of the United States to present a version of the slide show on which the Academy Award-winning film, “An Inconvenient Truth” is based. Each volunteer commits to give 10 or more presentations a...

COOPERSBURG, PA.—Lutron Electronics is pleased to announce that its AuroRa lighting control security kit and Sivoia QS shading system have been recognized by Electronic House magazine with its 2007 “Product of the Year” awards. The winning products will be featured in the September issue of Electronic House magazine and honored at a ceremony during the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) Expo, September 6-9, in Denver, Colorado. The AuroRa lighting control security kit is a do-it-yourself package that offers remote control of five lights in a home and links to a security system. The Sivoia QS shading...

BOSTON—On September 1, the Jurys Boston Hotel will do what few other properties have done—offset 100 percent of its electricity consumption. The hotel will pay a premium of 6 percent for its electric power to Constellation NewEnergy, which in turn will purchase Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) from renewable generation sources in the United States. According to Stephen Johnston, general manager of the 225-room hotel, the step was taken because he and the hotel’s ownership team believed it was the right thing to do. Is paying 6 percent more for electricity an acceptable cost? If one considers the amount of savings...

SANTA CLARA, CALIF.—Watt Stopper/Legrand has created an e-Book encompassing its 2007/2008 Product Selection Guide. The convenient e-Book format gives customers quick and easy access to comprehensive information about energy-saving lighting controls. Specifiers, contractors and others are encouraged to tap this new resource for design and application guidelines as well as data on Watt Stopper/Legrand’s full line of products including occupancy sensors, lighting control panels, daylighting controls and more. The e-Book provides faster access to a large volume of information than alternative formats like Web pages or downloadable PDF files. Navigation is simple and each catalog section can be immediately accessed...

DANVERS, MASS.—As a part of its continued commitment to sustainable practices, Osram Sylvania announced its participation in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Leaders program. By participating in Climate Leaders, Sylvania has pledged to reduce its corporate-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This commitment to reduce emissions is just one of many social and environmental goals set by the company through its recently launched Global Care program. “Climate Leaders presented us with a new goal on which to set our sights,” says Jennifer Dolin, environmental marketing manager. “As we continue to make changes to increase the sustainability of our practices and...

THORNTON, COLO.—EarthFriendlyEnergy.us (EFE), founded to create synergies between human and environmental need, announced that it has begun offering comprehensive energy efficient lighting solutions as well as free bulb recycling services. Based outside of Denver, CO, EFE services are available nationwide. Lighting typically accounts for anywhere between 15 to 40 percent of energy use in a building. Replacing traditional bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFLs) can result in substantial financial savings, especially in the face of rising energy costs, and helps to protect the environment. CFLs are compatible with standard sockets but use 65 percent to 75 percent less energy than traditional...

Beginning January 1, 2008, state agency and department employees in Florida will be required to stay at Florida Green Lodging hotels when they travel. An Executive Order was recently issued by Governor Charlie Crist. Florida currently has 25 hotels certified as Green Lodging properties with 46 applications in process. Because of the governor’s decision, you can be sure that even more hotels will be signing up for the program soon. As reported on Green Lodging News this week, there are now eight states that have green lodging programs with some type of certification. Lodging establishments that participate in these programs...

COVINGTON, GA.—Covington, Ga.-based Peachtree Lighting, a leader in very low energy highly efficient architectural luminaries, has introduced a new family of small wall mounted sconces that use a new LED light source. LED light sources have in the past two years accelerated miniaturization of lighting equipment used for modern architectural lighting. The LEDO series is a slender, clean accent wall luminaire only 10" x 6" x 1 ¾" deep, easily complying with ADA requirements. It creates a soft up and down lighting pattern that is both functional and decorative. Typically, normal ceiling height ceilings and corridors have presented issues for architects...