SCHILLER PARK, ILL.—Eclipse Lighting introduces its new Green Series fixtures. All 20 listed styles in the Green Series have earned the Energy Star. In addition, these energy efficient fixtures meet California’s Title 24. Replacing wasteful incandescent lighting with the Green Series compact fluorescent fixtures can abate a significant amount of pollution. During the 10,000-hour life of just one bulb, once can achieve the following: • Eliminate nearly 574 pounds of CO2 emissions—a major source of global warming; • Eliminate nearly 4.2 pounds of SO2 emissions—a cause of smog and acid rain; and • Eliminate nearly 2.7 pounds...

Motel 6’s announcement last week that it will roll out a fluorescent light bulb and battery recycling program throughout its almost 900 properties was an important step that other companies should emulate. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which offer so many benefits, also include mercury, a hazardous substance. Not disposed of properly, liquid mercury quickly turns into a vapor that can be inhaled. Long-term exposure to it can damage the nervous system, the kidneys, lungs and other organs. Batteries are used throughout a hotel in items such as door locks, TV remotes and myriad other places. They consist of...

DALLAS—Motel 6, the largest corporately owned and operated hotel chain in North America, announces the rollout of the first national fluorescent light bulb and battery recycling program within the hospitality industry. Motel 6, with nearly 900 properties across the country, is the first chain to implement this type of program without a federal mandate. The Motel 6 Fluorescent Light Bulb and Battery Recycling Program will be rolled out regionally over a six-month period, with complete implementation expected by the end of 2007. This recycling policy is a continuation of Accor’s Earth Guest initiatives that demonstrate Accor North America’s...

DANVERS, MASS.—At a time when many are searching for a convenient compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) recycling option, North American lighting leader Osram Sylvania has unveiled two CFL recycling options: the MiniPak CFL mail-back recycling kit, and the Community Pail RecyclePak. “It’s exciting to be the first lighting manufacturer to offer all of our customers a recycling solution,” says Jennifer Dolin, environmental marketing manager, Osram Sylvania. “With recycling and disposal options available in only a few communities, our MiniPak and Community Pail options allow consumers and small communities everywhere to recycle their spent lamps easily. Simply purchase the pre-labeled...

NATIONAL REPORT—When looking for ways to green your hotel, one of the first things you should focus on is energy efficiency. Pure economics show it is cheaper to save a kilowatt hour then it is to produce it. Couple this with reduced carbon emissions, and efficiency is one of the first things a property should consider, even before looking at renewable energy sources. The first energy conservation measure that should be evaluated in hospitality, whether it is a small 100-room property or a large destination resort, is lighting. Common lighting opportunities include T-12 to T-8 or super T-8 linear fluorescent...

SANTA CLARA, CALIF.—Watt Stopper/Legrand has developed a line of card key switches for hospitality facilities that help hotels stop the energy waste of guestroom lighting being left on when no one is present. Unique in the United States, these switches comply with IECC and ASHRAE/IESNA energy codes which require that hotel guestrooms have a master switch at the entrance of every room. Lights being left on in hotel guestrooms when the rooms are left vacant is a common problem and great source of energy waste. The HS series switches enable or disable power to a select number of...

ATLANTA—The Atlanta Marriott Marquis, known for its stunning 50-story atrium, is using its ambitious resource-saving initiatives as a launching point to attract groups interested in holding green meetings. The 1,663-room hotel began its green push in April with a press release highlighting the hotel’s environmental accomplishments. Green meetings make a lot of sense, according to Chris Anderson, director of sales and marketing at the hotel. The Atlanta property is doing the little things that are part of green meetings—using recycled paper, and mugs instead of paper cups, for example. However, a more significant component of the hotel’s program is the...

SOMERSET, N.J.—Philips announces its receipt of numerous lighting awards at the 2007 LightFair International Trade Show & Conference in New York City on May 6 to 10. Recognizing Philips’ wide variety of new product innovations from across its broad range of North American lighting businesses, the following awards were presented to Philips during LightFair’s 2007 Innovation Awards ceremony: • Philips Lighting’s ALTO II low-mercury T8 fluorescent lamp technology received both LightFair’s Best of Category: Conventional Lamps Award as well as the show’s Technical Excellence Award (co-presented to Philips Lumileds’ LUXEON Rebel line as well). Philips Lighting’s T8 linear...

TOKYO AND NEW YORK—Konica Minolta Holdings Inc., Konica Minolta Technology Center Inc. (collectively KM) and the General Electric Co. announced that they have signed a strategic alliance agreement to accelerate the development and commercialization of OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) devices for lighting applications. The goal is to bring OLED lighting to market within the next three years. “Having such unprecedented attractive features as flexible, thin, lightweight, and sheet form OLED lighting is considered one of the most promising new business opportunities for us in the future,” says Masatoshi Matsuzaki, President, Konica Minolta Technology Center Inc. “We are...

ALSIP, ILL.—Litetronics introduces its plug-in compact fluorescent tube (PFT) lamps. The pin-based compact fluorescent lamps use 80 percent less energy than incandescents and last 13 times as long. The two-pin starter lamps work with magnetic ballasts, while the four-pin starter models are for use with electronic ballasts. The two-pin PFT lamps have a 10,000-hour average rated life, and the four-pin lamps boast a 15,000-hour average rated life. Compared to other compact fluorescent lamps, the four-pin PFT lamps offer a 33 percent longer life. All PFT lamps offer a 2700K correlated color temperature and a high CRI of 82....