SAN FRANCISCO—ECOtality, a leader in clean electric transportation and storage technologies, along with The Lodge at Torrey Pines have announced that they have installed ECOtality’s Blink Electric Vehicle (EV) Commercial Charging Stations at the property. The Level 2 chargers allow electric vehicle users to safely and efficiently charge their vehicles with user-friendly features and a smart, fully interactive 7-inch touch screen. These chargers will enable guests with electric vehicles to use their car for the day and know they can come back to the resort and charge their vehicle. The Lodge at Torrey Pines is dedicated to protecting the environment...

MILWAUKEE—Telkonet, Inc., developer of the EcoSmart energy management platform, announced that it will begin installation of its new EcoSmart Suite in Marriott’s Ann Arbor Hotel at Eagle Crest, located in Ypsilanti, Mich., owned by Long & Cox Properties. Prior to this energy efficiency upgrade, the property completely renovated guestrooms and other areas of the facilities and is now embarking on a comprehensive upgrade to significantly improve the energy efficiency of the property. Keen Technical Solutions, a Traverse City, Mich.-based company with a focus on energy conservation strategies and alternative energy integration, is the prime contractor on this project and will...

NORTHBROOK, ILL.—UL Environment Inc., a business unit of UL (Underwriters Laboratories), and its affiliates are among the first organizations whose services help building products qualify for the recently released Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Pilot Credit 43, Certified Products. LEED has become synonymous with green building over the last decade and is the name of the green building guidelines set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Projects earn points that contribute to meeting the LEED requirements. The announcement acknowledges that qualified products evaluated by UL Environment can contribute extra innovation points toward LEED certification. The recently...

LAS VEGAS—Watermark ID, the custom division of Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Watermark Designs, recently unveiled its Luxury Shower System (LSS) for the first time. The fully customizable “smart” LSS “showers” users with a personalized experience by offering features such as: a full-color digital touch screen; flush mounted screen with thin 1/8-inch frame; a thermostatic valve that controls up to four shower outlets; ability to control shower lights; connection to any audio device with headphone jack; and nine programmable preset shower scenarios that allow users to set the user’s name, water temperature, water outlets, speaker volume, lights on/off, water consumption timer or...

SAN FRANCISCO—BuildingIQ, a leading energy management software company, announced the limited beta release of FAULTIQ, the latest addition to its suite of building energy optimization applications. Integrating seamlessly with BuildingIQ’s PEAC Energy Optimization technology, the new product continuously and automatically reduces energy expenses, power demand and greenhouse gas emissions without requiring capital expense or adversely affecting occupant comfort. FAULTIQ monitors, detects and diagnoses inefficiencies with energy consuming equipment, sensors, and existing control strategies to provide validated exception reporting to building engineers and managers. The application compliments BUILDINGIQ, the company’s flagship real-time energy optimization application, by automatically detecting anomalies and alerting...

LANCASTER, PA.—Armstrong World Industries, the country’s largest manufacturer of acoustical ceilings, has introduced AirGuard, the first coating for ceiling tiles that actively removes formaldehyde and other aldehydes in indoor air. Initially available on Armstrong Ultima ceiling panels, the breakthrough, patent-pending coating technology for improving indoor air quality converts naturally occurring and man-made formaldehyde present in interiors into an inert substance permanently captured by the ceiling. Applied to the back of ceiling tiles, the AirGuard Coating actively removes aldehydes during the commissioning and early occupancy of a building. Tests show that it eliminates more than 90 percent of formaldehyde during the...

NIANTIC, CONN.—Hotel engineering teams play a big role in delivering guest satisfaction, and one of their most time consuming tasks is ensuring that guestroom equipment and systems are always ready to deliver a comfortable stay. INNCOM’s new INNcontrol3 solution provides the staff  with real-time monitoring of HVAC and temperature satisfaction and creates alarms for any units that are not operating properly. The system can also monitor humidity levels in each room and uses the existing HVAC equipment to lower humidity levels to a comfortable setting. The system also monitors guestroom network connections and reports non-communicating rooms. The solution will...

MORROW, GA.—TOTO announced that it has expanded its sustainability initiatives at its manufacturing facility in Morrow, Ga. The company has formed a cross-industrial strategic partnership with Crossville, Inc., manufacturers of premium Porcelain Stone tile, which has developed proprietary systems for processing pre-consumer sanitary ware, fired tile, and filtrate waste back to powder that is used in the manufacture of new tile. Crossville will introduce its new EcoCycle Recycling Processes at NEOCON, where both companies will display in Chicago, June 13 to 15, 2011. “There’s no ‘silver bullet’ when it comes to reducing a facility’s carbon footprint,” said Bill Strang, senior...

DALTON, GA.—Shaw Industries Group, Inc. has increased the recycled content in Eco Solution Q, the company’s premium branded Cradle to Cradle Silver certified carpet fiber, to 45 percent. Eco Solution Q now contains 20 percent pre-consumer recycled content and 25 percent post-consumer recycled content sourced from caprolactam (the monomer or ‘building block’ of Nylon 6) recovered through Shaw’s Evergreen Nylon 6 Recycling facility in Augusta, Ga. The recycled content is based on allocated nylon fiber from Shaw’s total nylon fiber production and determined as a percent of total Eco Solution Q nylon output; based on this method, recycled content...

RICHMOND, CALIF.—Excellent Packaging & Supply, a wholesale distributor of sustainable, biodegradable, and nature-based packaging for foodservice and other applications, has added the complete range of Bridge-Gate compostable serving ware and take-out packaging made from 100 percent renewable resources to its extensive selection of products available through its BioMass Packaging division. Excellent Packaging now carries Bridge-Gate plates, bowls, clamshells and hinged containers, trays, platters and lids—all of which are made entirely from renewable, organic, GMO-free agricultural wheat fibers that are a natural by-product of crop harvests and certified compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI). “Consumers and foodservice businesses are looking for...