TROY, OHIO—Hobart announced that its new Energy Star qualified Advansys LXeR high-temperature undercounter warewasher is the recipient of a Kitchen Innovations 2013 award presented by the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show. The KI Awards recognize and celebrate cutting-edge equipment and supplies that specifically improve the back of the house and benefit foodservice operators.“We designed the Advansys LXeR from the ground up to support best-in-class wash performance with significant energy- and water-saving capabilities,” said Sarah Puls, business unit manager, Hobart Warewash. “The LXeR features Energy Recovery, which not only saves energy but also significantly reduces the amount of...

SILVER SPRING, MD.—Econo Lodge hotels, franchised by Choice Hotels International, one of the world’s largest hotel companies, announced it will be the first national economy hotel chain to promote green practices across an entire lodging portfolio. All Econo Lodge hotels in the United States will implement the Choice Hotels Room to be Green (RTBG) program in 2013. The program is designed to reduce environmental impact and waste, meet the changing expectations of today’s environmentally conscious guests and potentially lower operational expenses, (including energy and water costs) at the property level.Econo Lodge, which currently has almost 900 domestic hotel properties...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Anyone attending The NAFEM Show from February 7 to 9 with the goal of greening up their kitchen would have found hundreds of ways to do so thanks to the innovations brought to the trade show floor by the more than 500 exhibitors in attendance. The North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers event, held every two years, attracted approximately 20,000 foodservice professionals to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.Companies touted advancements in cooking, ventilation, water filtration, water recycling, water heating, cooking oil management, ice making, warewashing, food waste management, refrigeration, balers, and even vegetable, herb...

SOUTHAMPTON, PA.—Commercial customers are saving 5 to 12 percent on water utility bills with a new Conservation Water Valve. A Pennsylvania energy consulting company is helping large water users nationwide reduce rising water bills at the source. Their patented valve is designed to slow water turbulence and compress air. The air in the pipes is plentiful, and for heavy users can equate to thousands or tens of thousands every month. This costly air serves no benefit, it is never requested and there won’t be a refund.Many are surprised to find that every building owner nationwide is faced with the...

ATLANTA—Tools and techniques for measuring, managing and improving the performance of a facility as demonstrated by its energy and water use and indoor environmental quality, are contained in a new ASHRAE guide.“This is the book that facility managers, building operators, technicians, consultants, commissioning authorities, architects and design engineers need to ensure that their buildings are green, energy efficient, highly productive, healthy and attractive to others,” said Jim Bochat, chair of the project committee that wrote the book. “This guide gives building owners and their consultants the practical performance measurement guidance to meet market demands for keeping operating costs down...

IRVING, TEXAS—The Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau (ICVB) announces the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas (ICCLC) project as the fifth convention center in the country to achieve LEED Silver certified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). LEED is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. “We had a distinct opportunity with the design and construction of the ICCLC to create a new icon for the destination that would set a standard, for sustainability as well as for a new category...

FRANKLIN PARK, ILL.—The wall-mount model of the BASYS faucet platform, now available from Sloan, is ideal for restrooms in high-end commercial environments, including hotels, restaurants, resorts and spas. The new wall-mount faucet is part of the BASYS platform of modular, sensor-activated faucets with advanced, interchangeable features and selectable operational modes.Options for the BASYS wall-mount faucet include:Three spray modules: Choose from different flow rates: a low-flow multi-laminar spray (0.5 gallon per minute), full stream aerated, and a full stream laminar flow (1.5 gpm), which has a wide water presentation unlike any other sensor faucet.Unique installation: The spout attaches directly to...

NEW YORK—Xero Flor America (XFA) announced the selection of the Xero Flor Green Roof System for the 292,000-square-foot green roof being installed atop the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York. With 840,000 gross square feet of exhibit space, the Javits Center is New York City’s largest convention center and hosts about 150 events annually. Headquartered in Durham, N.C., XFA is the official and exclusive distributor in the United States of the Xero Flor Green Roof System from XeroFlor Green Solutions, which is based in Germany.The Javits Center has embarked on a major renovation project that includes replacement...

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIF.    —ClearWater Tech, LLC (CWT), provider of EcoTex O3 ozone cold water laundering systems, has added two new videos to the Service and Maintenance playlist on YouTube: “Changing the Inline Particulate Filter” and “UV Ozone Lamp Replacement.”“No other ozone provider comes close to matching our YouTube Library,” asserts Marc DeBrum, CWT assistant sales manager and applications engineer. “Three years ago we launched the library as a way to give customers and prospects convenient access to ClearWater products along with service information. Our collection now includes 24 videos in three playlists: EcoTex O3 Laundry Systems, the Service...

KELOWNA, B.C.—The Best Western Plus Kelowna Hotel & Suites continues to charge forward with environmentally responsible initiatives. Not only has the hotel installed an electric vehicle charging station, they have just received LEED Silver Certification for their new environmental wing through the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC).LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a third-party certification program that rates buildings to the highest environmental performance standards in Canada. “This was quite the process,” says Brenda Rayburn, director of sales and marketing for the Best Western Plus Kelowna Hotel & Suites. “However, for me, the length of time...