December 02, 2008 09:20 AM Eastern Time 

EnOcean-enabled Hotel Retro-fit Kit Acclaimed by Green Energy Savants

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--EnOcean and Echoflex Solutions were jointly recognized by AHR Expo and its co-sponsors, ASHRAE and AHRI, with an honourable mention in the “Green Building” category of the 2009 AHR Expo Innovation Awards competition. A panel of industry professionals, selected for their knowledge and expertise in HVAC&R, selected the kit as a solution for retro-fitting energy inefficient buildings with simple controls for conserving energy.

The Hotel Room Retro-fit kit features a self-powered wireless hotel key card switch. The self-powered switch generates its own power each time a hotel key card is inserted into or removed from its dock. When a guest enters a room, the guest inserts the key card into a docking station. After the key card is inserted, a radio signal is transmitted to a controller that subsequently “energizes” the hotel room. When the key card is removed from its dock, another signal is sent that activates a time delay before disabling or setting back power-consuming amenities (lights, HVAC, etc.). On the receiving end of the system, integrators have two options - a line-powered thermostat or a plug-in PTAC controller.

By reducing the amount of energy exhausted heating and cooling unoccupied rooms; hotel owners can reduce energy consumption up to 40 percent by integrated the controls featured in the retro-fit kit. When factoring lower power bills, hotel owners can recoup initial installation costs in less than two years (time is dependent upon variables such as energy costs, building location, etc.). Architects and contractors can now modernize a hotel without running wires to the controls. No special wiring or networking expertise is required. The switch is easily programmed to the controller and the time delay can be adjusted in 30, 60, 90 and 120 second increments.

The in-line wireless thermostat uses existing wires to enable energy conservation in hotels. Once installed, the thermostat can easily be programmed to push hotel rooms into “unoccupied mode” when guests leave the room. The plug-in PTAC controller is even simpler to install. The installer plugs the receiver into the wall and then the PTAC unit into the receiver.

About EnOcean

No batteries! No Wires! EnOcean (www.enocean.com), the inventor of self-powered wireless sensor & switch modules, manufactures radio modules and energy harvesters that enable BAS (building automation systems). The battery-free modules (powered using solar, thermal and mechanical sources) simplify sustainable green building development by replacing system wires with wireless links. The company is a spin-off of Siemens AG, one of the premier German technology centers. U.S. operations are based in Boston, MA. EnOcean GmbH is a promoter of the EnOcean Alliance.