Business in the Burbs » Efficiency

Starwood to invest in energy efficient TVs

Jay Loomis — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:28:54 +0000

The televisions that guests watch at 460 North American hotels are big energy hogs for Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.

Thatâ€™s because the average hotel television runs six to eight hours during a typical day. Guests commonly waste even more energy when they leave their rooms without turning off the sets.

Looking to cut its energy bills, White Plains-based Starwood is embarking on an ambitious program that could see it install at least 80,000 energy efficient TVs at its North American hotels. Starwood anticipates that the payoff could be a $12 million reduction in energy costs over seven years.

Starwood, whose hotel brands include Sheraton, Westin and St. Regis, agreed to buy the new SmartPower(2) energy efficient televisions from Philips Electronics, the Dutch electronics giant. Compared to older models, the new TVs may cut energy consumption by up to 40 percent, according to Philips.

Starwood may invest as much as $100 million in the TVs.

The typical hotel room with one television and three light bulbs uses about 455 watts of energy daily, according to Philips. Replacing these with Philips SmartPower TVs and energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs can reduce the energy use to 153 watts.

â€œThis is a defining agreement for us, and is indicative of the fundamental change in mindset we have implemented around procurement and sourcing, and the partners we want to work with to achieve this,” said Paul Davis, senior vice president of global sourcing at Starwood. â€œPhilips has shown us that it is easy to simultaneously provide our guests with the very latest technology while making a sound business decision that significantly impacts costs and reduces energy consumption.â€

Emisphere says staff moves cut costs

Jerry Gleeson — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:16:36 +0000

Second-quarter losses at Emisphere Technologies Inc. were reduced as the companyâ€™s 2007 decision to move management from Eastview to New Jersey and to cut staff helped reduce expenses, it said.
Emisphere reported a net loss of $7.63 million, or 25 cents a share, on revenue of $14,000. For the comparable quarter a year earlier, it had a net loss of $12.1 million, or 43 cents a share, on revenue of $398,000.
A new management team last year shook up the biotech researcher. It moved its senior management from The Landmark at Eastview to new headquarters 50 miles away in Cedar Knolls, N.J., south of Parsippany.
By splitting its campus, it was able to trade laboratory space in Westchester at some $50 a square foot for office space in New Jersey at about $20 a square foot, company spokesman Bob Madison said.
Emisphere also cut staff since last year by about 40 percent, chiefly people in information technology, finance, and human resources, he said. It currently employs 71 people. The cost-cutting has saved the business about $1 million annually, he said.

ConEdison Solutions gets NYPA contract

David Schepp — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:47:27 +0000

ConEdison Solutions has been awarded a contract by the New York Power Authority to provide upgrades and services to the nationâ€™s largest state-owned power utility, ConEdison Solutions said today.

Under the contract, granted through competitive bids, ConEdison Solutions will provide efficiency upgrades, includingÂ lighting, motors and controls at NYPA plants in Westchester and New York City.

Services will include conducting feasibility studies, evaluating existing and proposed systems, developing designs, purchasing equipment, installation, supervision of installation and commissioning of equipment, said White Plains-based ConEdison Solutions, a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison Inc.

The amount of the contract will be based on costs associated with individual projects and has yet to be determined, said ConEdison Solutions spokeswoman Christine Nevin. However, the contractâ€™s value is estimated to be in the â€œlow millions,â€ she said.