PowerShades, a provider of manual and automated window shades for residential, commercial and hospitality applications, has announces that it has been selected to outfit the new Hotel Marcel in New Haven, Conn., with over 900 industry-first PoE (Power over Ethernet) automated roller window shades.
The Hilton-branded Hotel Marcel—the nation’s first “net zero” hotel—will feature PowerShades’ automated shades in 165 guest rooms and meeting rooms throughout the building. The sale includes 468 dual shades (468 blackout shades and 468 solar), as well as 14 single blackouts and 14 single solar shades for a total of 964 PoE motors.
Powershades boasts that its shades are the industry’s first and only PoE automated shades, and its “True PoE” shades offer all the benefits of the company’s RF automated product, along with additional advantages not found in any other type of motorized shade. The company explains that with PoE automated shades, a single Cat-5 cable provides both power and communications so there is no proprietary hard wiring necessary. Additionally, the PoE motor is low voltage (under 50 volts AC), so it doesn’t require a licensed electrician.
Moreover, with power coming from a single, central source, more information can be transferred on the network cable while improving reliability over traditional RF solutions.
The shades in each Hotel Marcel guest room will be controllable by guests in two locations: A touchscreen located near the room entrance, as well as bedside buttons. A central control located at the Hotel’s front desk will allow hotel staff to pre-program the shades to open and close at set times including check-in and check-out. Shades can also be programmed in common areas and meeting rooms to reduce energy costs, taking advantage of the warmth of the sun during colder days and keeping rooms cool during the heat of the summer.
The Hotel Marcel will be innovative with its design elements inside and out, and its incorporation of “smart” technology like the PoE shades. The Hotel will also generate 100% of its own electricity, heat and hot water with a rooftop solar array and solar parking canopies making it the first “net-zero” hotel in the country, according to PowerShades.
“We will be creating one of the country’s most sustainable and innovative hotels, notes Bruce Redman Becker, FAIA, LEED AP of Becker & Becker.
“We selected PowerShades because their automated shades featured the most developed PoE capabilities and were the best fit for our vision of bringing beauty, functionality and sustainability to every room in the hotel.”
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