Motel 6 has signed on to participate in the Honeywell Cool Control Plus program, which is designed to help drastically reduce Motel 6's environmental footprint.

Working on behalf of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Honeywell will install energy-saving retrofits in a total of 7,530 rooms in the 66 Motel 6 properties located within PG&E's service area in northern and central California. Motel 6 has independently installed the Telkonet SmartEnergy (formerly Smart Systems) occupancy sensors and thermostats in 49 properties in California, and teaming with PG&E and Honeywell will bring the total number of rooms with retrofits to 13,440.

"By working with PG&E and Honeywell, Motel 6 now has a solution to a common energy issue in the lodging industry," said Dan Gilligan, vice president of utilities for Accor North America. "Motel 6 will no longer waste electricity in empty rooms and will also cut back on properties' carbon dioxide emissions – we have calculated that this program will yield a reduction of 10.1 million pounds of carbon dioxide per year for us. Programs like Cool Control Plus help Motel 6 to better serve its customers and the environment."

Honeywell won the $4.7 million contract from PG&E in March 2007 to implement an energy-efficiency program in small hotels and motels. Many hotels waste electricity because they do not have the technology to turn air-conditioning and heating units off when rooms are unoccupied.

To resolve this problem, Honeywell will install the Telkonet SmartEnergy occupancy sensors in the rooms of participating hotels. The sensors turn off air conditioning and heating equipment when the rooms are vacant. Each year, this installation will cut consumption by an estimated average of 1,100 kilowatt-hours per room, saving hotel owners up to $140 per room. Motel 6 has also chosen Honeywell to update interior and exterior lighting fixtures and cold drink vending machines to further reduce energy consumption at its participating California properties.

"Cool Control Plus enables hotels and motels to quickly cut their energy costs," said Joe Puishys, president of Honeywell Building Solutions. "Conserving energy makes fiscal and environmental sense, and this program makes it automatic, easy to do and free."

The Honeywell program fits in well with the current efforts of Motel 6's parent company, Accor, to reduce energy consumption in all its properties. In late 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency honored Accor North America as an Energy Star Leader for significantly increasing energy efficiency in its hotel properties. Accor has also created an Environmental Charter outlining 65 initiatives each property should take to reduce waste and energy consumption.

Honeywell began installation in Motel 6 properties in June. The installation is expected to be complete by the end of the year.