San Antonio Landmark Becomes a Greener Building With Modern, Energy-Efficient Elevators

    SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading elevator and escalator
 manufacturer, services and solutions provider KONE Inc. just unveiled a new
 elevator system that is improving energy efficiency at the historic Emily
 Morgan Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. While cutting electricity consumption
 in half, the ReSolve with Unity Drive, that is part of the new elevator's
 control system, enhances service by providing improved passenger handling
 capacity and modern controls.
 
     "This is an excellent example of how today's sustainable technology can
 be utilized in older buildings. Green building concepts are not just for
 new construction, " said Vance Tang, President KONE Inc. While the Emily
 Morgan has only been a hotel since 1984, the building itself has been a
 part of the San Antonio skyline since the mid-1920s. "To bring modern,
 energy-efficient controls to a San Antonio landmark, without changing its
 historic features, demonstrates KONE's continuous movement towards
 innovative, energy efficient solutions. It also showcases our unique
 capability to modernize with minimal disruption to the existing building
 and, most importantly, our customers."
 
     Built in 1924 and named the Medical Arts Building, the hotel originally
 served as doctor's offices. Standing next to the Alamo, the Emily Morgan
 Hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places as contributing to the
 Alamo Plaza Historic District. It's one of the city's most recognizable
 landmarks.
 
     The elevator renovation project called for the installation of KONE LCE
 Logic Controls, as well as the KONE jointly designed Magnetek Quattro DC
 regenerative drives. The project began in May of this year and was
 completed in November, with each elevator being taken off-line individually
 to avoid disruptions and ensure normal hotel operations.
 
     As part of the overall renovation, extensive measurements were taken to
 determine energy consumption, electrical efficiency and peak electrical
 usage before and after the modernization. With the new system in place,
 testing data showed a significant reduction of 45.7 percent in Watt-hours,
 a 78 percent reduction in Volt-Amp hours, and a 31 percent reduction in
 high-cost peak demand charges, which indicates lower energy consumption and
 increased efficiency.
 
     "With KONE, it's not just about getting a project done and moving on,"
 Tang said. "We're committed to providing industry leading products and
 services and working with our customers to create energy efficient systems
 that will be sustainable over the long term."
 
     As part of community "Greening" efforts, San Antonio City Public
 Services offered a commercial energy rebate program for 2007. KONE worked
 closely with the Emily Morgan Hotel to ensure that the new system would be
 in place and that the hotel was eligible for the rebate. As a result of the
 elevator renovations, the hotel will receive almost $17,000 in rebates for
 2007.
 
     For more news or information on the Emily Morgan Hotel Project or any
 KONE products, visit http://www.kone.com or call 800-956-5663. If you're
 interested in making reservations at the hotel, visit their web site at
 http://www.emilymorganhotel.com or call 210-225-5100.
 
     About KONE
 
     KONE is one of the world's leading elevator and escalator companies. It
 provides its customers with industry-leading elevators and escalators, with
 innovative solutions for their maintenance and modernization. KONE also
 provides maintenance of automatic building doors. In 2006, KONE had annual
 net sales of EUR 3.6 billion and approximately 29,000 employees. Its class
 B shares are listed on the OMX Nordic Exchange in Helsinki, Finland.
 
 
 

SOURCE KONE