ATLANTA – Onity, one of the world's leading providers of electronic locks and energy management solutions, helps manage humidity in guest rooms at the CoCo Key Hotel and Water Resort-Orlando with the Onity SensorStat® DDC Energy Management System (EMS) and the web-based InnGENIUS®monitoring system, by EcoLodgix®. Onity is part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp.

"We had to find a way to manage energy costs, while maintaining the unique environment for our guests, so we turned to Onity and EcoLodgix," said Frank Fry, executive director, CoCo Key Hotel and Water Resort-Orlando.

The 55,000 square foot facility boasts Orlando's largest canopy-covered outdoor waterpark. The canopied area of the waterpark is built in the middle of the "U" shaped hotel, so many of the 391 hotel guest rooms open right onto the covered section of the waterpark, providing convenient access to the water-filled experience.

The large canopy that makes the property unique, also presented unique challenges when it came to managing in-room temperature and humidity in the subtropical climate of Central Florida.

"With the Onity system and EcoLodgix software, we can monitor and manage the in-room humidity levels when our guests are out of the room instead of continuously running the air conditioning. We also needed to be able to customize the system to fit our needs and Onity EMS does that for us," said Fry.

The Onity system was installed during the property's recent renovation in addition to Dr. PTAC™, new energy-efficient, in-room packaged terminal air conditioning (PTAC) units by Islandaire. The Dr. PTAC™ units provide quality fresh air while maintaining desirable humidity levels.

Through the use of motion detection and the InnGENIUS® software, the Onity SensorStat® DDC EMS can recognize when a room is unoccupied, monitor temperature and humidity, and adjust the thermostat to automatically regulate the individual (PTAC) units to setback levels established by the hotel operations staff. The temperatures then drift to the pre-established setback levels and the Onity thermostat engages its patented dehumidification process when necessary to reduce the dampness in the air. This keeps the moisture levels down without allowing the room temperature to get too low. When the guest returns to the room, the software reverts to the guest's desired setpoint, and the guest again has full control of their thermostat settings.

As with many hotels, energy is one of CoCo Key's largest operating costs, so conserving energy while maintaining guest comfort was top of mind. CoCo Key Hotel reports dramatic and immediate energy savings as the result of installing the new Onity SensorStat® DDC.

"We saw energy savings of 20 percent within the first three months of installing the new EMS. We were able to compare our energy use this year to the amount we used at the same time last year, so we know the results are true," said Fry.

In addition to reducing energy consumption, the Onity system offers functions that also enhance customer comfort.

"When the guest keycard is encoded by the Onity system at check-in, it recognizes the room as occupied and automatically turns up the air conditioning so the room is cool and comfortable by the time the guest arrives," said Fry.

With the EcoLodgix software in place, the hotel maintenance staff has a visual dashboard that indicates if there are any air conditioning issues that need to be addressed.

"Our engineer can monitor room temperatures and if the actual temperature is different than what the thermostat is set for, the engineer can send a technician to proactively resolve the issue before the guest ever recognizes there's a problem," Fry said. "We are optimistic about these positive results and anticipate that our energy savings will be even more significant as we further refine our parameters and setback levels," added Fry.

About Onity

Onity supports the hospitality, commercial, education and military segments with a full spectrum of products that include electronic locks, electronic safes and energy management solutions. Onity is headquartered in Duluth, Ga. and has assembly operations in Mexico and Spain. Onity locking systems are used by customers in more than 115 countries around the globe. Onity is a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX), a leading provider to the aerospace and building systems industries worldwide. For information about Onity's electronic security solutions, please visit www.onity.com.

About CoCo Key Hotel and Water Resort

Coco Key Hotel and Water Resort is comprised of 12 buildings, all meticulously themed to the Florida Keys. The resort includes 391 spacious guest rooms, including family rooms and junior suites. Several rooms connect side-by-side and back-to-back, making Coco Key an ideal option for larger families and groups. www.cocokeyorlando.com.

About EcoLodgix and InnGENIUS

EcoLodgix provides a single point of contact for the installation and integration of sophisticated energy management systems. Our people have deep expertise in software development for highly complex, custom integration using the revolutionary, InnGENIUS web-based online guestroom Energy Management System with patent pending features designed specifically to reduce energy consumption and operating expenses while improving guest services.

http://www.ecolodgix.com

Suzanne R. Fritz
Global Marketing Manager
1-866-86-ONITY