The First Facility Management Blog

Franchise Times has ranked Linc Network, LLC number 130 on its annual list of the country’s Top 200 franchise systems. Inclusion on the list, which is based on worldwide system sales for 2007, signifies Linc’s status as a player in the franchising industry. The magazine compiled the list after months of collecting sales and unit count data from more than 1,000 companies, ranging from multinational household names to lesser known franchisors. Worldwide sales for the Top 200 grew nearly 4.8% from last year’s total of $445 billion. 

To qualify for consideration, at least 20% of a franchise organization’s total units must be operated by franchisees. At number 130, up 13 spots from last year’s ranking of 143, Linc met this criterion with 84% of its franchise locations being operated by independently owned mechanical contractors.  Another important qualification was system wide sales, which consisted of the total sales in 2007 from both Linc’s company and franchisee operated locations.

Linc’s franchise locations, a global group of service providers, comprise the Linc Service Network, a growing, 145-plus member organization spanning the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda.  These locations, known as Linc Service Contractors, follow the disciplines of the Linc System in delivering preventive maintenance—as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) service and bundled energy solutions—to the commercial market. So far this year, Linc has added 12 new franchise locations to its service network.

“We’re very proud to be named one of the Top 200 franchise systems for the second year in a row,” said Linc Network president & CEO Scott Giacobbe. “Despite a challenging economy, the Linc Service Network has expanded into new markets and continues to grow at a steady pace. We look forward to ascending this list with an even stronger ranking in 2009.”

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA and Atlanta, GA, Linc Network, LLC is the franchisor of the Linc System, a business format for operating a commercial heating, ventilation, and HVAC service business. Founded in 1979, the Linc Service Network provides energy solutions to commercial building owners worldwide. Linc Network, LLC, is part of The Linc Group (TLG), single source providers of facilities management and building system services. TLG maintains its corporate office in Irvine, CA. Collectively, TLG companies service more than 20,000 facilities in 45 states and select international markets through a professional workforce totaling more than 2,400 employees.

Johnson Controls, a global multi-industrial company, recently presented Ken Webb, Johnstone Supply brand manager, with the company’s Distinguished Technical Service Lifetime Achievement Award on Oct.15 during the Coleman service managers meeting in St. Louis.

Presented on behalf of the Johnson Controls-Unitary Products Technical Group, the award recognizes individuals who have provided an exemplary level of technical support to customers within the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) industry. This is the 11^th time Johnson Controls has presented the award since 1995.

David Negrey, director of technical services and application engineering, Johnson Controls-Unitary Products, presented the award to Webb. “This award honors a career that spans more than 40 years in the HVAC industry,” Negrey said.  “During that time, Ken has provided outstanding technical support and training to multiple brand customers. He is also widely regarded for his ability and willingness to communicate the field related issues of his customers back to factory personnel, demonstrating his commitment to customer service in the process.”

Webb’s career in the HVAC industry began in 1961 when he joined American Furnace Company (AFCO) as a stock room clerk and mail room employee. In 1963, he enrolled in HVAC courses at Ranken Technical College and soon moved to AFCO’s factory service department. Ten years later, he became chief product application engineer, responding to dealer service inquiries, producing field bulletins and conducting training programs throughout the United States and Canada.

During this time, Webb continued his education, earning a bachelor’s degree from St. Louis University and a master’s degree in marketing from Webster University. He became branch service manager for York International in 1992 before joining Johnstone Supply in 2003 as brand manager, with responsibility for Coleman service, marketing assistance, and training.

Webb, who plans to retire January, 31, 2009, sees the award as one of the highlights of his career. “I was both surprised and delighted to receive this award,” he said. “I have enjoyed the opportunity to work in the HVAC industry and assume a variety of responsibilities that have enabled me to grow with the industry and provide assistance to the many contractors in the field who give a personal face to the industry.

“My most recent affiliation with Coleman, through Johnstone Supply, makes me proud of the work we all do and the energy efficient products and services we are able to provide at a time when customers are looking for affordable, sustainable solutions to their heating and cooling challenges.”

Telkonet, Inc., a provider of centrally managed solutions for integrated energy management, networking, building automation, and proactive support services, has won a contract with Columbia Sussex, a national developer and manager of more than 70 hotels and casinos across 30 states. Approximately 1,300 guestrooms in the Doubletree in Rochester, NY, the Sheraton in Philadelphia City Center, and the Westin in St. Maarten have been equipped with the Telkonet SmartEnergy™ (TSE) in-room, occupancy driven energy management system, with additional properties scheduled for TSE implementation by the end of the year. After an analysis of product offerings, TSE won on the basis of its flexibility, scalability, and simplicity, interfacing with all of the various types of HVAC systems throughout the Columbia Sussex hotel properties.

Columbia Sussex hotel properties are regarded for their green practices and energy reducing measures, including installing solar hot water systems, supporting alternative energies, and providing preferred parking spaces for hybrid cars at its corporate office. Telkonet’s energy efficiency solution forms a part of this ongoing strategy, as Columbia Sussex project manager Scott Yung explains.

“We are truly impressed with the versatility of Telkonet’s system and its ability to manage our range of HVAC systems, such as PTAC units, four pipe systems, two pipe systems with electric heat, and split systems,” said Yung. “Telkonet’s advanced solution gives us tremendous flexibility to define how our HVAC systems control the heating and air conditioning—we are not limited to pre-assigned settings. And, with Telkonet SmartEnergy’s intrinsic scalability, we can install it as a fast deployment standalone system instantly to control energy usage and savings, or network the system with a property management system as part of a longer term strategy.”

With U.S. hotels spending $2,196 per available room each year on energy—6% of all operating costs—implementing an effective energy-efficiency system along with green operating procedures, can significantly improve a hotel’s profitability and bottom line. For example, a 10% reduction in energy consumption would have the same fiscal effect as increasing the average daily room rate by $0.62 in limited service hotels and by $1.35 in full service hotels.

“Controlling energy costs and demonstrating environmental responsibility is clearly a top priority for the hospitality industry,” commented Jeff Sobieski, Telkonet’s COO. “We are prioritizing new ways of encouraging this process, including working closely with government organizations and utilities on a range of rebate programs to help offset the initial equipment and installation costs. We are delighted to work with green focused organizations such as Columbia Sussex, where we can make a tangible difference to lower operational energy costs and help realize their environmental objectives.”

Telkonet SmartEnergy reduces the cooling and heating of unoccupied guest rooms using occupancy sensors, along with thermostats or PTAC controllers. With its patented Recovery Time™ technology, it maintains an energy efficient room temperature when vacant, and when occupied, returns to the guest’s preferred temperature within a select number of minutes, set by property management. For Yung, being able to set the recovery time for all properties all at once is a major time saver, providing consistent performance across all hotels, ensuring guest comfort, and delivering maximum room-by-room energy savings.

Central to TSE’s position are several principal unique features:

• A customizable thermostat that enables flexibility in defining the energy management system parameters, ensuring the maximum deliverable energy savings and optimum performance
• Complete control over defining the Sequence of Operations, optimizing the thermostat to meet a wide range of specific requirements for each heating and cooling stage, such as a pre-defined amount of time to implement each stage
• An assured, future-proofed design, using flash upgradeable CPU via the serial port with a variety of BAUD rates. For networked systems, the firmware image can be reflashed over the Internet.

ASHRAE is currently accepting public input on more than 35 proposed addenda to standards as well as a proposal to withdraw Standard 52.1. Addendum to various standards, including 15 (refrigerate safety), 34 (classification of refrigerants), 55 (thermal comfort), 90.1 (energy efficiency), 62.1 (ventilation), 62.2 (residential ventilation), and 135 (BACnet) are open for review, as are seven standards and one guideline. Compete information can be found at www.ashrae.org/publicreviews.
 Among them is the proposed withdrawal of ASHRAE Standard 52.1-1992, Gravimetric and Dust Spot Procedures for Testing Air Cleaning Devices Used in General Ventilation for Removing Particulate Matter.

The most important features of this standard, dust holding capacity and arrestance, have been incorporated into Standard 52.2-2008, Method of Testing General Ventilation Air Cleaning Devices for Removal Efficiency by Particle Size. The only unique features remaining in Standard 52.1 are the dust spot efficiency tests—now replaced particle size efficiency tests in 52.2—and a renewable filter test not used by the industry for decades, according to Monroe Britt, committee chair.


Among the proposed addenda to Standard 90.1 is addenddum ap, which would modify the requirements for demand control ventilation; adding the demand controlled ventilation requirements to the simplified approach in order to keep the stringency of this path the same as the mandatory plus prescriptive path of compliance. Also proposed is a change to addendum af to modify energy savings requirements to recognized varied piping material pressure drops.


Six proposed addenda to Standard 62.1 are open for comment, including a proposal regarding outdoor air cleaning. Addendum 62.1c adds significant air cleaning requirements in many locations within the United States. Regarding particulate matter 2.5 micrometers and smaller, for buildings in those U.S. locations established as non-attainment for PM2.5 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 62.1c would require that the ventilation system include particle filters rated at least MERV 11 (installed between the outdoor air intake and the occupied zone). Regarding ozone air cleaning, the proposed addendum would require that the ventilation system include ozone air cleaners rated for at least 40% ozone removal efficiency. 

Telkonet, Inc., a provider of centrally managed solutions for integrated energy management, networking, building automation, and proactive support services, announced recently that it has been granted four new patents, augmenting its overall total to twelve. The PLC patents reflect Telkonet’s development of networking methods, using powerline communications technology (PLC) in commercial and residential multi-dwelling (MDU) properties. Telkonet has also received a patent for its advanced thermostat design, incorporated within Telkonet SmartEnergy™ in room, occupancy driven energy management system, which reduces HVAC costs by eliminating wasted heating and cooling of vacant rooms.

Telkonet is always working on being part of the technology evolution, says president and CEO Jason Tienor, “We are consistently looking for new ways to enhance the efficiency and performance of our products and invest extensively in this activity. These new patents are important additions to an already strong portfolio. Telkonet’s commitment to innovate is central to our success, keeping us at the forefront of the hospitality, MDU, education, and utility markets.”

Integrated into the Telkonet iWire System™ and the Telkonet Series 5™ products, Telkonet’s latest PLC patents involve delivering performance with consistent signal levels and high network speeds, providing effective ways to couple the PLC signal into multiple electrical panels and three phase meter banks, respectively. The patented PLC systems convert a site’s existing internal electrical infrastructure into an IP network backbone, without requiring CAT-5 wiring, reducing costs and installation time. 

Telkonet SmartEnergy assists with energy savings by deploying Telkonet energy management occupancy sensors with smart, programmable Telkonet energy management thermostats or Telkonet energy management controllers, to adjust and maintain a room’s temperature according to occupancy, and avoiding any unnecessary heating or cooling of vacant rooms. Additionally, the system reduces the run time for HVAC equipment, decreasing maintenance overheads and extending the equipment’s working life.

This Web exclusive comes from Jack Sine, a freelance writer who specializes in IAQ matters.

Refrigerant leaks have always been a concern for facility managers, but it was a problem that could be easily discovered and corrected. For several years, refrigerant leak detection, while not perfect, was a fairly settled technology. Almost everyone used a heated sensor detector. There were other methods on the market—sound amplification, soap bubbles, fluorescent dyes in the refrigerant, and corona discharge—but by far the most successful and most popular defense was heated diode technology.

For anyone unfamiliar with heated diode technology, it is an approach that relies on a ceramic substrate doped with a reactive element and heated to a high temperature. When the surface makes contact with a halogen-bearing gas, the chlorine, fluorine, or bromine atoms separate from the molecule and are ionized. This activates an electric current that alerts the instrument user to the presence of a refrigerant. The portable hand-held technology was developed originally by GE as a plug-in device and then refined by Inficon as a smaller, battery powered, more accurate instrument more than 10 years ago.

Inficon's TEK-Mate Refrigerant Leak Detector

“We made what we thought were the best refrigerant leak detectors and the market responded,” says Jerry Wander, general manager at Inficon.

But, as with all technologies, there were problems as well. Temperature variations and a variety chemicals and gasses could trigger false alarms. The sensors also have a short life span and must be replaced often.

Enter The Blends
Then came the blended refrigerants.

“When the blends like R404a and R507 came out, heated diode could identify them, but it wasn’t sensitive enough to be truly effective,” said Wander. “We turned to infrared technology, which proved to be much more sensitive not only for blends, but for all the CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs as well.”

Infrared radiation is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light but shorter than radio waves. The term literally means “below red.”

For leak detection, the sensor is an infrared absorption filtometer consisting of an infrared emitter at one end, an infrared energy detector at the other, and an optical filter in between. Since most materials absorb specific and known wavelengths of infrared energy, the sensor in an infrared refrigerant leak detector focuses on the wavelengths absorbed by refrigerant.

All refrigerants and blends have similar absorption spectra between 7.5 and 14 micrometers. The optical filter in the sensor limits the infrared spectrum emitted by the instrument to that range.

When activated, the emitter creates a high intensity infrared stream containing all the wavelengths in the infrared spectrum. The optical filter blocks all of those except the ones in the refrigerant spectra. The remaining infrared energy strikes the detector and causes it to heat up.

When refrigerant passes through the sampling cell, some of the infrared energy is absorbed by the refrigerant. There is an immediate decrease in the amount of infrared energy reaching the detector and a corresponding drop in the detector’s temperature which triggers an alarm, either visual or audible, to alert the user of the presence of a leak.

“It’s simply the best way to find refrigerant leaks in air conditioning systems,” said Rey Harju, president of Fieldpiece Instruments who just introduced its own infrared detector. “It makes a maintenance engineer’s job a lot easier. They are also more cost effective. Although the initial cost is more than the heated diode detectors, the life of our sensing system is more than 10 years. When you figure the cost of sensors for heated diode detectors, the cost of the infrared instrument is less over the long run. And, more important, over the long run they’re more reliable.”

The first infrared refrigerant leak detectors were wall mounted units used inside walk-in coolers and freezers. In recent years, electronic technology has advanced to the point that they can now be made small enough to be hand-held.

No More False Alarms
“The beauty of infrared detectors is that they eliminate false alarms,” say Jim Mowery, vice president of sales at Bacharach. “Other technologies are sensitive to other background gases such as cleaning products. Heated diode detectors are affected by breezes and changes in air temperature. Infrared detectors only react to refrigerant and they are very sensitive.”

Bacharach manufactures the H25-IR, a complex infrared detector designed for heavy industrial operations where there is a possibility of catastrophic leakage. At eight pounds and with a price tag of more than eight thousand dollars, it is not designed for home or commercial HVAC environments.

Bacharach's H25-IR is an industrial refrigerant leak detector.

“It’s effective in an industrial setting because it not only detects, it also quantifies,” explains Mowery. “That’s important, because you can determine the seriousness of the leak and either schedule repair or shut down for emergency servicing. That makes it important for assembly lines producing such things as refrigeration racks, automobiles, fire extinguishers, and any production environment that uses process cooling. It can pick up and eliminate all trace gasses and be set to look for one specific refrigerant. Then, after that refrigerant has been identified in the air, the unit can be used to detect where the leak is and how much refrigerant is escaping.”

A Versatile Detector
A smaller and more affordable infrared detector that is useful in many applications has been offered by Inficon for more than three years.

“We designed our D-TEK Select so it could be used in a variety of environments,” said Wander. “It is used in automotive, refrigeration, and HVAC.”

Significantly smaller than the Bacharach detector, this one is much easier to transport and use in tight spaces, weighing only one pound three ounces. To solve the need to change sensor with the heated diode detector, the Select’s sensor lasts for 800 hours.

“One important thing with infrared,” Wander says, “is to keep the infrared path clean. To assure that happens, we’ve designed in a series of filters to keep out anything that would interfere with accurate operation.”

The D-TEK Select also features sensitivity to 0.10 ounce per year, two sensitivity settings (high and low), and a battery life of 6.5 hours.

The Power Of Infrared
But the question still remains – “How good are infrared leak detectors and do they justify the higher cost?

Bobby Rosser is the outside salesman at B & T Heating and Air in Tulsa, OK. He recently had reason to try out his company’s new infrared leak detector.

“I was over at a friend’s house a few weeks ago,” he said, “and he was complaining that his split system was loosing refrigerant. I asked him what he had done about it, and he said he had had three separate service companies come over the last six months, but they couldn’t find the leak. They all three thought it was probably in the evaporator. It was a small one, about half a pound a year, but this is one meticulous guy and he wanted it fixed. It just so happened that I had our new Fieldpiece SRL2 in the car, so I said ‘let me give her a go.’ It was an R-22 system, so the other companies heated diode detectors should have found it, but it must have been too small. I used the infrared and found the leak within minutes. It was at the first U-bend going into the compressor. He was impressed and so was I.”

With the emergence of blended refrigerants, the infrared leak detector is definitely here to stay, but Rosser would probably contend that it does very well with the old refrigerants as well.

University of Oregon students, come on down. You’re the next contestants on the eco-roof game.
Under a teaching project funded through a grant from ASHRAE, students at Oregon will be challenged to develop, construct, and determine the R-value of a green roof through a hands on experience, known as the eco-roof game. The project was one of 10 grants funded by ASHRAE through its senior undergraduate project grant program.

The grants, totaling some $65,000, are awarded by ASHRAE to colleges and universities worldwide to promote the study and teaching of HVAC&R, encouraging undergraduate students to pursue related careers. The grants are used to design and construct projects.

As part of the eco-roof game, students will use actual building materials, a heat flux transducer, dataloggers, and moisture meters to learn about heat loss and gain, insulation value, material properties, water conservation, evapotranspiration, and to consider strategies for conserving energy.

“Targeting both architecture and engineering students about energy and the environment is particularly important because, whether aware of it or not, they play a central role in shaping the world in these areas,” said Alison Kwok, a professor at the university who submitted the grant application. “A thoughtless decision about building orientation may create a cooling load that lasts as much as a century. Instilling an experience about envelope materials can influence decisions about building design that will impact power use for thousands of business days.”

Other ASHRAE grant recipients are:

• American University of Beirut: experimental investigation for performance and optimized design of radiant heating panels for rooms constructed according to Lebanese building thermal guidelines;
• Cairo University: water cooling tower educational stand—design and fabrication;
• Purdue University–Fort Wayne: design and development of solar cooling demonstration unit;
• Mapua Institute of Technology: development of an indoor environment quality measurement laboratory and laboratory set up of thermal ice storage for air conditioning systems;
• Purdue University–Calumet: cooling systems for data centers;
• Texas A&M University: design and construction of solar powered refrigeration system using carbon nanotubes and methanol;
• Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana: solar absorption refrigeration module for the chiller type HVAC lab;
• Western Kentucky University: passive residential cooling system

When the Dawson County Humane Society in Dawsonville, GA, opened the area’s first animal shelter in April 2008, they ran out of money before air conditioning could be installed in the dog kennels.

“Our budget was limited, and something had to be cut,” said Brenda Lee, a shelter volunteer and member of the humane society’s board of directors. “If we had waited to secure more funds, we would have had to delay opening—and without a shelter in our county, the animals had nowhere to go.”

As summer approached and temperatures started to climb into the 90s, the lack of air conditioning presented a serious problem. “The dogs were miserable. They were just lying there panting,” said Lee. “The staff was having a pretty tough time, too.”

Determined to find a solution, Lee contacted MovinCool, a manufacturer of portable spot air conditioners. The company responded by donating three of its high output units, which are designed for quick installation in emergency situations.

“We are very grateful that MovinCool came to our rescue,” said Lee. “We hooked up two of the air conditioners as soon as we got them. The difference was like night and day. Now the dogs are keeping cool, and so are the humans.”

The shelter is planning to install the third MovinCool unit in its new “puppy pavilion,” a storage shed that volunteers are converting into a quarantine and adoption center for puppies. The project is on hold until the shelter can find a donation source for needed building materials.

MovinCool has previously donated portable spot air conditioners to zoos in Atlanta, Cleveland, Denver, Louisville, and New York. The zoos have used the air conditioners to keep a variety of their inhabitants cool, including polar bears, penguins, panda bears, reptiles, and snow leopards.
MovinCool portable spot air conditioners are employed in a range of commercial and industrial environments, such as data centers, computer and telecommunications equipment rooms, offices, hospitals, schools, manufacturing plants, and outdoor events.

“MovinCool air conditioners are mainly used to cool people and equipment, but there is no reason they can’t cool animals, too,” said John Doran, MovinCool senior manager, heat management and customer service. “We are very glad to contribute to such a worthy cause as this.”

Carrier reached another milestone in its connection to the 2008 Beijing Games, securing nearly 70% of all heating, ventilating and air conditioning contracts for the venues. Carrier supplied a full line of integrated systems to the Summer Games facilities, ranging from AquaSnap® air cooled chillers with Puron® refrigerant to large centrifugal chillers to air handling units, fan coil units, and the Carrier Comfort Network (CCN) controls system.

The Water Cube National Aquatics Center, one of the major venues for the Beijing Games, utilizes four Carrier centrifugal chillers, a control network and air side products. Carrier’s innovative technology recovers more than 50% of the exhaust heat in the aquatics center and then uses it to warm the swimming pool. “This technology reduces heat emission in the environment as well as the energy consumed for heating,” stated Ross Shuster, president, Carrier Building Systems and Services, Asia. “Additionally, our high tier air handling units have gone through a strict anticorrosive process to ensure long term operation under a damp and high-chlorine indoor environment.”

Another application featuring Carrier’s customized solutions is the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium for badminton and rhythmic gymnastics. Carrier’s uniquely designed air conditioning system uses a water source heat pump to employ ground water to prepare cold and hot water for air conditioning.

The “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium features the first Chinese produced HVAC product certified by EN 1886, the highest international HVAC standards. Carrier’s air handling units have air leakage rate of less then 1% and each unit is equipped with Carrier’s new high voltage electrostatic air cleaner to remove airborne particles which improves indoor air quality.
To ensure that the air conditioning systems in all venues operate smoothly and efficiently, Carrier established a remote monitoring center for the Beijing Games. The high tech center can trace and analyze the data of air conditioning system operations and release warnings. “This service helps ensure that Carrier’s air conditioning systems are operating under optimized conditions with maximum energy efficiency,” added Shuster.

One important venue in Beijing is a multi-building community that has housed athletes during the games. The Beijing Olympic Village achieved LEED® ND certification with design consultation support from Environmental Market Solutions, Inc. (EMSI). EMSI is an environmental and green building company owned by Carrier Corp. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) awarded the venue LEED ND certification at the Gold level.

The 2008 Olympic Games officially begin tonight, and over the next 16 days millions of people will converge in the city of Beijing. In the lead up to this global event, we’ve heard about the numerous venues built to supplement China’s existing sports facilities. This year’s Olympic Games will take place across 31 competition facilities (12 new, 11 pre-existing, and 8 temporary). There are also three non competition facilities–Olympic Village, Olympic Media Village, and the Olympic Main Press Center.

National Stadium aka "Bird's Nest"

Managing and securing all of those spaces will no doubt require diligence by the various facility, security, and hospitality staffs. Following are some of the companies involved in the activities.

Johnson Controls has installed sustainable building solutions in 18 Olympic stadiums and supporting facilities. The company’s installation covers 123 million square feet of Olympics grounds, monitoring more than 58,000 points in stadiums and office buildings. Venues containing Johnson Controls products include:

*National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) with a YORK dual-duty brine centrifugal chillers, ice thermal storage system and chiller plant automation system

*National Indoor Stadium, or Turtle’s Back, with YORK centrifugal chillers connecting to Metasys building management system

*CCTV Headquarters Building, or collaboration building: YORK centrifugal chillers, dual-duty brine centrifugal chillers and ice-thermal storage system, connected to Metasys building management system

*Beijing Olympic Tower: YORK centrifugal chillers and a variable speed drive

*Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Court: Metasys building management system

*Beijing Olympic Forest Park: Metasys building management system

Meanwhile, GE Energy is providing long-term services for a new power plant that will supply electricity for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, as well as heat and power for the city of Beijing in the future. Under a 10-year contractual services agreement (CSA) signed with Beijing Taiyanggong Gas-Fired Thermal Power Co. Ltd (Taiyanggong) of China, GE will provide all parts, repairs and services for two GE Frame 9FA+e gas turbines at the new plant. The agreement also includes risk-sharing mechanisms and performance guarantees to help ensure that the 750-megawatt facility provides reliable and cost-effective heat and power to Beijing.

Taiyanggong is owned by Beijing Energy Investment Holding Co. and SP Power Development Co. Ltd.

GE is a worldwide partner of the Olympic Games. The company has provided support for more than 400 infrastructure projects such as Taiyanggong in and around Beijing, including work at all 37 official Olympic Games competition venues and 168 commercial buildings.

Olympic Village is using Echelon’s LonWorks® technology to create an energy efficiency lighting control system. The smart LonWorks based control system integrates all lighting subsystems to optimize energy usage while maintaining a safe and aesthetically pleasing environment.

The Olympic Village is the largest non-competition venue in Beijing, and will accommodate over 23,000 athletes and team officials for both the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Village has over 370,000 square meters of apartment space, including 22 six-floor buildings and 20 nine-floor buildings, and facilities such as general information centers, meeting rooms, medical clinics, religious centers, multiple restaurants, a library, parking areas, and entertainment and leisure activity centers.

The smart lighting control system integrates lighting subsystems for the apartments, public areas, car park areas, and all landscape and beautification lighting. The system was installed by Lang Meng Technology, Inc., a firm that provides smart home and lighting control solutions based on LonWorks technology.

Panasonic ASTROVISION large display screen systems and enhanced RAMSA professional audio systems will be used across the Olympic venues. Twin 152 square meter ASTROVISION LED screens and 264 RAMSA WS-LA3 large format array loudspeakers will show the action in the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium.

An official worldwide partner of the Olympic Games, Panasonic is also involved in the security operations. More than 2,000 AV surveillance cameras are installed to help ensure safety and security.

Also involved in security at the Games is Vicon Industries. The producer of video surveillance systems has had its camera domes and pan-and-tilt drives chosen to be part of an integrated video surveillance system to be installed at the “Bird’s Nest.” The opening ceremony tonight and the closing ceremony on August 24 will take place in that facility, which seats 91,000 people.

Vicon China, headquartered in Hong Kong with offices throughout China, is providing local support for this project.

In other security measures, ICx Technologies, a developer of advanced sensor technologies, won the contracts to supply IdentiFINDERs to the Government of China for use at the Olympics. IdentiFINDERS are handheld, radioisotope identification devices (RIID) that are able to locate, measure, and identify sources or contaminations from gamma and neutron radiation.

The units are able to differentiate between dangerous radioactive materials, medical and naturally occurring radioisotopes, such as bananas. This type of equipment is being deployed to detect radioactive materials that might be used as a weapon by terrorists in a radiological dispersal device, a so-called “dirty bomb”.

All the people involved in the Olympics will need to eat, and ARAMARK Corporation will meet those needs as the official catering service provider for 2008 Summer Games. The Beijing Organizing Commmittee (BOCOG) chose the company in May 2008. The signing of the contract with BOCOG marks the 14th time ARAMARK has been selected to serve at the Olympic Games.

ARAMARK, together with its partner Beijing Tourism Group, is providing catering services for the Athletes’ Village, Media Villages, International Broadcast Center, and the Main Press Center at the 2008 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing. ARAMARK will serve more than 3.5 million meals throughout the 60-day duration of both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. In addition, ARAMARK managed the design and construction of the kitchen and dining facilities for the Olympic catering venues.

Let The Games Begin!