John Plooster

John Plooster is now the new regional sales manager for Code Blue Corporation in central North America. In his new role, Plooster will oversee relationships with firms and dealers that stretch from northern Texas into Canada. For over 15 years, Plooster has excelled as a sales engineer and manager in the telecommunications industry, where he worked with a number of schools to implement new solutions and improve usability and reduce costs.

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Renewable Energy for Commercial HVAC

The SunSource® Commercial Energy System from Lennox is the first and only HVAC commercial HVAC system to integrate directly with solar power. The SunSource system collects free, clean energy from the sun and feeds it directly into Lennox’ solar-ready Energence® rooftop unit; excess electricity is used to power other electric devices or is sent back to the power grid. Designed to reduce energy spending and emissions, the SunSource system can provide effective efficiency levels of up to 34 SEER and beyond.

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Classroom Document Camera

Epson America unveils the newest addition to its product line, the DC-20 document camera, a teaching tool designed to enhance the K-12 classroom experience. With its 12x optical zoom and 10x digital zoom options, the camera provides users with detailed images, while its large imaging sensor captures more light per pixel for brighter images without sacrificing quality, according to the company. Additionally, the DC-20 is able to connect to projectors via its HDMI output, allowing for full 1080p HD quality video projection.

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Trane Sponsors CHPS for Second Year

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) is a leading national movement to improve student performance and the entire educational experience by building the best possible schools, which means incorporating green building strategies.

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British Columbia School District Gets Down to Earth

SURREY, B.C. — The Delta School District in British Columbia (BC), Canada recently broke ground on a system that will deliver thermal energy to 19 buildings, saving the district approximately $180,000 per year when the work is completed in 2014. The $6.4 million project is mostly being funded by FortisBC, the largest utility company in British Columbia, which will also design and install the system.

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New Jersey Looks to Borrow Millions for Higher Education Construction

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. — The time of voting is upon us and in New Jersey it could mean funding for college and university construction projects.

If the state voters approve a $750 million referendum on borrowing for construction at New Jersey colleges and universities, projects would require a 25 percent match by the schools, increasing the value of investment to $1 billion. If voters pass the referendum, it would be New Jersey’s single largest financial commitment to higher education since a 1988 referendum of $350 million.

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Lance Cage

Lance Cage, LEED AP, a 25-year veteran of the construction and real estate industry, has joined HOK as marketing principal and senior vice president to help direct business development and marketing in the firm’s 17-state North Central Region. Cage holds experience in the health care, higher education, and life science industries, as well as facilitating real estate development. He will work with HOK’s St.

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