LAS VEGAS - Nearly $13,000 in entry fees from the 2011 AHR Expo Innovation Awards competition will be donated to Opportunity Village, a Las Vegas organization that serves people with intellectual disabilities. The not-for-profit organization is using the money to buy and install 76 programmable thermostats that are estimated to save over $26,000 in annual energy costs for two of its locations.

Every year, AHR Expo donates the competition entry fee money to a local charitable organization wherever the show is being held. To date, nearly $75,000 have been donated to several charitable organizations throughout the country. This year’s competition received 170 entries, an all-time record.