Archive for January 2009

Annual Rate of Construction Valued at $1.08 Trillion in November

The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce recently announced that construction spending during November 2008 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,078.4 billion, 0.6% (±1.6%) below the revised October estimate of $1,085.3 billion. The November figure is 3.3% (±2.2%) below the November 2007 estimate of $1,115.3 billion. During the first [...]

Study Captures Daylighting’s HVAC and Lighting Energy Savings Impacts

Daylighting is recognized as best practice in energy codes and industry standards due to its documented positive effects on worker satisfaction and performance and potential to generate substantial energy savings. Daylighting and daylighting control are now encouraged or required by California’s Title 24 energy code, LEED-NC v.2.2, Northeast Collaborative for High Performance Schools, and ASHRAE [...]

GE Debuts Incandescent-Shaped CFL

Miniaturized electronics developed by GE Consumer & Industrial engineers and scientists are the enabling technology of a new covered GE Energy Smart CFL featuring the GE Spiral® CFL inside the glass bulb. With this new CFL, protected by more than a dozen U.S. patent applications, the electronics fit in the neck of the bulb. The [...]

DOE Releases LED Streetlight Demonstration Project Report

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released the Phase III report from the solid-state lighting (SSL) demonstration of LED streetlights in Oakland, CA, according to an email I recently received from Jim Brodrick at DOE. The GATEWAY demonstration report, prepared by Pacific Gas & Electric and Energy Solutions, provides an overview of project results [...]

Lighting and ASHRAE 90.1-2007

In March 2008, TED Magazine, the NAED publication for electrical distributors, published my column summarizing the lighting changes of the ASHRAE 90.1-2007 energy standard. ASHRAE 90.1-2007 did not make power allowances more stringent, but did include a number of significant refinements. Click here to read the article. According to the Building Codes Assistance Project, as [...]

Why Recycle Fluorescent Lamps?

Facilitymanagement.com has published an article about recycling fluorescent lamps here. Learn more about recycling at NEMA’s website, www.lamprecycle.org.