Legislation + Regulation

Created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction (Section 179D of the tax code) provides an accelerated tax deduction of up to $1.80/sq.ft. as an incentive to install energy-efficient building systems, including interior lighting. The tax deduction expired and renewed several times over the years, most recently with the passage [...]

Below is my lighting column published in the July issue of tED Magazine. Reprinted with permission. Founded in 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR is a voluntary product labeling program designed to help consumers identify and promote energy-efficient products. These products include lamps and residential luminaires. Consumers recognize the ENERGY STAR label [...]

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 established energy standards for 40-100W general-service incandescent lamps, which took effect 2012-2014 and contributed to a significant decline in incandescent A-lamp sales in recent years. U.S. manufacturers have complied despite Congressional appropriations bills specifically prohibiting the Department of Energy from enforcing the Act’s provisions (which only served [...]

California has adopted new regulations for small-diameter directional lamps (often used in track lighting) and general-purpose LED lamps. The new regulations establish a baseline for performance quality while promoting energy efficiency. Compliant lamps are already available. California predicts consumers will reduces operating costs by $4 billion over the first 13 years after implementation, saving enough [...]

On December 2, 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a decision that mandatory energy conservation standards for high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps are not technically feasible or economically justified. Furthermore, the DOE determined that higher energy conservation standards for HID lamps would not yield significant energy savings for the nation. Click here to read the [...]

The Department of Energy (DOE) has published a Federal Register final rule pertaining to energy conservation standards for ceiling fan light kits. The effective date of this rule is March 7, 2016. Compliance with the amended standards is required on and after January 7, 2019. The amended energy standards are: DOE estimates average life-cycle cost [...]

The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (“PATH” or “Act”), which was signed into law by President Obama on December 18, 2015, featured a number of tax provisions, including an extension of the Commercial Energy-Efficient Buildings Tax Deduction (Section 179D) by two years from December 31, 2014 to December 31, 2016. The text [...]

On April 30, 2015, President Obama signed S. 535, the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015, which specifies various Federal actions to increase energy and water efficiency in commercial buildings and adjusts a Department of Energy efficiency standard for grid-enabled residential water heaters. Of particular interest are two provisions that: * promote commercial building energy-use [...]

LightNOW recently reported that the Department of Energy (DOE) issued new energy standards for general-service fluorescent lamps. As promised, I’m following up to provide some analysis. The new rules were published in the Federal Register January 25 and go into effect January 26, 2018. They specifically cover 4-ft. T8 linear, 2-ft. T8 U-bend and 4-ft. [...]