On Monday, November 14, 2022, ENERGY STAR issued a memo proposing to sunset its Lamps, Luminaires, and Ceiling Fan Light Kit programs. It’s not uncommon for ENERGY STAR to sunset product categories after DOE has issued appliance efficiency standards that eliminate most of the savings potential for an ENERGY STAR category. Such a DOE standards increase also eliminates savings potential for utilities, triggering an end to rebates for a category.
In this case it was the DOE 45 lpW general service lamp “backstop” that is causing ENERGY STAR to propose sunsetting the lighting categories. Here are the key take aways from ENERGY STAR’s proposal:
- ENERGY STAR is taking comments on the proposal and timeline through January 6, 2023.
- The proposal is to sunset ENERGY STAR for lamps, luminaires, and ceiling fan light kits effective the end of 2024.
- To stop accepting new certifications for these products at the end of 2023.
- To remove lighting requirements from the ENERGY STAR specifications for ceiling fans and ventilation fans, at the end of 2023.
- EPA believes many utilities will cease residential lighting rebates by the end of 2023.
The full EPA proposal memo is available here.
As I wrote in LD+A in 2018, “Our Work is Done Here”. Lighting is now energy efficient and there is no excuse to use legacy lighting equipment except for a few very unusual and specific situations. I think it is time for the federal government to stop “researching” the energy efficiency of lighting. Rebates for efficient lighting should end soon, too. I support continuing the work of our national laboratories to address improvements in lighting applications, to reduce light pollution, to develop standards for “intelligent buildings”, and to clarify and verify the multitude of claims surrounding healthy light and the effectiveness of distributed UV disinfection lighting. But the war for energy efficient lighting has been won. Move on!