Energy + Environment

I recently had the opportunity to interview Kurt Vogel, Director, Product Development – Relight, Acuity Brands Lighting, for an article I wrote about the office building lighting upgrade market for The Electrical Distributor (TED) Magazine. The interview was extremely informative, and I wanted to share it with you complete here. DiLouie: How would you characterize [...]

Utility rebates targeting T12 fluorescent lighting systems are fading. From 2012 to 2013, the average prescriptive rebate for a T12 to T8 lamp and ballast retrofit decreased by 16%. In 2014, they will likely continue to decrease and may disappear altogether. Briteswitch has the story here.

The Lighting Controls Association invites the electric power industry into a partnership to advance education about energy-saving lighting controls. I recently produced a 16-minute webinar introducing electric utilities, independent system operators and energy efficiency organizations to the Lighting Controls Association and its capabilities. The webinar presents the case for the importance of lighting in energy [...]

DOE has published a collaborative study focused on developing new estimates of residential lighting usage and energy consumption at the national and regional levels. The study, Residential Lighting End-Use Consumption Study: Estimation Framework and Initial Estimates, developed a framework that allows for the estimation of U.S. lamp usage and energy consumption not only nationally and [...]

Dan Mellinger, PE, LC, Lighting Strategy Manager for Efficiency Vermont, recently published a whitepaper that discusses the future of commercial efficiency programs and LED lighting. It addresses the significant opportunity that remains, despite years of fluorescent upgrades, and the importance of controls and design. Check it out here.

With 86% of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) voting to approve, LEED v4 will be launched at Greenbuild in November 2013. USGBC will allow projects to register for either LEED 2009 or LEED v4 until June 1, 2015, after which LEED v4 will be required. ENGINEERING NEWS-RECORD has the story here.

The Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) recently released its 2012 Annual Industry Report, painting the most complete picture of energy efficiency and demand response program activity available in one place. Based on a survey collecting budget, expenditure, and impact data, the report covers both gas and electric demand side management in the United States and [...]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which administers the ENERGY STAR program, recently named Philips Lighting as Partner of the Year. Philips released 269 ENERGY STAR-qualified products in 2012, an increase of 84% over the prior year. Eighty-eight of these were new LED products, including an LED equivalent for the 75W incandescent bulb. Philips was [...]

According to BriteSwitch, LLC, a majority of utilities and energy efficiency organizations have released their rebate programs for 2013, with incentives for energy-efficient commercial lighting covering about 70% of the United States. A common thread is T12 rebates have been removed or the amounts reduced, while LED rebates are expanding. The number of LED rebate [...]