Energy + Environment

A new program to inform building owners and operators, tenants and prospective buyers on the energy use of buildings, similar to a nutrition label on food or miles per gallon ratings on cars, has recently been launched to encourage the building industry to find ways to cut energy use and costs. The Building Energy Quotient [...]

Now you can buy that gasoline-powered alarm clock you’ve always wanted. And ENERGY STAR apparently has some major work to do to regain its credibility. Consumers and businesses rely on the EPA/DOE ENERGY STAR program to identify energy-saving products that will perform as well or better than non-energy-saving products. The program is promoted through tax [...]

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A coalition of 80 contractor groups, unions, manufacturers, businesses, financial services companies and energy-efficiency advocates to advance the adoption of Building STAR, a proposal to makeover America’s commercial and apartment building infrastructure with more energy-efficient technologies. Introduced March 4 as S. 3079, Building STAR Energy Efficiency Rebate Act of 2010, the bill is a package [...]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have awarded OSRAM SYLVANIA a 2010 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award in recognition of the company’s continued leadership in protecting the environment through energy efficiency. It is the ninth consecutive year the company has received an ENERGY STAR award. OSRAM SYLVANIA’s accomplishments will [...]

After we put our daughter to bed, my wife and I curled up and watched Up in The Air on her laptop. For us, it was Earth 2 Hours.

Lighting for Tomorrow is launching its 2010 competition—with a focus on lighting control devices and SSL luminaires and replacement lamps. For the first time, Lighting for Tomorrow will be looking at lighting control products including stand-alone, system-based, and whole house devices. The lighting controls competition is building on the 2009 fluorescent dimming competition by seeking [...]

To reduce peak demand with lighting, we can turn it off, turn it down or use it more efficiently. Since lighting is critical for productivity and safety in many indoor spaces, turning it down instead of off is usually more desirable. Dimmable lighting therefore has a strong potential role to play in demand response. But [...]

Today’s focus on saving energy is accelerating demand for luminaires designed to achieve a high level of energy efficiency. Luminaires can be evaluated based on luminaire center beam candlepower (candela), total input watts (W), efficiency (fraction of lamp lumens that exit the luminaire), efficacy rating (lumens/W), coefficient of utilization (CU) and comparative yearly energy cost [...]