Energy + Environment

Days after his appearance on the Oprah Show, environmentalist and actor Ed Begley Jr. gave a humorous and empowering keynote address on sustainable living at Lightfair International on May 3. Attendees heard how Begley began his global climate change activism, first in the ’80s with a wind turbine and now with lighting playing a critical [...]

Most lighting professionals are aware by now that the Commercial Buildings Deduction has been extended to 2013. Here is an article I wrote for Electrical Contractor Magazine, published in the March issue, that describes the Interim Lighting Rule, which in my opinion is the easiest and fastest path for an indoor lighting project to qualify [...]

Today is Earth Day.

Earlier this month, I posted a new whitepaper at the Lighting Control Association website that talks about the findings of a new study about combining occupancy sensing and bilevel switching. According to the Advanced Lighting Guidelines, occupancy sensors in private offices can produce up to 45% energy savings. A 2002 study by ADM Associates found [...]

Vice President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Steven Chu have announced plans to invest $3.2 billion in energy efficiency and conservation projects in U.S. cities, counties, states, territories and Native American tribes. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program, funded by President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will provide formula grants for projects [...]

Reportlinker.com is offering a new market research report that analyzes the global energy-efficient lighting market and forecasts to 2015. The report attempts to define the energy-efficient lighting industry and associated regulatory framework across the globe, provides info related to current and emerging technologies with comparative cost analysis, assesses market size and forecasts growth, and provides [...]

The Association of Energy Engineers, a nonprofit professional society of over 9,500 members, has published the results of a survey on Green Jobs and Energy Independence. Based on 962 responses from experienced Energy Professionals, the survey found: * 72% indicate a shortage of qualified professionals in the energy efficiency and renewable energy fields in the [...]

The EPA ENERGY STAR commercial building labeling program has released a list of the top 25 cities with the highest number ENERGY STAR buildings in 2008, available here as a PDF document. LA, San Francisco and Houston top the list. You can access all of ENERGY STAR buildings here.

An article I wrote for TED Magazine recently describes the emergence of the NEMA Premium Ballast. Basically, this is a program, with a mark, that identifies the industry’s most efficient fluorescent electronic ballasts available for 4-ft. T8 lamps. It’s a great idea, even if simply to avoid confusion. Everybody calls their electronic ballasts “high efficiency” [...]