Legislation + Regulation

Among its many provisions, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 revamped the venerable Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction (CBTD), which incentivizes building owners to invest in energy-efficient interior lighting, HVAC/hot water systems, and/or building envelope.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed to expand the types of lamps that are required to display the Lighting Facts Label. The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) specifically proposes to add: Lower-brightness lamps (light bulbs) that are not regulated by US DOE. These are lamps below 310 lumens and 30 watts. “Any other [...]

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has formally proposed to end Title 20 regulations on portable luminaires. CEC has issued Notice of Proposed Action (NOPA) for the Repeal of Portable Luminaires Rulemaking, TN # 247747. Portable luminaires include wall plug products like table lamps and desk lamps. The CEC proposes to repeal standards for this appliance [...]

Some in the lighting industry are concerned and closely following both state and federal policy efforts known as Right to Repair. The original motivation is over the right to repair consumer electronic devices and farm equipment. The lighting industry is concerned that proposed state and federal policy proposals might create unintended, burdensome requirements on the [...]

The United Kingdom has joined the growing list of governments working to eliminate fluorescent, halogen, and other HID sources. Last week, the UK government published its proposal to raise lighting product efficacy requirements, using a technology-neutral set of minimum energy performance standards (MEPS). The proposal would impact residential, commercial, and industrial lighting products. Specifically, the [...]

A group of dark sky advocates in New Zealand is actively advocating for a national law to promote dark skies and reduce light pollution. They recently published a document explaining dark skies and making the case for a national law in New Zealand. This month they launched a parliamentary petition to advocate for national legislation [...]

Kudos to Al Uszynski of inside.lighting for breaking this story about the Canadian government’s proposal to ban the sale of most mercury-containing lamps. Fluorescent lamp bans are already occurring in California and Vermont, and are under consideration in other US states. The Canadian proposal goes significantly further, to ban most HID lamps. It’s noteworthy that [...]

Earlier this week, the US Department of Energy (DOE) proposed a new energy efficiency standard for General Service Lamps (GSL). The new standard would impact an enormous variety of lamps, including A-lamps (CFL & LED), directional R & PAR lamps, and LED tubes (TLEDs). Right now it is still a proposal, but odds are good [...]

The DLC compiled a list and interactive maps of locations with published outdoor lighting ordinances to mitigate light pollution. These maps show states, provinces, and cities/towns, throughout Canada and the U.S., with outdoor lighting ordinances. States and provinces shaded blue have a statewide/provincewide policy. The round markers indicate cities, towns, and counties with an ordinance. [...]