ENERGY CODES
Commercial building energy codes vary by state and even local jurisdiction. Despite convergence in the major energy standards—ASHRAE’s 90.1 and ICC’s International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)—the nation is a patchwork of codes, some based on 90.1 (1989, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2007), with or without amendments; some based on IECC (2003, 2006, 2009), with or without amendments; and others completely homegrown, such as California’s strict Title 24 energy code.
To keep up with codes and learn more about the code in fact in your jurisdiction, two resources may help. First is the U.S. Department of Energy’s www.energycodes.gov, which provides resources about energy codes, including compliance software. Second is the Building Codes Assistance Project at www.bcap-energy.org.
LIGHT + DESIGN
Light + Design: A Guide to Designing Quality Lighting for People and Buildings, published by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America and for which I was pleased to serve as editor, provides a practical introduction to the world of lighting design. Supplementing the Guide are questions that provide a checklist of critical issues plus an applications guide. Numerous sketches and photos, glossary and end notes are included. This 192-page publication, published in hardcover in an 8.5 x 11 size, is available for $65.50 to IES members and $95.00 to non-members.
For more information, visit www.ies.org.
COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS TAX DEDUCTION
The Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction, recently extended to December 31, 2013, enables commercial building owners to claim an accelerated tax deduction of up to $0.60/sq.ft. for investing in energy-efficient interior lighting. The Interim Lighting Rule offers a simple path to qualification, as long as the project includes required lighting controls and meets IES light levels. Projects must be certified by qualified individuals. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently updated its Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction website, which I wrote for NEMA, to provide highly detailed guidance about how to qualify for this incentive.
Find it here: www.lightingtaxdeduction.org.
LAMP RECYCLING
NEMA’s lamprecycle.org website has provides a one-stop source of information about recycling mercury-containing lamps. The latest version of the site allows visitors to find compact fluorescent lamp drop-off locations near them with the help of Earth911.com.
CONTROLS AND CODE
The Lighting Controls Association has published a free online course on commercial energy codes as part of its Education Express program. EE203: Lighting and Commercial Energy Codes, which I wrote on behalf of the Association’s behalf, outlines the lighting requirements of the International Energy Conservation Code (2003, 2006, 2009) and ASHRAE 90.1 (1999, 2001, 2004, 2007), with special focus on making the right lighting controls choices for compliance. Process maps outlining each step towards compliance provides a graphical learning experience and enables students to visualize the process.
Get educated at www.aboutlightingcontrols.org.
ARCHITECTURAL SSL MAGAZINE
Architectural SSL is a quarterly journal about the application of solid-state lighting in the built environment. Now you can get additional information at SSL Interactive, a blog providing product and project reviews, technical data and other stories. The blog, and access to articles in past issues, can be read at www.architecturalssl.com.
LIGHTING DIRECTORY
Since 1996, Lightsearch.com has served the lighting industry as its most popular directory. To access a listing in the site’s database of more than 5,500 manufacturers, simply type in the name of the company in the search box. Alternately, one can search by product category from among 11,000 categories of luminaires, lamps, ballasts, controls, components, software, LEDs, fiber-optic and daylighting products. Site users can also access a directory of design firms and get industry news.
Check it out at www.lightsearch.com.
LEARNING TO SEE
Howard Brandston’s new book Learning to See: A Matter of Light, published by the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, is the legendary lighting designer’s gift to the design community, a playful but incisive distillation of more than 50 years designing and teach lighting. This is not a technical publication, but a treatise on the art and science of lighting, and defines a creative process that applies to any type of design. The book, which I edited for publication on Howard’s behalf, is available at www.ies.org/store.
ELECTRICITY PRICES
If you do not know what electricity prices are for a given utility, you can quickly look up average prices in the state, courtesy of the Energy Information Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Energy. The average retail price of electricity is provided by end-use sector—commercial, industrial, residential and transportation—and by state, and contrasted against the previous year for a sense of where prices are moving and by how much. Links provide access to historical reports and other useful information about energy consumption, such as lighting’s share of building energy use.
Get the data at http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html.
DAYLIGHTING STUDIES
Heschong Mahone Group conducts daylighting, code, energy benchmarking and technical research for government, utilities, environmental groups and other organizations. On behalf of PG&E and the California Energy Commission, Heschong Mahone conducted a series of studies documenting the impact of daylighting and windows on office worker satisfaction, retail sales and student performance in schools. In brief: Daylighting can make a significant positive impact on all of these areas.
Download the studies at www.h-m-g.com.
ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR criteria have been developed for a wide range of electrical devices used in homes, from compact fluorescent lamps to washers and dryers. In 2008, the first criteria for LED luminaires became effective, with the first products entering the market in 2009.
ENERGY STAR criteria now cover recessed downlights, undercabinet kitchen lights, shelf-mounted display and task lights, portable desk lamps, cove lighting, ceiling-mounted, surface-mounted with directional heads, and outdoor wall-mounted porch, step, pathway and pole/arm-mounted decorative lights. LED luminaires labeled with the ENERGY STAR mark not only meet a certain threshold for efficiency, but also performance. Purchasers gain some confidence that the product will perform as well or better than similar product using traditional light sources.
DOE has also developed criteria for integral LED replacement lamps, published in December 2009 and to become effective August 31, 2010.
See a list of ENERGY STAR-labeled products at www.energystar.gov.
NEXT GENERATION LUMINAIRES COMPETITION
The Next Generation Luminaires Solid State Lighting Design Competition was created to recognize and promote excellence in LED commercial lighting product design.
After demonstrating that it meets ENERGY STAR criteria that may be applicable, a given product is put through a tough review by a panel judges including representatives of the International Association of Lighting Designers, Illuminating Engineering Society and DOE. They evaluate the products’ lighting performance, color characteristics, construction, serviceability and submitted photometric data.
ENERGY STAR is a minimum threshold of performance, and does not cover everything that makes a lighting product worth specifying. This competition identifies truly outstanding products as judged by leading lighting designers. The competition results enable lighting decision makers to vet products as being ready to specify or not.
See the winning products at www.ngldc.org.
DALI BY DESIGN
DALIbyDesign, which I built on behalf of RNM Engineering, is an impartial website dedicated to educating lighting practitioners, building owners and other professionals about digital lighting control—specifically, digital control systems based on the Digital Addressable Lighting Interface (DALI).
Find it at www.dalibydesign.us.
LIGHTING DESIGN LAB
The Lighting Design, based in Seattle, is dedicated to transforming lighting in the Northwest by promoting quality lighting design and energy-efficient technologies. The Lab accomplishes this through education and training, consultations, technical assistance and demonstrations. Their librarian, Randy Smith, is one of the nicest and most knowledgeable and helpful people you’ll find in the lighting industry.
Check out this strong resource at www.lightingdesignlab.com.
SSL QUALITY ADVOCATES
The Quality Advocates Initiative was created by the Next Generation Lighting Industry Alliance and the Department of Energy to encourage LED product manufacturers to voluntarily follow certain guidelines and labeling to report performance claims.
The Lighting Facts label promotes accurate and consistent reporting of product performance. Lighting decision makers benefit by knowing with greater certainty how a given product will perform, more easily comparing different products, and being given more data about performance that serves as a reminder to consider the product’s entire story, not just its wattage.
Products are tested using the IES LM-79 standard, and the testing data verified as part of registration. Once registration is complete, the product can carry the Lighting Facts label, which summarizes performance data covering light output, input watts, efficacy, color appearance and color rendering.
Be warned, though, that rogue Lighting Facts labels are popping up, even among reputable product manufacturers. Each product is given an ID number for verification; use it.
Check it out at www.lightingfacts.com.
ADVANCED LIGHTING GUIDELINES
The Advanced Lighting Guidelines is published by the New Buildings Institute to provide lighting practitioners with a practical guide on how to achieve good lighting design that maximizes both quality and efficiency.
The latest edition, the 2009 edition, was in production as a web-based publication at the time of writing. I contributed the chapter on lighting controls with Dorene Maniccea of WattStopper, building on an excellent foundation provided by James Benya.
Learn more at www.newbuildings.org.
COMMERCIAL LIGHTING SOLUTIONS
The Commercial Lighting Solutions program, sponsored by DOE, is a webtool providing customizable lighting templates designed to generate more than 30 percent lighting energy savings compared to ASHRAE 90.1-2004, without sacrificing lighting quality. It is specifically designed for people who make lighting decisions but are not necessarily lighting experts. Contractors, designers, distributors and owners can use these templates to achieve the latest, energy-efficient solutions—while providing good lighting.
CLS for Retail launched at Lightfair 2009. CLS for Office was subsequently fast-tracked to support large public spending projects, and was launched at LIGHTFAIR 2010. I had the pleasure of working with the controls industry to develop the control templates for the Office version.
The CLS webtool is available free to the public and can be accessed at www.lighting-solutions.org.
ADVANCED ENERGY DESIGN GUIDES
ASHRAE, in collaboration with government and other industry organizations, developed a series of Advanced Energy Design Guides that provide a prescriptive path for beating ASHRAE 90.1-1999, the national energy standard, by 30 percent in small office buildings, small retail buildings, K-12 school buildings and other building types.
To download any of ASHRAE’s Advanced Energy Design Guides free, visit ashrae.org.
INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY ASSOCIATION
The International Dark-Sky Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the nighttime environment through quality outdoor lighting.
Learn more at www.darksky.org.
