Codes + Standards

The New Buildings Institute (NBI) recently released a model stretch building code that targets 20% better efficiency than current national building energy codes.

A unified green building code that could become the foundation for LEED certification was created in 2011, thanks to a partnership among ASHRAE, the International Code Council (ICC), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). That effort got a boost in August 2014, when ICC and ASHRAE agreed to align the technical requirements of ASHRAE’s Standard 189.1 for High Performance Green Buildings (189.1) with ICC’s International Green Construction Code (IgCC) into one single model code.

In a revision of ANSI C78.377-2017 American National Standard for Electric Lamps—Specifications for the Chromaticity of Solid-State Lighting Products, the ANSI Accredited Standards Committee C78, Electric Lamps, establishes a range of chromaticity for general lighting with solid-state lighting (SSL) products to ensure that product chromaticity can be communicated to consumers. Published by the National Electrical [...]

In my June contribution to ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, I describe what’s new and other major lighting requirements in the 2016 version of the ASHRAE/IES 90.1 energy standard. The new standard focuses on energy-saving opportunities with LED technology and controls. Check it out here.

ANSI Accredited Standards Committee C78, Electric Lamps, recently published ANSI C78.52-2017 American National Standard for Electric Lamps—LED (Light Emitting Diode) Direct Replacement Lamps—Method of Designation. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) serves as secretariat for the standard. ANSI C78.52 is a new lighting standard on how to designate LED lamps that are direct replacements for [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently published NEMA 77-2017 Temporal Light Artifacts: Test Methods and Guidance for Acceptance Criteria. Temporal Light Artifacts (TLA) are undesired changes in visual perception induced by a light stimulus whose luminance or spectral distribution fluctuates with time, such as flicker and stroboscopic effect. This new lighting standard makes recommendations [...]

The California Lighting Technology Center’s Nonresidential Lighting and Electrical Power Distribution Guide for the 2016 Building Energy Efficiency Standards is now available. The guide was written to help builders and lighting industry professionals navigate the nonresidential lighting and electrical power distribution portions of California’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Title 24, Part 6). The updated Energy [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently published NEMA 77-2017 Temporal Light Artifacts: Test Methods and Guidance for Acceptance Criteria. Temporal Light Artifacts (TLA) are undesired changes in visual perception induced by a light stimulus whose luminance or spectral distribution fluctuates with time, such as flicker and stroboscopic effect. This new lighting standard makes recommendations [...]

The ANSI Accredited Standards Committee C81 recently revised two standards for the lighting industry: ANSI C81.61-2017 American National Standard for Electric Lamp Bases—Specifications for Bases (Caps) for Electric Lamps and ANSI C81.62-2017 American National Standard for Electric Lampholders. These standards present specifications for lamp bases and holders, and now include G6.6 designations. “The tubular LED [...]