Codes + Standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced the release of the final ENERGY STAR Luminaires V2.0 specification, which will replace V1.2 on June 1, 2016. Click here to learn more and download the specification.

A newly revised standard from ASHRAE and IES seeks to provide greater guidance and a more comprehensive approach to retrofit of existing buildings for increased energy efficiency. ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 100-2015, Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings, provides comprehensive and detailed descriptions of the processes and procedures for the retrofit of existing residential and commercial buildings in [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published ANSI C82.77-10-2014 American National Standard for Lighting Equipment—Harmonic Emission Limits—Related Power Quality Requirements. This standard specifies harmonic limits, their methods of measurement, and power factor for lighting equipment. With the increased use of sensitive electronic equipment, harmonic distortion on power lines is an ever-increasing issue for residential, [...]

In November 2014, ASHRAE published ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. The standard, which updates the previous 2011 version, covers site sustainability, water use, energy, indoor environmental quality, and the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources. The standard provides states and other jurisdictions a [...]

New requirements to further reduce energy and environmental impacts of buildings are contained in the 2014 version of the green building standard from ASHRAE, the U.S. Green Building Council and the Illuminating Engineering Society. ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2014, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, addresses the areas of site sustainability; [...]

The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) recently announced the publication of Recommended Practice for Roadway Lighting, RP-8-14, an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved standard. The IES, as an accredited ANSI standards developer, revised RP-8-14 in accordance with ANSI consensus-based procedures. The primary purpose of this Recommended Practice is to serve as the basis for design [...]

Following preliminary analysis that ASHRAE/IES’s 2013 energy efficiency standard contains energy savings over the 2010 standard – 8.5% source energy savings and 7.6% energy savings – the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a ruling that establishes the 2013 standard as the commercial building reference standard for state building energy codes. In an announcement [...]

In what is surely a sign of the times, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) recently announced the new ASC 137 Lighting Systems Committee. This committee has received approval from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Executive Standards Council as an Accredited Standards Committee (ASC). This approval is the culmination of a multimonth process and [...]

The Illuminating Engineering Society has published two new testing procedures standards for LEDs: * IES Approved Method for Measuring Luminous Flux and Color Maintenance of LED Lamps, Light Engines, and Luminaires (LM-84-14) * Approved Method for Electrical & Photometric Measurements of High Power LEDs (LM-85-14) LM-84-14 is written to develop standard operating procedures for laboratories [...]