Codes + Standards

Commercial and high-rise residential buildings, including federal buildings, must now meet requirements in the ASHRAE/IES 2007 energy standard after rulings issued by the Department of Energy. Prior to the new rules, federal and commercial buildings had to meet requirements in the 2004 standard. ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2007, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, has [...]

The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced that it has relaunched its website, Energy.gov. The new website makes it easier for visitors to get localized information specific to their cities, counties and states on tax credits, rebates, energy saving tips and grant opportunities. The new platform utilizes the latest technologies in information visualization, bringing updated [...]

Guest post by Jim Brodrick, Department of Energy Because solid-state lighting has the potential to last longer than traditional lighting technologies, addressing product reliability or lifetime has been a key issue for SSL. So it’s not surprising that lifetime was one of the topics under discussion at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) sixth annual [...]

Following a six-month delay in implementation, Washington finally began enforcement of its 2009 energy code on January 1, 2011. The Vermont Commissioner of Public Safety and the Electricians Licensing Board announced the adoption of the Vermont Electrical Safety Rules 2011, effective June 1, 2011. On June 23, 2011, the Rhode Island Building Code Legislative Oversight [...]

Delmar, part of Cengage Learning and a provider of learning solutions for ongoing career development and education, recently announced the release of three new electrical reference guides updated for the 2011 NEC®: DEWALT® Electrical Professional Reference – 2011 Edition, DEWALT Electrical Code Reference: Based on the 2011 National Electrical Code and DEWALT Electrical Licensing Exam [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published SSL 3-2011 High-Power White LED Binning for General Illumination. This standard, first published in 2010, was produced by NEMA’s Solid State Lighting Section. SSL 3 offers categorization areas (bins) for chromaticity (colors), forward voltage measurements (an electrical designation), and luminous flux (light output) for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Emergency Lighting Section has launched its Premium Exit Sign Program, which establishes standards for and encourages the use of high-performance exit signage. Unlike other NEMA Premium programs, this effort does not focus strictly on energy efficiency. Instead, the goal of the NEMA Premium Exit Sign Program is to increase [...]

I’m pleased to announce that I have finally completed the long awaited (by my publisher) update to The Lighting Management Handbook, which came out in 1994, with this 300-page book about redesigning existing lighting systems: Lighting Redesign for Existing Buildings. Because light is used to see but cannot be seen, it is often overlooked by [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published two new solid state lighting standards: • NEMA SSL 1-2010 Electronic Drivers for LED Devices, Arrays, or Systems • NEMA SSL 6-2010 Solid State Lighting for Incandescent Replacement—Dimming With these publications, NEMA establishes harmonized requirements and expectations for solid state lighting (SSL). Both are directed toward designers, [...]