Codes + Standards

The passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES 2009) has been highly publicized for its Cap and Trade Program, but there’s another provision that is of significant interest to the lighting community: the requirement that national building energy codes for residential and commercial buildings [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published two new roadway and area lighting equipment standards, ANSI C136.25-2009 Ingress Protection (Resistance to Dust, Solid Objects, and Moisture) for Luminaire Enclosures and ANSI C136.35-2009 Luminaire Electrical Ancillary Devices (LEAD). ANSI C136.25-2009 provides guidance for protecting luminaires from ingress based on the anticipated environment and explains how [...]

The California Energy Commission has announced that the effective date for the 2008 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Title 24, Parts 1 and 6) has been changed to January 1, 2010. The reason: delays in completing the public domain compliance software. The California Energy Commission adopted the 2008 Standards on April 23, 2008, and the Building [...]

The Department of Energy’s Building Codes Resource Center has published a summary of the ASHRAE guidelines for achieving 30% savings over ASHRAE 90.1-1999 in small office buildings. One of the interesting features of the website is a series of layout templates. Check it out here.

Radionic Hi-Tech, Inc. of Chicago, IL has told LightNOW that they have the distinction of being the first manufacturer of undercabinet LED luminaires to receive the Lighting Facts label. Sponsored by the Department of Energy and endorsed by major retailers including The Home Depot and W.W. Grainger, the Solid-State Lighting Quality Advocates label was “created [...]

This article for Architectural SSL Magazine by Kevin Willmorth and me outlines the important progress that has been made in LED standards that are essential for future growth, and talks about standards still in the works. You can read the article here.

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published ANSI/ANSLG C81.61-2009 Electrical Lamp Bases—Specifications for Bases (Caps) for Electric Lamps and ANSI/ANSLG C81.62-2009 Electric Lampholders. Both documents were last revised in 2007. C81.61 and C81.62 respectively cover lamp bases (caps) and lampholders for electric lamps. Both standards were revised to include G24 lampholder and base dimensions. [...]

Lynn Proctor Windle, a contributing editor to Building Operating Management Magazine, wrote an excellent piece on photoluminescent technology as a means of providing emergency lighting in buildings, specially safety signs and path markers. The article is a little dated (March 2005), but clearly summarizes the technology. Titled “Photoluminescent Technology: Reliable Emergency Lighting in Buildings,” you [...]

ASHRAE is taking another crack at producing BSR/ASHRAE/IESNA/USGBC Standard 189.1P, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. This is the third public review draft. You may recall this standard had difficulties and the committee creating it was reconstituted last year. The public review period is 45 days, from May 1 [...]