In the May 2009 issue of Buildings Magazine, David R. Laybourn, director of marketing and sales for Lime Energy in Glendora, CA, offered some good advice in an article titled, “Prevent 17 Common Lighting Mistakes.” Ten of these costly mistakes are paraphrased here: 1. Working with the wrong people: Choose experienced partners. 2. Conflicts in [...]

California new Title 20 standards, which went into effect January 1, 2010, created new energy efficiency standards for 150-500W metal halide light fixtures used in indoor and outdoor applications. These fixtures may not be manufactured in the State of California unless they meet the new standards. For the most part, the fixture will have to [...]

Office buildings: According to the 2009 Buildings Energy Data Book published by DOE, the average large office building (>25,000 square feet) has a lighting power density (LPD) of 1.3-1.8 watts/sq.ft. (based on 2006 data), while the average small office building has a lighting power density of 1.7-2.2W/sq.ft. If these buildings were relighted to simply comply [...]

The California Lighting Technology Center (CLTC), a research, development, and demonstration facility at the University of California, Davis, recently announced that it has installed more than 100 demonstrations of energy-efficient lighting since the Center’s inception in 2004. These demonstrations, conducted at the University of California, California State University, California Community College campuses, and state and [...]

NEMA’s T8 lamp shipments index increased 7.2% during the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same period a year ago. Moreover, the 2010Q1 reading for index reading is nearly 4% above the level for all of 2009. T12 lamp shipments posted year-over-year growth of 5% for the quarter. Shipments of T12 lamps have remained [...]

Those looking for signs that the U.S. economy is rebounding can find encouragement in the fourth annual Energy Efficiency Indicator released by Johnson Controls. A survey of more than 1,400 North American executives and managers responsible for making investments and managing energy in commercial buildings found that planned investment in energy efficiency is expected to [...]

Energy consumption in buildings is a complicated set of interactions among building components. When it comes to understanding energy efficiency opportunities, it’s useful to see how changing one component affects the whole. Energy engineers at the Energy Center of Wisconsin developed the Back-of-the-Envelope Calculator to provide greater initial insight into the energy usage and environmental [...]

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) has issued a call for proposals for innovative energy efficiency retrofit programs and policies that can address specific barriers. Individual grants range from $100,000 to $350,000. Projects may be 12 to 24 months in duration. Applicants must be U.S. nonprofit organizations with approved IRS 501(c)(3) status. Pre-proposals are due [...]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently reached a milestone for the ENERGY STAR program by passing the 1 millionth ENERGY STAR-qualified home mark. Since the program began labeling new homes in 1995, Americans have saved $1.2 billion on their energy bills, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 22 billion pounds, according to EPA. To earn [...]