Legislation + Regulation

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) issued the following statement after the Administration submitted to Congress its final Fiscal Year 2018 federal budget on May 23. AIA President Thomas Vonier, FAIA, said: “Unfortunately, this budget includes many of the same cuts we criticized in the March draft of the Administration’s budget — in fact, it [...]

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reaffirmed its commitment to climate change mitigation and announced it was opposing the administration’s decision to withdraw the United States as a signatory to the Paris Agreement. That accord, signed in late 2015 within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), commits the international community to fighting [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has formally requested that the Secretary of Energy complete a rulemaking for general service lamps that Congress required in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA-2007). The Department of Energy (DOE) began the rulemaking in December 2013 and published two rules on January 19, 2017, addressing only [...]

In a recent column for ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, I provided an update on the 179D energy efficiency tax deduction, ENERGY STAR V.2 Lamps criteria and V.2 Luminaires criteria, and metal halide rules taking effect. Check it out here. A recent blog post on tEDmag.com talks about a more recent Department of Energy ruling on general service [...]

My contributions to the February issue of tED Magazine included an update on metal halide rules. Reprinted with permission. On February 10, 2017, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) rules take effect that regulate the efficiency of metal halide lamp ballasts sold as part of new luminaires. These rules update existing energy efficiency standards created by [...]

Created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction (Section 179D of the tax code) provides an accelerated tax deduction of up to $1.80/sq.ft. as an incentive to install energy-efficient building systems, including interior lighting. The tax deduction expired and renewed several times over the years, most recently with the passage [...]

Below is my lighting column published in the July issue of tED Magazine. Reprinted with permission. Founded in 1992, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR is a voluntary product labeling program designed to help consumers identify and promote energy-efficient products. These products include lamps and residential luminaires. Consumers recognize the ENERGY STAR label [...]

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 established energy standards for 40-100W general-service incandescent lamps, which took effect 2012-2014 and contributed to a significant decline in incandescent A-lamp sales in recent years. U.S. manufacturers have complied despite Congressional appropriations bills specifically prohibiting the Department of Energy from enforcing the Act’s provisions (which only served [...]

California has adopted new regulations for small-diameter directional lamps (often used in track lighting) and general-purpose LED lamps. The new regulations establish a baseline for performance quality while promoting energy efficiency. Compliant lamps are already available. California predicts consumers will reduces operating costs by $4 billion over the first 13 years after implementation, saving enough [...]