Legislation + Regulation

Congress is now considering the Energy Act of 2020, which contains numerous provisions related to energy production, distribution, and more-efficient end use. Looking at the highlights, I didn’t see anything directly related to lighting. I’m hoping at least the Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction will get another extension.

LightingEurope is advocating the installation of UV-C disinfection technologies as part of the European Union’s Renovation Wave (part of the EU Green Deal) and the application and enforcement of existing safety rules and standards.

Six environmental and consumer groups have warned the U.S. Department of Energy that they will sue the agency if it does not meet its legal responsibility to review and update overdue energy efficiency standards for 26 consumer and commercial products—including some of the largest energy users, such as air conditioners, water heaters, refrigerators, and clothes dryers—within 60 days.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently asked a federal court to force the U.S. Department of Energy to implement updated energy-saving standards for general-service lamps.

My contribution to the January issue of ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR took a look at the Department of Energy’s recent action on general-service lamp energy standards and its interpretation of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007’s backstop rule.

California’s 2019 lighting standards and regulations went into effect January 1, 2020. The 2019 changes include updates to both the Appliance Efficiency Regulations and Building Energy Efficiency Standards.