Legislation + Regulation

Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in Congress that would make permanent a key energy efficiency tax incentive for owners and designers of energy efficient buildings while expanding its benefits to designers of hospitals, schools, tribal community facilities and other non-profits. H.R. 3507, introduced by Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) and co-sponsored by Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY), [...]

As many as 77,000 new design and construction jobs would be created annually over 10 years–along with almost $7.4 billion more in annual GDP–if Congress and the Administration continue an important energy efficiency tax policy, according to an economic impact study by Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI). Section 179D of the tax code, also known [...]

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 [...]