Legislation + Regulation

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently published a Federal Register notice of proposed rulemaking regarding energy conservation standards for metal halide luminaires. 78 FR 51463 (August 20, 2013). The deadline for public comments is October 21, 2013. You can submit comments here.

Sen. Cynthia Creem of the Massachusetts State Senate has introduced SD 844, which was spearheaded by an industry coalition led by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD) to reduce nighttime skyglow and light trespass in Massachusetts while ensuring that customer choice and proper [...]

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 regulated 40-100W incandescent general-service lamps, requiring the lamp to either operate at a higher efficacy or cease being able to be manufactured or imported. In 2012, 100W lamps became affected; in 2013, 75W lamps are now under regulation. For those wishing to retain incandescent lamps, there are [...]

A bill introduced into the Senate, the Commercial Buildings Modernization Act (S.3591), seeks to extend the Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction (179D) created by the Energy Policy Act to the end of 2016, make it easier for taxpayers to claim the deductions, and offer higher maximum deduction levels, as the current tax deduction is set to [...]

OSRAM SYLVANIA offers an interesting online tool identifying regulatory impacts on various light source technologies, with suggested substitutions for products being eliminated. Check it out here.

The Department of Energy Office of Hearings and Appeals has granted Halco Lighting Technologies a two-year exemption relief for certain T8 fluorescent lamps from the efficiency regulations that went into effect on July 14, 2012, according to the company. This decision permits Halco to continue to manufacture its 700 Series T8 general service fluorescent lamps [...]

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has called upon Congress and the White House to rise above partisanship to find common ground to avoid the “fiscal cliff” threatening our nation’s economy, solvency, defense, and vital operations. “Clearly, there are strong and legitimate differences of opinion among our nation’s elected officials on tax policy, spending levels, [...]

Regulation coming in July will put millions of directional lamp sockets for halogen sources up for grabs. Energy standards covering incandescent reflector lamps, first instituted by the Department of Energy (DOE) in 2009, and going into effect starting in July, will eliminate a majority of the least-efficient and lowest-cost options from the market in favor [...]

H.R. 5325, the fiscal year 2013 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which recently passed by the House of Representatives, includes a provision–the Burgess (R-TX) Amendment–which prohibits funding for enforcement of national energy efficiency standards for certain lamps created by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The inability of the Department of Energy to [...]