Legislation + Regulation

To support America’s transition to more-efficient residential lamps, NEMA is producing a six-part podcast series focused on the 5LS of Lighting: Location, Lumens, Lightbulbs, Label and Law. As utilities, contractors, and consumers attempt to both understand and explain the new lighting world, they can quickly learn the basics. The most recent releases are included below. [...]

Despite the uproar over the “incandescent ban” starting in 2012, consumers will continue to enjoy choice in 2012. That’s the subject of a column I wrote for ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR’s September issue. I hope you’ll check it out here.

Guest post by Jim Brodrick, Department of Energy We’re often asked to explain the difference between DOE’s Lighting Facts label and the Lighting Facts label that will soon be required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It’s a good question, so we thought we’d take the opportunity to answer it in this Posting. The goal [...]

As the incandescent A-lamp begins phaseout starting January 1, 2012, consumers have a new source to become educated about their energy-efficient lighting choices: LumenNow.org, created by Lighting Understanding For a More Efficient Nation (LUMEN), an ad hoc consortium of organizations and professionals such as NEMA and the Alliance to Save Energy. The site includes general [...]

In 2012, Department of Energy regulations will change the way some commercial users light their buildings. In July 2012, regulations will eliminate some linear fluorescent and halogen PAR technologies in lieu of options that operate at a higher efficacy, offering significant energy savings. To ensure a smooth transition, GE Lighting has developed a tool to [...]

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recently unveiled a new Lighting Action Plan, which outlines four policy goals for lighting: market transformation, best practices, end user demand, and research, development and demonstration. Lighting is responsible for almost 25% of California’s electric energy use, but the California Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan says that number can be [...]

After considering public comments, the Federal Trade Commission is extending the deadline for manufacturers to comply with new light bulb labels by approximately six months. The new “Lighting Facts” labels, which were announced last summer, will help consumers choose among the different lamps on the market such as incandescents, CFLs and LED lamps. The new [...]

Pegasus Lighting recently published a great series about the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and its energy standards for incandescent lamps, which are expected to eliminate most common 40-100W household lamps between 2012 and 2014. Truth & Lies: The Incandescent Phase Out, Part 1 The Fine Print, Explained: The Incandescent Phase Out, Part [...]

I’m pleased to announce that I have finally completed the long awaited (by my publisher) update to The Lighting Management Handbook, which came out in 1994, with this 300-page book about redesigning existing lighting systems: Lighting Redesign for Existing Buildings. Because light is used to see but cannot be seen, it is often overlooked by [...]