News Updates for the Week of February 21

1. Many Consumers Still in the Dark Over Incandescent Phaseout - While more than one-third of Americans are aware of the federal phaseout of incandescent light bulbs, the majority of consumers have yet to learn that the 100-watt bulb is scheduled to disappear from store shelves beginning in 2012. This is one of the many findings of an Osram Sylvania consumer survey involving 300 homeowners and renters nationwide. Overall, the public appears to be optimistic toward the changes ahead: 59% of respondents reported that they were eager to use more energy-efficient lighting solutions. 60% plan to switch to LED, CFLs, or halogen varieties. But 28% of the consumers polled expressed concern over the loss of the traditional light bulb. Only 13% planned to stash away a supply of 100-watt bulbs. 2/18 HCN


2. Chu: Budget is Part of Plan to Win Future - The DOE's $29.5 billion budget proposed by President Barack Obama for FY 2012 invests in what is needed and eliminates what is not, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu said Monday in a press briefing. The FY 2012 budget, Chu said, is part of an administration-wide plan to win the future by "out-innovating, out-educating and out-building the rest of the world," while at the same time cutting programs and expenses. http://www.aikenstandard.com/

3. LCA Updates Education Express Course on LED Lighting Control - Residing at the Lighting Controls Association’s website, EE300: Lighting Control of LEDs provides in-depth education about lighting controls and controllable ballast technology, application, system design and commissioning, as well as meta-issues such as energy codes, daylighting and other trends. http://lightingcontrolsassociation.org/lighting-controls-association-updates-education-express-course-on-led-lighting-control/

4. Survey Illuminates Lighting Trends by Joseph M. Kelly - Electrical contractors have seen the bright lights of opportunity borne by involvement in lighting specification and installation. Over time, market forces have drawn ECs further into the fold, allowing them to increasingly influence brands and make specification decisions and, ultimately, become very vital decisionmakers when it comes to lighting-related projects. This change has occurred across the lighting spectrum, through all categories, including lamps, ballasts, fixtures and controls. LED trends are something to keep an eye on. One-third of electrical contractors say that LEDs are poised to replace incandescent lamps, compared with 23 percent thinking LEDs are currently ready to replace compact fluorescents and another 19 percent suggesting LEDs are ready to replace fluorescent lamps. An additional one-third of those surveyed think that LEDs will be ready to replace each of these lamp types within the next one or two years. 2/’11 Electrical Contractor

5. After Two Years of Declines, Hardware Sales Are Up - Hardware store sales increased slightly in 2010, according to the Census Bureau's Monthly & Annual Trade Report. It showed December sales for hardware stores -- NAICS code 44413 -- reached $1.684 billion in December, the most recent month of available data in this business classification. That unadjusted figure is up 4.5% from the unadjusted figure from December 2009. For the full year, hardware stores sales were $18.756 billion, up 0.7% from 2009. It was the first increase in NAICS code 44413 sales since 2007 showed an increase over 2006. 2/15 HCN

6. Acuity’s Roam Monitoring System to Control Austin’s Lighting - by Doug Chandler - Acuity Brands’ Roam remote monitoring business, based in Kennesaw, Ga., said it has been selected by the city of Austin, Texas, for a comprehensive street lighting upgrade project. The project will enable the city to control each of its approximately 70,000 streetlights with the click of a mouse, once it’s completed in 2014. The city expects annual savings of more than $1 million in combined energy and maintenance costs. The system will be installed and managed by Austin Energy, which will monitor and control the streetlights using data received every hour from the wireless Roam devices via a web-based communication system. http://livewire.electricalmarketing.com/2011/02/18/acuitys-roam-monitoring-system-to-control-austins-lighting/

7. Philips LED Bulb to Cost Around $60 - Final pricing on the 60-watt equivalent EnduraLED bulb from Philips hasn't been released yet, but Ed Crawford, CEO of Philips Lighting in North America, told us that it will sell in the $60 range. Commercial customers will likely be able to buy the EnduraLED in September or October, while residential consumers will get their hands on it in December. It will emit 806 lumens, last at least 25,000 hours, consume 12 watts of power and will save people who buy it $60 over its lifetime.

8. January Housing Starts Rise 14.6% - Residential construction showed a rebound in January as housing starts improved to a pace of 596,000 -- a 14.6% increase over the downwardly revised December pace of 520,000. Compared with a year ago, total starts are down 2.6%, according to the Department of Commerce residential construction report released Wednesday. 2/16 HCN

9. 2011 Solid-State Lighting R&D Workshop Materials - Links to the presentations given at the Transformations in Lighting: 2011 DOE Solid-State Lighting R&D Workshop, held in San Diego, on February 1-3, 2011, as well as reference and handout materials are available at: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/sandiego2011_materials.html