You can employ men and hire hands to work for you, but you will have to win their hearts to have them work with you. William J.H. Boetcker

Monday, October 1, 2012

News Updates for the Week of October 1


1.      GSA Makes Case for Smart Lighting, Plug Strip Roll-Out - The US General Services Administration has concluded reviews of energy efficient technologies responsive lighting systems and plug load control and released details of how such technology could be rolled out to federal buildings.  A study of responsive lighting systems showed that such technology provided energy savings that ranged from around 27-to-63 percent over baseline conditions, depending on the work space’s normal use. Lighting accounts for 39 percent of electricity costs in office buildings, the GSA says.  The workstation-specific lighting systems evaluated in the study were found to be most cost effective in spaces with long operating hours and varying occupancy patterns, such as call centers. Offices with “3-tube 2×4 troffer light fixtures, operating days that are 14 hours or longer, utility costs of $0.11/kWh or greater, and an occupancy pattern that is variable, offer the best potential for energy savings at a low simple payback and therefore a “strong argument for targeted deployment,” the report says. The GSA also announced future studies of 12 more energy-efficient technologies. http://www.gsa.gov/graphics/pbs/OccupantResponsiveLighting_508c.pdf

2.      DOE Releases Gateway Report on Museum LED Retrofit Lighting by Craig DiLouie - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published the final evaluation report from a retrofit of track lighting at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, DC. During the demonstration, LED PAR 30 and MR16 lamps replaced all traditional incandescent lamps in one gallery and LED PAR 38 and MR16 lamps partially replaced incandescent lamps in two other galleries. This GATEWAY demonstration report describes the selection and testing process, technology challenges, perceptions, economics, energy use, and mixed results of using LED replacement lamps in art galleries housing national treasures. http://www.lightnowblog.com/2012/09/doe-releases-gateway-report-on-museum-led-retrofit-lighting-2/

3.      DesignLights Consortium Receives U.S. DOE Partner Recognition by Craig DiLouie -  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has given special recognition to Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) as an LED Lighting Facts program partner for its dedication to promote the LED lighting industry through its project, the DesignLights Consortium (DLC). The DLC, a collaboration of utility efficiency programs and regional energy efficiency organizations throughout the United States and Canada, is the premier resource for high-quality, energy efficient commercial lighting design and information. http://www.lightnowblog.com/2012/09/designlights-consortium-receives-u-s-department-of-energy-partner-recognition/

4.      Energy-Efficient Lighting Market in Europe to 2020 - GBI Research, a leading business intelligence provider, has released its latest research, "Energy-efficient Lighting Market in Europe to 2020 - LEDs Emerge as Key Growth Sector due to Price Discounting and Phosphor Shortages Restricting CFL Production". The report gives an in-depth analysis of the Energy Efficient Lighting Market in Europe, with forecast until 2020. The research analyzes the market volume of the energy-efficient lighting market in 8 major countries (Germany, The United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg). It provides a detailed analysis of four major lighting technologies such as CFLs, Halogen Lamps, HID Lamps and LEDs.  

5.      A Boom in Utility Rebates Drives LED Lighting - Four years ago, when Consolidated Edison was designing its commercial and industrial rebate programs, LEDs weren’t mature enough to make it into the prescriptive program. Instead, solid-state lighting was lumped in with the custom rebate program. When the programs are redesigned next year, some LEDs will probably move out of the custom category. Many companies are looking to their utilities to provide rebates for LED retrofits, which offer a huge energy savings but can still come with a significant upfront cost--despite falling prices. http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/A-Boom-in-Utility-Rebates-Drives-LED-Lighting

6.     P2 Graphic Provides Pictorial Comparison of Light Source Technologies by Craig DiLouie - This interesting infographic from P2 (Precision Lighting and Paragon Lighting) provides a quick comparison of light source technologies. http://www.lightnowblog.com/2012/09/paragon-graphic-provides-pictorial-comparison-of-light-source-technologies/

7.      Senate Energy Efficiency Bill Omissions Designed to Get House Support - Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) got their energy efficiency legislation (S. 1000) through as an amendment to a previously passed House bill, but had to shed much of its weight in the process.  The bill would make national model building codes more energy efficient with the goal of reaching net-zero-energy building for new homes and commercial sites by 2030. It would also expand an Energy Department (DOE) loan guarantee program to include efficiency retrofits. http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/241095-sens-shaheen-portman-will-file-energy-bill-as-amendment-to-every-senate-bill

8.   Renewables Must Learn from Natural Gas - Natural gas is now tied with coal as the United States’ top source of electricity. It’s a milestone that caps a historic upheaval in the energy industry. Natural gas did what renewable energy has been trying to do on and off for almost four decades. And it did so by winning the race to cost and performance competitiveness: natural gas is cheaper and of equal performance to coal and renewable energy is simply not. For climate and renewable advocates, the rise of natural gas should be more than just the next fossil fuel boogeyman or a short-term cut in greenhouse gases–it should play the role as model for making renewable energy the dominant source of electricity in America (and the world). http://theenergycollective.com/cliftonyin/116776/renewables-must-learn-natural-gas

9.      Which State Has the Best Solar REC Market? - One of the few remaining drivers for the growth of renewables is the individual state mandate, called a Renewable Energy Standard (RES) or a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), requiring utilities and other load serving entities (LSEs) to obtain a specific portion of their power from renewables by a specific date.  Some states allow LSEs to meet a portion of their obligation with renewable energy credits (RECs), and REC trading markets are emerging. Sixteen states and D.C. have specified a portion of the renewable requirement for solar alone. Seven of those states have markets specifically aimed at the trading of solar RECs (SRECs).  http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Which-State-Has-the-Best-Solar-REC-Market

10.  ENERGY STAR Stakeholder Roundtable Meeting on Dimming - October 21, 2012 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites you to participate in a meeting to discuss dimming and the ENERGY STAR Lamps specification on Sunday, October 21, 2012 from 4:00pm-6:00pm Central. The meeting will be held at the Crowne Plaza St. Paul – Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul, MN. This meeting will be in-person only and each participant is required to RSVP to lamps@energystar.gov no later than October 12, 2012.

11.  NEMA Message to the 2012 Candidates - NEMA has issued a public statement to 2012 presidential and congressional candidates outlining proposals that create a more secure, energy-efficient, and healthy future for the country and its citizens. http://www.nema.org/Policy/Documents/Mfgs-Saving-Energy-and-Saving-Lives-4web.pdf

12. Construction Employment Declined in 30 States Year-Over-Year in August - Construction employment declined in 30 states from August 2011 to August 2012 and in 26 states in the past month, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. Association officials noted that construction employment declined in most states even as long term infrastructure programs and tax measures languish. http://ecmweb.com/contractor/construction-employment-declined-30-states-year-over-year-august View the state employment data by rank and by state.

13.  Toshiba Installs 20,000 LED Street Lamps In San Antonio -Toshiba International Corporation (TIC) has announced that its TGT LED Luminaires will replace over 20,000 high-pressure sodium (HPS) street lamps in San Antonio, Texas. CPS Energy selected Toshiba’s roadway lighting after extensive investigation and experimentation with multiple LED luminaire options. The luminaire was selected for its product performance including the communications-enabled feature that allows connection to the Smart Grid. http://ledsmagazine.com/news/9/9/19

14.  Cree Refreshes LED Family, Extends Warranty in Commercial SSL Products - Cree has leveraged its third generation LED manufacturing platform that it calls SC3 (silicon carbide 3) to produce a new version of the XLamp XP-E LED family called XP-E2 offering a 20% jump in efficacy. Cree Lighting announced that it would now offer a ten-year warranty on solid-state lighting (SSL) products that are sold into commercial applications. http://ledsmagazine.com/news/9/9/17

15.  Ohio University to Save an Estimated $38 Million Through Energy Performance Contract with Constellation - Constellation www.constellation.com and Ohio University today announced a guaranteed energy performance contract (EPC) for more than $38 million in water and energy cost savings over a 15-year period. Constellation was selected by competitive bid to provide energy efficiency and water conservation measures for 72 buildings at Ohio University's main campus in Athens, Ohio. Under the terms of the EPC with Constellation, the upgrades require no upfront capital from the university. Ohio University will use the guaranteed energy and operational savings from the conservation measures to fund the approximately $28 million project through low interest bonds from the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority. The conservation measures installed by Constellation include: campus-wide interior lighting retrofits. 9/27 BUSINESS WIRE

16.  Boulder Launches Energy Tracking Pilot Program for Businesses, Offers 'Coaches' - Boulder is offering free "energy coaches" to interested businesses as part of a pilot program to get more companies to measure and track their energy use. Depending on how the pilot program goes, Boulder could start requiring businesses to report their energy rating to the city next year. City officials said they hope a wide variety of commercial and industrial businesses apply so that they can get a complete picture of energy use in those sectors and determine which types of energy data to collect and how to simplify the data-sharing process. Participating businesses will use the Energy Star Portfolio Manager program to track and rate their energy, which they will share with the city. http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_21648082/boulder-launches-energy-tracking-pilot-program-businesses-offers

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