News Updates for the Week of October 8

1.      Highlights of EEI Member and Non-Member Residential/Commercial/Industrial Efficiency and Demand Response Programs for 2012 (Last Updated on June 08, 2012) - Many Electric Companies offer programs and incentives to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use.

• Energy-efficiency rebates to make high-efficiency appliances, including lighting, air conditioning, and refrigeration, more affordable. 
• Low-interest loans for financing the purchase of high-efficiency equipment.
• Online energy audits to analyze a home's energy use and offer recommended adjustments. 
• Home construction programs to encourage builders to use energy-saving designs and specify high-efficiency appliances and equipment in new homes. 
• Demand response programs to encourage customers to reduce their electricity use during peak periods.

State by State review at: http://www.eei.org/ourissues/EnergyEfficiency/Documents/progs.pdf

2.      Global Demand for Lighting Fixtures to Grow at 6.9% CAGR to Reach $153 Million in 2016 - The lighting fixture industry is segmented into three major markets: construction, vehicles and machinery, and consumer and commercial goods. The construction market is the largest segment for lighting fixtures and gains in this market will be led by the residential building segment. Meanwhile, sales gains in the vehicles and machinery market will nearly match those of the construction market over the forecast period as vehicle production rates improve. The new Freedonia industry study presents historical demand data for 2001, 2006 and 2011, plus forecasts for 2016 and 2021 by product, market, world region and for 24 major countries. The study also considers market environment factors, evaluates company market share and profiles 39 industry competitors. http://www.giiresearch.com/report/fd128460-lighting-fixture.html

3.      ACEEE: Massachusetts Still #1 State for Energy Efficiency, While Oklahoma, Montana, and South Carolina Are Among Most Improved - States continue to move strongly in 2012 to advance energy efficiency initiatives regardless of which political party is in control of state legislatures and governors' offices, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) on the release today of its sixth annual State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. The ACEEE State Scorecard shows that the top 10 energy efficiency states are Massachusetts (in its second year atop the rankings), California, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Washington, Maryland, and Minnesota. The 10 states most in need of improvement (starting with last) are Mississippi, North Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska, Kansas, Missouri, Louisiana and Nebraska. http://aceee.org/sector/state-policy/scorecard

4.      IKEA to Sell Only LED Lighting by 2016 - IKEA, a leading home furnishings retailer, said today it will be converting its full lighting range to LED by 2016, meaning the company will sell only LED bulbs and lamps. It is believed that IKEA is the first U.S. home furnishings retailer to take such a move.  Additionally, IKEA said it is changing more than one million light sources inside their stores to LED and other more efficient lighting.  IKEA said that 43% of American households have at least one LED bulb in their homes. That number is based on an IKEA Global study. 10/1 TED

5.      Swarm of BEEs Arrives in Florida - Florida Power & Light Company is marking Energy Awareness Month by helping 1,000 small-and medium-sized businesses in Florida shape-up and BEE-healthy. FPL's Business Energy Evaluation (BEE) is a first step for a business to get "Energy Fit." FPL energy efficiency experts will meet with business customers, who already have electric bills that are among the lowest in the state, and develop customized BEEs showing them ways to save even more--in most cases five percent or more on lighting and cooling costs. www.FPL.com/BEE

6.      DOE Releases GATEWAY Report on LED Post-Top Lighting - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published the evaluation report from a GATEWAY demonstration in New York City's Central Park, conducted in collaboration with The Climate Group and the New York City Department of Transportation. LED post-top luminaires from five different manufacturers were installed along paved walking trails and evaluated against the metal halide luminaires that were in the park at the time. The report includes product comparisons across performance criteria of energy savings, improved horizontal and vertical illuminance, life-cycle cost, and simple payback, as well as considerations regarding orientation, spacing, and color quality. The report is available for download at www.ssl.energy.gov/gatewaydemos_results.html

7.      LEDnovation Introduces 75W- and 100W-Equivalent A-Lamps - LEDnovation, a manufacturer of LED replacement lamps based in Tampa, FL, has introduced 75W and 100W comparable versions of its EnhanceLite Omnidirectional A-lamps. The LEDH-A19-75-1-27D-IO and LEDH-A19-100-1-27D-IO offer 1150 lm and 1600 lm output and require 13.7W and 19W, respectively, and deliver a warm color temperature of 2700K. The company will begin producing the 75W-equivalent lamp in November 2012 and the 100W-equivalent lamp in January 2013.  http://ledsmagazine.com/news/9/9/23

8.      Georgia Power Encourages Customers to Take the Change a Light, Change the World Pledge -For the seventh year, Georgia Power is encouraging its customers to help the environment and save energy by supporting the U.S. EPA’s "Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR®" campaign. Georgia Power currently ranks as the top EPA national pledge leader for the 2011-2012 campaign. The company has distributed more than 680,000 CFLs to customers in exchange for pledges since establishing the partnership with the EPA pledge campaign in 2006. Through the campaign, customers are encouraged to take the pledge to change at least one standard incandescent light bulb to an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL. 10/02 PRNewswire

9.      California Utilities Announce Innovative Financing For Energy Efficiency Retrofits - The California investor-owned utilities (Sempra, SoCalEd and PG&E) announced several financing programs including the first On-Bill Repayment (OBR) program using third-party capital to finance energy efficiency retrofits in commercial properties. Property owners would be able to access low-cost capital to finance upgrades and repay the investment through their utility bill. http://www.edf.org/energy/obr

10.  2012 IES Annual Conference Minneapolis (11/11/12 - 11/13/12) at the Minneapolis Marriott City Center - http://www.ies.org/ac/