News Updates for the Week of February 11

1.      Protocols for Performance Measurement Published - From Craig Dilouie cdilouie@zinginc.com Tools and techniques for measuring, managing and improving the performance of a facility as demonstrated by its energy and water use and indoor environmental quality, are contained in a new guide. Performance Measurement Procedures for Commercial Buildings: Best Practices Guide serves as the how-to guide for continuously evaluating and improving the performance of commercial buildings throughout their service life. Published by ASHRAE and funded in part through a grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the book provides specific best practices in the areas of energy use, water use and four elements of indoor environmental quality (IEQ): thermal comfort, indoor air quality (IAQ), lighting/daylighting and acoustics. www.ashrae.org/bookstore

2.      Commission Lays Out U.S. Energy Efficiency Roadmap Through 2030 - The United States can double energy productivity over the next 20 years by boosting investments in energy efficiency, reforming tax credits for energy savings and engaging state and local governments, a report released on Thursday said. With a new session of Congress beginning, the report laid out a sweeping vision for cutting the energy used to support a growing U.S. economy by 2030. Energy efficiency is one of the few areas of energy policy that analysts say might gain traction among deeply divided lawmakers this year. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/07

3.      Smart Cities Will Represent More Than $20 Billion in Annual Market Value by 2020 - Across the globe, the number of people living in cities will increase to 6.3 billion by 2050, up from 3.6 billion in 2010. It is projected that by 2025 there will be 37 megacities with populations of more than 10 million; 22 of those cities will be in Asia. According to a new report from Pike Research, one consequence of this explosive urbanization will be a corresponding growth in smart city initiatives–characterized by the integration of technology into a strategic approach to sustainability, citizen well-being, and economic development. The smart city technology market will surpass $20 billion in annual value by 2020, the study concludes. http://www.pikeresearch.com/research/smart-cities

4.      Failing Firms Cloud China's LED Lighting Vision - One in five Chinese LED lighting companies may fail this year as falling prices and oversupply batter an industry that Beijing bankrolled to try to build an energy-efficient future. About 4,000 companies in China are producing LEDs, tempted by tax breaks, subsidies and offers of cheap land for factories. Now they are locked in intense competition that has halved prices over the past three years. Just as over-investment and sagging exports dragged down Beijing's solar panel and wind turbine champions, China's much-hyped LED lighting sector, the largest in the world, is now facing a drastic shake-up. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/08/us-china-led-idUSBRE91701H20130208

5.      LEDucation 7 Announces Speaker Line Up for Annual Event on LED Technology - The Designers Lighting Forum of New York (DLFNY) announced its versatile speaker line up and also notify attendees that event registration for “LEDucation 7” is officially open. As the premier lighting event dedicated to advancing the education of the lighting community, LEDucation 7 will take place in New York City on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at the Hotel Pennsylvania – Penn Plaza Pavilion. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/faa3fctmhh36c31/FWqCH2l1Ry

6.      The U.S. DOE Tenth Annual SSL R&D Workshop - Held last week in Long Beach, CA, focused on the knotty issues that are being encountered with today’s SSL products.  Look for the workshop presentations to be posted soon at www.ssl.energy.gov/past_conferences.html  The following organizations were recognized by DOE for significant breakthroughs and achievements in 2012:

• Philips Lumileds for its efforts to develop a novel warm-white LED package that boosts efficacy with a hybrid approach to producing white light.
• RTI International for its work in developing an accelerated model to predict the reliability and evaluate the performance of SSL luminaires.
• University at Buffalo for developing quantum-dot phosphors to improve the efficiency of general-illumination LEDs.
• Soraa for its efforts to reduce current and thermal droop by growing semi- and non-polar gallium nitride wafers on gallium nitride substrates.
• PPG Industries for its work in developing a low-cost, integrated glass substrate for general-illumination OLEDs.  www.ssl.energy.gov/projects.html

7.      It's Not Too Late to Get Your Epact Deduction for 2012 - Have you worked on a large lighting project in 2012? If so, that project may still qualify for a significant tax deduction thanks to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Because the EPAct certification does not need to happen at installation, any lighting project put into service in 2012 can still qualify for the deduction. That means you can save money when filing your taxes for 2012. However, you have to act now or you will lose the opportunity. http://www.briteswitch.com/newsletter/Jan12-3.html

8.      Treasury Announce Availability of $150 Million in Tax Credits for Clean Energy Manufacturers - The Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit was established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support investment in domestic, clean energy and energy efficiency manufacturing facilities through a competitively-awarded 30 percent investment tax credit. The initial round provided $2.3 billion in credits to 183 projects across the country. The $150 million in tax credits are being made available today because they were not used by the previous awardees. http://energy.gov/downloads/fact-sheet-48c-manufacturing-tax-credits

9.      To Illuminate or Not to Illuminate: Roadway Lighting as it Affects Traffic Safety at Intersections- Lighting Research Center and Penn State Researchers identify links between visibility and safety from roadway lighting. The team used lighting and crash data for state highway intersections in Minnesota to develop quantitative models relating nighttime driving safety to the presence of lighting at these intersections. Importantly, these models also included the effects of features like signals, medians and other intersection design and operational features in order to segregate the effects of lighting from these other aspects. Quality lighting, such as the uniform coverage that LED-based luminaires are capable of, can result in a 12% lower night-to-day crash ratio in urban intersections. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457512004514

10.  WSU in Ohio Will Save $35.8 Million by Reducing Energy Consumption - The Wright State University Board of Trustees will vote on Feb. 15 to approve a $25.2 million contract with ABM Industries Inc. to modernize heating and cooling plants at its Fairborn and Lake campuses. The plan includes eliminating 30 major pieces of equipment, tying the entire main campus to one main boiler system, replacing light fixtures with LED and using the pond near the Nutter Center for year-round geothermal cooling. The investment will cut campus energy consumption by nearly 40 percent. 2/05 Dayton Daily News