News Updates for the Week of September 30

1.      How the ESCO Market for Efficiency Can Continue Expanding - Energy savings contracts could be worth $15 billion by the end of the decade. Performance-based contracts have been a boon to the energy efficiency industry. Since 1990, U.S. ESCOs  have grown the market from less than $500 million to more than $5 billion in 2011. And according to a new analysis of the market from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (PDF), revenues will double or even triple from $6.4 billion in 2013 to between $13.3 billion and $15.3 billion by the end of the decade. The average market penetration for all sectors is only 25 percent, so there's plenty of share to grab. http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/How-the-ESCO-Market-for-Efficiency-Can-Continue-Expanding

2.   Some Changes for LED Lighting Facts^® - U.S. DOE LED Lighting Facts^® changes have been implemented, which means that manufacturers now have the option of grouping related products as a family and testing only one member of that family, calculating the performance of the other family members based on the performance of that one representative product. Also implemented is a verification testing program to ensure that the performance information posted in LED Lighting Facts remains reliable and accurate. http://www.lightingfacts.com/

3.      LED Lighting Facts^® EE Programs - From this list, you can search for incentive programs that support LED products from across the country. Create a custom summary of incentives using the search criteria provided. The program summary will also identify products from the LED Lighting Facts database that meet the specific EE program criteria. http://www.lightingfacts.com/UtilityPrograms

4.      Residential and Commercial Product Performance Scales - LED Lighting Facts developed residential and commercial product performance scales to help partners evaluate and determine if LED products are appropriate for a given application. The scales compare the performance values for the five metrics identified on the LED Lighting Facts label to performance values of standard lighting technologies. The residential and commercial product performance scales can also be downloaded and printed using the links provided at the top of each page. http://www.lightingfacts.com/Library/Content/PerformanceScales

5.      New DOE SSL Technology Fact Sheet on Lifetime and Reliability - The U.S. DOE has come out with a new SSL Technology Fact Sheet, Lifetime and Reliability, to help users gain a better understanding of typical causes for LED product failures, the difference between lifetime and reliability, and methods for measuring and reporting lifetime and reliability.  LED system performance is more affected by interactions between system components than most conventional lighting systems. The failure of any system component—not just the array of LED packages, but also the electronics, thermal management, optics, wires, connectors, or seals, for example—can lead to product failure.  www.ssl.energy.gov/factsheets.html

6.      The Right Light: Color Tuning by Craig DiLouie - The advent of LED lighting has led to possibilities with color control that either did not exist previously or were difficult or costly to implement. Many LED luminaires are available with out-of-the-box dimming capability with a negligible cost adder. For the lighting to have color tuning capability, either separately dimmable arrays of warm and cool LEDs are mixed, or separately dimmable colors are mixed with white. This makes it possible for color temperature to either automatically change at various times of the day or in response to certain events, or users can manually adjust the color temperature based on evolving space needs or occupant preference. http://www.ecmag.com/section/lighting/right-light-color-tuning

7.      Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines - The DOE is working with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and industry stakeholders to develop voluntary national guidelines that will improve the quality and consistency of commercial building workforce credentials for five key energy-related jobs: Energy Auditor, Commissioning Practitioner, Building/Stationary Engineer, Facilities Manager, and Energy Manager. https://www4.eere.energy.gov/workforce/projects/workforceguidelines

8.      BCAP 2012 Annual Report - The 2012 Annual Report for the Building Codes Assistance Project.  Includes the status of BCAP and codes today, major projects in 2012, new projects for 2013, BCAP's services offered, financial information, and more. http://energycodesocean.org/resource/bcap-2012-annual-report

9.   Energy Efficiency Legislation Delayed Indefinitely - The postponement of Shaheen-Portman raises questions about whether Senate leadership will reconsider the measure in the coming months, especially with other important upcoming legislative items looming in the queue, including the reauthorization of defense, agricultural programs and extension of the debt ceiling. http://www.usgbc.org

10.  Philips and Staples to Sell Energy-Efficient LED Lighting - Staples is the first office supply retailer to offer a broad range of Philips' most popular ENERGY STAR-rated LED bulbs with instant utility rebates (where available) at over 360 stores. In addition to over 20 Energy-Star qualified bulbs, which include the industry leading Philips 60, 75 and 100-watt LED equivalents, the revolutionary Philips Hue lighting system will also be available to Staples customers. Earlier this year the company started selling its Hue LED control system in Apple stores. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/philips-staples-easy-more-affordable-130000847.html

11.  Lighting: Energy Savings with No Regrets - http://www.facilitiesnet.com

• Part 1: Lighting Quality Is Often Overlooked In Commercial Building Lighting Upgrades

• Part 2: Harsh Lighting, Glare Among Quality Concerns In Commercial Lighting

• Part 3: Lighting Controls, Occupant Involvement Are Big Pieces Of Successful Lighting Projects

12.  What's New in the CA Title 24 2013 Code? - Changes to the mandatory Title 24 lighting requirements take effect in 2014. The changes in California’s new Building Energy Efficiency Standards improve the energy efficiency of homes by 25 percent and make nonresidential buildings 30 percent more efficient than the previous 2008 standards. This brief guide offers an overview of important requirements and major updates to the lighting code. http://cltc.ucdavis.edu/publication/whats-new-title24-2013-code