News Updates for the Week of May 21

1.      Energy Efficiency Gaining Ground in Inefficient States, ACEEE Says - Energy efficiency is gaining momentum in states that have traditionally been behind the curve in pushing such technology, according to research by the American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy. The report draws on a series of interviews with stakeholders in states ranked in the bottom ten of the State Energy Efficiency Scorecard: Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming. 5/17 Environmental Leader

2.      LEDs Revolutionize the Market for Recessed Lighting and Control by Susan Bloom - As an estimated 5-million-piece market valued at nearly $1 billion in U.S. sales, recessed lighting has been a familiar go-to configuration within millions of professional and residential lighting applications for decades. Once dominated by incandescent lighting, however, the recessed market has changed; LEDs now deliver a new level of energy efficiency, long life, low maintenance costs, and light and color quality to the recessed lighting market, proving this once-standard setup is anything but. 04/’12 Electrical Contractor

3.      The Overall Value of the Lighting Market Will Shrink as Energy Efficient LEDs Displace Conventional Technology, According to Pike Research - While today cost remains a barrier to the adoption of more efficient lighting, particularly LED lighting, those costs are declining rapidly and mass adoption could happen in a relatively short timeframe. According to a recent report from Pike Research, LEDs will displace more than 52% of the global market for lamps in commercial buildings by 2021. The cleantech market intelligence firm anticipates that the combination of declining prices for LED lighting and the accompanying extended lamp lifetimes will have the effect of shrinking the overall value of the market. While revenues from LED lamps in the commercial sector will rise by 8.5% through 2021, to $2.7 billion, Pike Research forecasts, the overall market for commercial lighting will peak at $54 billion in 2012 before contracting through the remainder of the decade, hitting about $30 billion in 2021. 5/18 BUSINESS WIRE

4.      ENERGY STAR Vision and Guiding Principles Document - The U.S. EPA finalized the Vision and Guiding Principles for ENERGY STAR products.  These include a focus on products that meet the highest energy conservation standards without sacrifice in performance or functionality and an emphasis on transparency and a collaborative relationship with industry and other stakeholders. www.energystar.gov/productdevelopment 

5.      Revised Solid-State Lighting R&D Multi-Year Program Plan (MYPP) Is Now Posted Online - The MYPP is an important part of DOE's SSL R&D program, because it guides our Core Technology Research and Product Development implementation as well as our funding solicitations. But the MYPP's influence extends well beyond the halls of government, with many of its figures, graphs, and projections being widely used throughout the industry – overseas as well as here in the U.S.
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/ssl_mypp2012_web.pdf

6.      Quantum Light™ Optic - QD Vision's Quantum Light™ optic enables LED lighting companies to produce lamps and downlight fixtures that combine the familiar warmth and color of incandescent bulbs with the energy efficiency of LED technology. The first lamp incorporating Quantum Light™ optics became available in the first quarter of 2010. The Quantum Light™ optic is applied to the exit face of an LED replacement lamp or downlight fixture. These quantum dot-enhanced products demonstrate high color quality and efficiency, together with energy savings of up to 80% and 50,000 hours of product life. http://www.qdvision.com/quantum-light-optic

7.      Commerce Dept Slaps Tariffs on Chinese Solar by Doug Chandler - The U.S. Department of Commerce yesterday announced that it would order tariffs of 31% and more on solar photovoltaic (PV) panels imported from China after a preliminary finding that Chinese companies were selling panels in the United States at prices below fair market value—i.e., dumping.  If this preliminary finding is affirmed by U.S. trade officials this fall, will have a significant effect on the cost of solar power development and possibly on the availability of panels in the U.S. market. 5/18 http://livewire.electricalmarketing.com/

8.      Next Generation Luminaires Design Competition Announces 2012 Indoor Winners - Winners in the Indoor category of the fourth annual Next Generation Luminaires^TM Solid-State Lighting Design Competition were announced at LIGHTFAIR^® International in Las Vegas. Out of 114 entries from 43 companies, 53 were recognized as winners this year, meaning they were considered worthy of specification. Three of this year's winners were designated as "best in class."

• Intense Lighting for its MBW2 LED Track accent lighting fixture 
• Albeo Technologies Inc. for its H-Series LED high-bay luminaire 
• Lithonia Lighting for its ST Series LED utility/general purpose luminaire

More information on all the winning entries is available at www.ngldc.org

9.      What Lamps Will Be Phased Out? - Lighting industry experts discuss the new standards for lamp efficiency. Results of a recent survey of energy-efficient lighting professionals across the country in December by Hudson, Wis.-based Precision-Paragon (P2), an online source for lighting retrofit systems and information, reveals the demand for energy-efficient lighting is growing, despite the sluggishness of the recovery of the general U.S. economy and the severe downturn in the construction industry. http://ecmweb.com/market_trends/what-lamps-will-be-phased-out-20120401/

10.  Construction Employment Remains Nearly Flat in April - The construction industry lost 2,000 jobs in April, following similar declines of 3,000 in March and 1,000 in February, but still added 63,000 jobs over the past year as the industry unemployment rate shrank to 14.5%—the lowest April level in four years, according to an analysis of new federal employment data released recently by the Associated General Contractors of America. 5/16 EC&M

11.  Home Energy Management - The home energy management (HEM) market continues to struggle for more traction.  By now, with major deployments of smart grid infrastructure in place, the expectation had been that a smarter grid would be enabling the wider use of new tools and incentives for consumers to use energy more efficiently.  This Pike Research report examines global and regional home energy management trends as they play out along a continuum of five segments: paper bills, web portals, standalone systems, in-home displays, and integrated HAN/HEM systems. The study also explores the drivers and inhibitors shaping the market, plus major technology issues. http://www.pikeresearch.com/research/home-energy-management   

12.  Rexel Expands Its Presence in the USA with the Strategic Acquisition of Platt Electric - In one of the largest acquisitions in years, Rexel has purchased Platt Electric Supply, Beaverton, Ore., the largest regional chain in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states. This acquisition represents an investment of c. €300 million (enterprise value) for Rexel and will be accretive by the end of 2013.

13.  Philips Signs 200th Licensee for Its LED Luminaire Licensing Program - Royal Philips Electronics has unveiled Paulmann Light GmbH as the 200th licensee of its LED luminaire and retrofit bulb licensing program. The Philips licensing program was first launched in July 2008, and now includes a number of companies described by Philips as “key lighting players,” such as Cooper, Trilux, Acuity Brands, Cree, Osram, Neo-Neon and Zumtobel.  Through the program, licensees are given access to a wide range of basic LED control and system-level technologies available for use in branded LED-based luminaires and retrofit bulbs for general illumination, architectural, entertainment and theatrical markets. The royalty rates are 3% of the net selling price for a single-color luminaire, 4% for a tunable-white luminaire, and 5% for a color-changing luminaire or for a retrofit lamp. Luminaire makers do not pay a royalty if they have purchased all the components, including the LED light engine and driver, from a qualified supplier, namely Philips, Osram or Zumtobel. http://www.ledsmagazine.com/news/9/5/16

14.  Peter van Strijp, Former Philips SSL CEO, Takes Helm at Planar LED Lighting Pioneer Oree - Oree announced that LED lighting veteran Peter van Strijp has been named as the company’s new CEO. Mr. van Strijp has served as Oree's Chairman of the Board. This move comes as Oree’s focus shifts into aggressive sales, while building new channels and acquiring new high-profile accounts. The company is increasing its emphasis on the general lighting market for its LightCell™ technology, with an emphasis on Europe and Asia. Mr. van Strijp is a former Exec Vice President at Philips Lighting, where he held senior management positions like CEO of the global Lighting Electronics business and later on he became the CEO of Philips Solid State Lighting business group as well as a board member at Lumileds. www.oree-inc.com