News Updates for the Week of December 10

1.      The Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy - Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced on 11/28, 66 cutting-edge research projects selected by the Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) to receive a total of $130 million in funding through its “OPEN 2012” program. ARPA-E seeks out transformational, breakthrough technologies that show fundamental technical promise but are too early for private-sector investment. These projects have the potential to produce game-changing breakthroughs in energy technology, form the foundation for entirely new industries, and have large commercial impacts. The selected projects encompass 11 technology areas in 24 states. https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/

2.      Adoption of LED Lamps in Commercial Buildings to Fuel Increased Demand for Intelligent Lighting Controls - The falling cost of LED lights for commercial buildings is driving a number of changes within the lighting controls industry. Falling prices are triggering re-lamping projects in many existing commercial buildings. Because LEDs are particularly well-suited to digital control, many building owners will decide to incorporate additional lighting intelligence–including photosensors, dimming ballasts, dimming controls and the communications and interfaces necessary to tie controls to a building management system–while they are in the process of re-lamping. According to a recent report from Pike Research, the adoption of LED lamps, along with new wireless technology, will fuel corresponding growth in the market for intelligent lighting controls. The global market for intelligent lighting controls will expand from $1.5 billion in 2012 to more than $4.3 billion in 2020, the study concludes.  http://www.pikeresearch.com/research/intelligent-lighting-controls-for-commercial-buildings

3.      University of Oklahoma Completes Energy Upgrade Effort - The university has upgraded its pop and candy machines with smart sensors that detect when people are nearby. Otherwise, the 203 machines throughout the Norman campus go dark, saving the university $250,000 a year in energy costs. The upgraded munchie dispensers are part of a $16 million effort to reduce OU's energy consumption. The university partnered with Johnson Controls for much of the effort. As part of the project that began in 2007, the university also improved or replaced 1,400 exit signs and 93,000 fluorescent lights and ballasts, improved the air flow systems at five buildings and insulated a metal roof. In all, the upgrades are saving about $1.2 million a year, for a total of $30 million over 20 years. 12/01 The Oklahoman

      4.      Outdoor Lighting: MaxLite Announces LED Roadway Fixtures - MaxLite has introduced its first LED-based roadway lighting product in the Merak series of luminaires that can deliver 2250-23,300 lm and a variety of beam distributions on San Antonio, TX roadways. The new Merak series of LED roadway lights from MaxLite cover a broad spectrum of applications with models delivering as much as 23,300 lm and ranging in power consumption from 30W to 240W. MaxLite said that the series includes products suitable for replacing legacy cobrahead luminaires such as HPS lights that consumed 70W to 500W. The Merak series uses total-internal reflection (TIR) lenses on each LED. http://ledsmagazine.com/news/9/12/1

 

5.      DOE Releases CALiPER Report on LED PAR38 Lamps - The U.S. DOE has completed Series 20 of testing through the DOE Solid-State Lighting CALiPER program. A summary of the results is now available for download on the DOE SSL website at www.ssl.energy.gov/reports.html Report 20 evaluates the independently tested photometric performance of 38 LED PAR38 lamps, with results showing significant improvement versus earlier CALiPER testing of similar products. All of the LED PAR38 lamps tested offer substantial energy savings compared to halogen PAR38 lamps, and some are more efficacious than compact fluorescent or ceramic metal halide versions.

6.      T12 Fluorescent Lamp Index Down in Q3 2012 - NEMA’s T12 lamp shipment index tumbled to 37.5—a decline of nearly 40% on a year-over-year basis during Q3 2012—the first quarter following the implementation of the new efficiency standards for general service fluorescent lamps (GSFL). T8s and T12s also posted double digit declines of 26.9% and 19.9%, respectively. Overall shipments during the first three quarters for the combined market were 15.1% lower compared to last year. http://ecmweb.com/lighting-amp-control/t12-fluorescent-lamp-index-down-q3-2012

7.      NEEP Releases the 2012 Regional Roundup of Energy Efficiency Policy in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States - NEEP has compiled the second-annual Regional Roundup of Energy Efficiency Policy in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, a look at the biggest energy efficiency policy developments of 2012, with regional trends and shared challenges. While looking at the region as a whole, we also provide summary and analysis of some of the biggest building energy efficiency successes and setbacks in individual states from Maine to Maryland, including key energy efficiency laws and regulations, and changes in funding levels for energy efficiency programs. http://neep.org/public-policy/policy-outreach-and-analysis/2012-regional-roundup

8.      Energy Savings Not Guaranteed - Wilkes-Barre, PA officials say a $5.9 million contract with Johnson Controls to improve energy efficiency will save nearly $11 million in energy costs over 20 years, but a review of the agreement shows just $3.9 million of those savings are guaranteed. For the guaranteed savings, the contract says Johnson Controls would pay the difference between the projected and actual energy savings should projections fall short. But language in the contract raises a question as to whether the firm would ever have to write a check. 12/05 The Times Leader 

      9.      Philips' 60-Watt LED Bulb Gets a Makeover - Using just 11 watts of power while putting out over 830 lumens, the latest generation of Philips' 60 watt A-19 LED bulb uses 10 percent less energy than its 12.5 watt predecessor, while increasing brightness by nearly 5 percent. The new lamp has an innovative new design that takes advantage of Philips AirFlux technology, a new airflow cooling system that eliminates the traditional distracting heat sink fins needed for thermal management of LED bulbs. Philips will be unveiling the new bulb at some Home Depot stores. Also available at www.homedepot.com/lightbulbs with roll out to all Home Depot stores the beginning of  2013. 12/04 WSJ

10.  Construction Employment Loses 20,000 Jobs in November 2012 - Construction employment declined by 20,000 jobs in November while the industry's unemployment rate hit 12.2%, according to an analysis of new federal data released by the Associated General Contractors of America. The construction employment figures likely reflect the fact many contractors have already cut staff and delayed hiring new employees because of the threat of the “fiscal cliff,” according to results of a survey of member firms. http://ecmweb.com/contractor/construction-employment-loses-20000-jobs-november-2012