1. America's
Top 5 Energy-Efficient Football Stadiums - With Super Bowl Sunday fast approaching, it
seems like an ideal time to take a look at how the football industry is
advancing energy efficiency.
Here are America’s Most Energy-Efficient NFL Stadiums:
1st) MetLife Stadium: New York Giants and New York
Jets
2nd) Lincoln
Financial Field: Philadelphia Eagles
3rd) CenturyLink
Field: Seattle Seahawks
4th) Soldier
Field: Chicago Bears
5th) Georgia
Dome: Atlanta Falcons
2. 2013
Rebate Programs Have Started - Electric utilities and government
organizations across the nation have been busy updating their rebate programs
for 2013. A majority have already released their new programs, with others to
have them by the end of the month. While every program is different, some of
the most common changes we have seen this year are T12 rebate amounts being
reduced or removed and more programs adding new incentives for LED lighting
solutions. At this time, incentives for energy efficient commercial lighting cover
71% of the US. http://www.briteswitch.com/newsletter/Jan13-1.html
3. LED
Rebates - More Opportunities Than Ever - As LED lighting solutions have continued to penetrate the market,
rebate and incentive programs in North America have taken notice and revised
their program offerings. Over the past few years, these programs have added new
incentives for many types of LED solutions and worked to refine requirements
for these products. In fact,
according to our North American Rebate and Incentive Database, the number of
rebate programs for LEDs has increased by 54% since January 2012. http://www.briteswitch.com/newsletter/Jan13-2.html
4. New Construction Can Get Rebates Too - Although
a lot of people are aware of rebates for installing energy efficient equipment
in older facilities, few people realize that rebates and incentives may also be
available for new construction projects. Unlike retrofit projects which base
rebates on how much energy is saved compared to the old equipment, new
construction programs often base the incentives on the savings over a building
code, most commonly a version of ASHRAE 90.1. Programs can cover equipment such
as HVAC systems, interior lighting, exterior lighting, refrigeration, and water
systems.
http://www.briteswitch.com/newsletter/Jan13-3.html
5. Professor Invents the Best New Lightbulb in 30 Years - So far the main
alternatives to the common bulb have been
CFLs
and LEDs. Soon, a fourth lighting option
will be thrown into the mix. It's called the FIPEL, which is short
for field-induced polymer electroluminescent technology. The new
light source is made of several layers of very thin plastic. Each sheet is
about 100,000 times thinner than the width of a human hair. The plastic is
inserted between an aluminum electrode and a transparent conducting electrode.
When a current is passed through the device, it stimulates the plastic to light
up. It works like a
microwave oven but instead of giving off heat,
it gives off light. Dr. David Carroll, a
professor of physics at Wake Forest University in North Carolina developed the
new light source.
http://www.businessinsider.com/fipel-lighting-technology-david-carroll-wake-forrest-2013-1
6. 2013
Is Full of Opportunities and Risks for LED Lighting - Sales of LED lighting have been growing annually by 17%
on average since 2011. In 2013, the global LED lighting market output will
likely reach US$15 billion, including replacement and non-replacement light
sources.. The market ratio of lighting fixtures and replacement light sources
should be 8:2, according to Robert Yeh, chairman of Taiwan-based Everlight
Electronics. According to statistics,
the penetration rate of LED lighting in 2013 will reach 25%. "According to the numbers I have,"
said Yeh, "currently the top 10 LED lighting firms in the world account
for 37% of the market and in particular, Philips has a global market share of
around 10%, ranking at number one. Japan-based Panasonic has a global market
share of around 7.9% while Toshiba has a market share of 5.6%. Osram and Cree
have market share of 4.6 and 2.4% respectively. On the other hand, the combined
market share of other firms is around 62.7%, meaning the lighting market is
very localized with low industry concentration." http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130115PD203.html
7. DOE Unveils Building America
Solutions Center - The Building
America Solution Center Website http://basc.pnnl.gov/ offers a range of
interactive resources including guides on critical industry topics as well as
easily searchable images, CAD files, and case studies to help train and support
home builders, remodelers, architects, designers, researchers, and code
officials. Users will have access to proven innovations and best practices
from Energy Department-approved building science research for hundreds of
high-performance home technologies. The BASC allows users easy access to
information on integrated
energy systems that dramatically reduce annual energy use.
8. California to Invest $2.5 Billion to Retrofit Energy-Wasting
Schools - On November 6, 2012, California voters approved two measures: Proposition 30 http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/30/
increased
income taxes on high earners for seven years and raised the sales tax by a
quarter-cent for four years; Proposition 39 http://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/39/
closed a tax loophole that favored out-of-state corporations, costing
the state around $1 billion annually. Prop 39 stipulates that over the next
five years half of the recovered revenue be spent on clean energy and energy
efficiency projects in public buildings. After five years, all of the revenue
flows to the state’s General Fund. Budget
analysts expect Prop 39 to make available an estimated $2.5 billion for clean
energy and energy efficiency projects. 1/22 Forbes
9. LVIA Strikes $4.5 Million Energy-Saver Deal - The Lehigh-Northampton Airport
Authority is about to embark on a terminal renovation project that has the
perfect price tag: free. Well, sort of. The authority that runs Lehigh Valley
International Airport agreed Tuesday to a deal to have Baltimore-based
Constellation Energy install $4.5 million in new lighting, climate controls,
power generators and other energy-saving devices. In return, Constellation will guarantee the
airport enough annual energy savings to pay off the loan needed to fund the work. Nearly $1.2 million will be spent to replace fluorescent lighting with LED lights that are projected to save the airport $93,000 a year. 1/23 The Morning
10. Lighting
Coalition Asks EPA to Lower Energy Star Efficacy Specs for High CRI Lamps - Soraa is spearheading an effort, involving a
number of major players in the SSL industry, asking the US EPA to lower the
efficacy requirements in the evolving Energy Star Lamps version 1.0
specification--only impacting products with a CRI of 90 or better. The group
believes that more users will adopt LED-based retrofit lamps if Energy
Star-recognized options are available with a higher CRI, and therefore the net energy savings throughout the potential US customer base will increase even though the lamps in question use marginally more energy.
http://ledsmagazine.com/news/10/1/16
12. IKEA
Announces 'All-LED' Lighting Agenda - The Swedish home furnishings
giant announced its’ intent to sell only LED lighting in its stores by 2016.
Come February, IKEA stores here and globally will be glowing with a much
broader array of LED based fixtures, floor, table and desk lamps and portable
illuminators. Soon you’ll start to see more LEDs designed into IKEA furniture,
included in the flat packs and ready for assembly. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/gizmo/187891491.html
13. Lime Energy Exceeds Energy Efficiency Program
Goal for National Grid - Lime
Energy Co. http://www.lime-energy.com
announced they have met both their original and revised annual savings goals
set by National Grid, for their small
business Direct Install Program. Lime Energy is the exclusive provider for the
Western New York and Frontier regions of National Grid’s upstate New York State
service territory, and delivered $11 million in National Grid incentive monies
to customers in 2012. National Grid
provides rebates of up to 70 percent of the project cost for small business
customers to upgrade to more energy efficient equipment. National Grid also
offers interest-free, on-bill financing. https://www.nationalgridus.com/niagaramohawk/business/energyeff/3_small.asp
14. USGBC Releases 2012 List of Top 10 States for
LEED – Today
1/23, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released its annual list of the
top 10 states for new LEED certifications in 2012, highlighting those regions
that are transforming buildings and communities across the country. The
full ranking, which includes 10 states plus Washington, D.C., can be found here: http://new.usgbc.org/articles/usgbc-releases-2012-list-top-10-states-leed
15. LEDs Emerge as a Popular ‘Green’ Lighting - The
lighting industry has finally come up with an energy-efficient replacement for
the standard incandescent bulb that people actually seem to like: the LED
bulb. Among A-type bulbs, LEDs will
outsell incandescents in North America in 2014, according to projections by IMS
Research. And LEDs will become the most popular A-type technology by 2016, with
North American shipments reaching almost 370 million, a more than tenfold
increase from the roughly 33 million shipped last year, the firm estimates.
1/21 NY Times
16. DOE White Paper: Keeping Manufacturing
in the United States - Over the last eight years, the U.S. DOE has directly worked to
accelerate the growth of the emerging solid-state lighting industry, primarily
through research, development and demonstration efforts. This support has led
to numerous technological and market advancements that have supported the
growth of U.S. industry and a distinct international lead in the production of
quality products. http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/ssl_whitepaper_july2010.pdf
17. IMARK to Enter Utility Market -
IMARK
Utility will focus on REA, co-ops and municipal utilities that buy their
electrical supplies through electrical wholesalers. It will not target investor
owned utilities (IOUs). The company said it has several members that conduct
business in the utility market and also noted a shift in this market segment,
which is resulting in a higher volume of electrical supplies being purchased
through electrical wholesalers. http://www.imarkgroup.com/
18. Expert Sees $2 Trillion Benefit for Country
in Smart Grid - It will
take much money and effort to create a nationwide "smart grid"--a
modernized electricity grid that is finely monitored and run by
state-of-the-art cyber-systems--but the eventual economic benefit to the
nation could approach $2 trillion according to George Arnold, national
coordinator for smart grid interoperability with the U.S. Commerce Department's
National Institute of Standards and Techology. 1/16 The Blade
19. Existing-Home Sales Slip in December - Total existing-home sales declined 1.0% to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million in December from a downwardly
revised 4.99 million in November, according to the National Association of
Realtors. They are 12.8% above the 4.38 million-unit level in December
2011. The preliminary annual total for existing-home sales in 2012 was
4.65 million, up 9.2% from 4.26 million in 2011. It was the highest volume
since 2007 when it reached 5.03. 1/23 HCN
20. New-Home Sales Slip 7.3% in December - Sales of new single-family homes in December
slipped 7.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000, according to data
released Friday morning by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing
and Urban Development. An estimated 367,000 new homes were sold in 2012.
This is 19.9% above the 2011 figure of 306,000. 1/25 HCN
21. What Makes Strategies in Light
Different - The world’s largest and longest-running conference and
exhibition covering the LEDs and Solid-State Lighting sectors, Strategies in
Light’s 14-year tradition of educational excellence provides an platform for
information exchange, networking and new business development. Join us as
we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the invention of LEDs. http://www.strategiesinlight.com/register.html
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