News Updates for the Week of April 8

1.      Earth Day 2013 - On April 22, 2013, more than one billion people around the world will take part in the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day. From Beijing to Cairo, Melbourne to London, Rio to Johannesburg, New Delhi to New York, communities everywhere will voice their concerns for the planet, and take action to protect it. The choice is yours…http://www.earthday.org/2013/about.html

2.      California Lighting Technology Center Seminar & Luncheon Wednesday, April 17, 10 am – 2 pm Celebrating the launch of WattStopper's LMLS-600 Dual-Loop Photosensor—the first commercial product to combine open-loop and closed-loop photosensor control strategies and the newest component in WattStopper's Digital Lighting Management (DLM) system. The dual-loop approach is the result of extensive R&D efforts at CLTC, and it is widely regarded as a pivotal innovation in daylight harvesting and efficient building design. https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=bjmexqjzl4b6

3.      DOE Publishes Exploratory CALiPER Study on Commercial Ambient LED Lighting - The U.S. DOE has released an exploratory CALiPER study on the problems and benefits likely to be encountered as LED products intended to replace linear fluorescent lamps become increasingly popular. Eighteen lighting designers and facility engineers compared 24 identical pairs of troffers in a simulated office space. Three of those pairs involved fluorescent benchmark troffers, and the rest were LED products. The products were evaluated for photometric distribution, uniformity of light on the task surface, and suitability of the light output for the task, as well as flicker, dimming performance, color quality, power quality, safety and certification issues, ease of installation, energy efficiency, and life-cycle cost. Bottom line: LED dedicated troffers can compete with (and beat) fluorescents in terms of efficacy. For a copy of the full report: www.ssl.energy.gov/exploratory.html

4.      Illuminating The Big Picture: LEDs by Craig DiLouie - In the April 2012 issue of ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, we challenged the presumption that LED lighting is maintenance-free. We found that, while it produces significant maintenance benefits over conventional technology, it must be maintained, though it requires rethinking of some aspects of how that service is performed. The DOE produced two studies, which confirmed LED replacement lamps are more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly than both incandescent and CFLs. (1)“Review of the Life-Cycle Energy Consumption of Incandescent, Compact Fluorescent and LED Lamps” (February 2012), is based on an analysis of 10 existing life-cycle assessment studies. (2)“Life-Cycle Assessment of Energy and Environmental Impacts of LED Lighting Products” (June 2012), is based on analysis of more than 25 life-cycle assessment studies. The DOE is planning a third study, which will examine the amount of hazardous materials that exist in LED replacements, CFLs and incandescent lamps and whether those materials are present in levels that exceed federal and California waste disposal regulations. http://www.ecmag.com/section/lighting/illuminating-big-picture%E2%80%A9-leds

5.      What a Difference a Year Makes for Incandescent Lamps - NEMA’s incandescent lamp shipments index showed a precipitous decline of 40.1 percent compared to the same period last year. Moreover, the index reached a value of 49.3, a new record low for the series. On an annual basis, incandescent lamp shipments during 2012 were down 18.3 percent–erasing a 16.4 percent gain for 2011. Compact fluorescent (CFL) lamp shipments dipped slightly during 2012 to an index value of 176, a change of 0.3 percent versus 2011. Meanwhile, halogen A-line lamps continued to make inroads as a viable alternative lamp source increasing by 88.3 percent over last year. http://www.nema.org/News/Pages/What-a-Difference-a-Year-Makes-for-Incandescent-Lamps.aspx

6.      Linear Fluorescent Lamp Shipments Wane During 2012 - NEMA’s shipment indexes for T5 and T8 liner fluorescent lamps increased 2.1 and 15.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 to reach 156.8 and 103.1, respectively. However, the quarterly gains were not able to offset decreases earlier in 2012. The index for T5 lamps posted an annual reading of 159, a decline of 10.7 percent from 2011. T8 lamps declined 14 percent during the year to reach an index value of 99 for 2012. Shipments of T12 lamps showed the largest annual slide, dipping by 18.6 percent to 50 –half the level of 2006. Similarly, the index for T12 lamps reached a new record low of 36.6, a decline of 1.1 percent during Q4. http://www.nema.org/News/Pages/Linear-Fluorescent-Lamp-Shipments-Wane-During-2012.aspx

7.   HID Lamp Shipment Indexes Remain on the Decline During 2012 - NEMA’s HID lamp shipment indexes declined for the second consecutive year during 2012. Mercury vapor lamps declined 9.6 percent to an index value of 44 signifying that shipments during 2012 were 44 percent of the 2006 base level. The index for sodium vapor lamp shipments fell 6.2 percent, landing at 75. Metal halide lamps posted an index reading of 80, declining by 4.9 percent for the year. http://www.nema.org/News/Pages/HID-Lamp-Shipment-Indexes-Remain-on-the-Decline-During-2012.aspx

8.      Independence LED Launches “Cash for Clunkers” Program - Pennsylvania lighting tube manufacturer Independence LED’s new “Cash for Clunkers” program will reimburse the buyer a portion of what their T12 bulbs are worth when they retrofit with the Eagle LED tube. The program also covers the cost for installation and removal of the light bulbs, enabling customers to easily and affordably retrofit their lighting to be both more cost efficient and environmentally friendly. Independence LED plans to spend $10 million on the program.  http://www.independenceled.com/cash_for_clunkers_lighting

9.      Norwalk, CT Shopping Plaza Gets Energy Upgrades - A local shopping plaza is the state's first commercial energy-efficiency project financed through a new program launched earlier this year. The shopping plaza at 542 Westport Ave. financed a $285,000 lighting upgrade through the Commercial and Industrial Property Assessed Clean Energy Program (C-PACE), which is designed to provide commercial and industrial building owners with low-cost, long-term, upfront financing for renewable energy projects.  4/02 New Haven Register

     10.  Businesses to Lower Costs and Save Energy with Efficiency Vermont and SmartWatt Energy - Efficiency Vermont  http://www.efficiencyvermont.com is taking steps to reduce peak electricity demands. Incandescent lighting is a major drain on energy resources, so Efficiency Vermont is undertaking to replace it with LEDs. Efficiency Vermont required an experienced and capable partner to implement the LED Upgrade Program, so it awarded SmartWatt Energy http://www.smartwattinc.com/ the sole program implementation and administration contract. The LED Upgrade Program will help targeted Vermont businesses lower their electricity costs, while also reducing peak electricity demands. 4/01 PRWEB

11.  Are You READY for LIGHTFAIR  in 3 Weeks - Map your course on the LARGEST trade show floor, featuring over 500 exhibitors. Improve your knowledge and take charge of your education with over 66 conference courses offered at LFI. Connect with peers and make new contacts by adding networking and special events. With LIGHTFAIR’s accelerating growth, the trade show floor has expanded to another level - Hall F on the 100 Level of the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Hall F illuminates the future of new lighting technologies with a spotlight on a diverse and well-known lineup of exhibitors. Register at: http://www.lightfair.com/lightfair/V40/index.cvn?id=10189

News Updates for the Week of April 11

1. Earth Day is April 22, 2011 - http://www.earthday.org/

2. From Howard Wiig, Institutional Energy Analyst, Dept. of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, State of Hawaii - The mercury from CFL's escaping into the atmosphere is not accurate. Mercury is dangerous when we (ot other species) inhale it in its gaseous state. The vast majority of CFL's are put into the garbage, where they are picked up and deposited into a garbage truck, where they break. There are (hopefully) no people in the garbage area to inhale the mercury gas. From the truck it generally goes to a landfill where it is covered over each day. Hence very little of the mercury escapes into the atmosphere, and when it does, it's not in proximity to humans. Finally, the amount of mercury in a CFL is equivalent to the amount of ink on a page when a ball-point pen's tip is pressed upon the page. The 75% energy savings achieved by CFL's is far more important than the minuscule amount of mercury from CFL's affecting humans. HWiig@dbedt.hawaii.gov

2. CORRECTION: GE Tours: Electric Vehicle Charging, Lighting Revolution - General Electric recently unveiled plans for two national tours: 3/15 TED

1) Seven-city EV Experience Tour: From the release: Each day-long stop in cities along the tour will include presentations by GE and community leaders, workshops to help stakeholders with EV planning, deployment, and integration strategies, and test drives. AND: GM, Ford, Toyota, Navistar, Smith Electric Vehicles, Mitsubishi, Coda, Smart, THINK and other organizations are working with GE on this. Stops:

• San Francisco (May 19) and Seattle (June 6)

• Los Angeles (March 17) and San Diego (March 22)

• Austin, Texas; New York City; and Washington, D.C. (to be scheduled)

2) 47-city GE Lighting Revolution Tour—first stop happened March 2 in Orlando, Fla.; there are 46 more to happen before November ends. What’s it about: LEDs, fluorescent, halogen and ceramic-metal halide lighting systems, GE said. Distributors, contractors, and others are invited; find out if the tour stops near you, and register, here. Upcoming stops:

• Houston—March 21

• Austin, Texas—March 28

• Dallas—April 4

3. GE to Build Largest US Solar Power Plant - GE is taking aim at the world's biggest solar company in a bid to expand into a fast-growing renewable energy market. General Electric Co. announced Thursday that it would spend $600 million to build the nation's biggest solar panel factory. It would build the same type of so-called thin film solar panels manufactured by First Solar Inc., the biggest producer of solar panels in the world. 4/7 AP

4. New NanoMarkets Report Predicts Asian OLED Lighting Market to Reach $2.1 Billion by 2016 - Industry analyst firm NanoMarkets has released its latest report titled, “OLED Lighting Markets Asia-2011,” that says the market opportunities in Asia for OLED lighting will generate $2.1 billion by 2016. The report is the latest in NanoMarkets’ continuing coverage of the global OLED lighting marketplace. Additional details: http://nanomarkets.net/market_reports/report/oled_lighting_in_asia_-_2011/

5. New York City’s Electricity Prices May Double by 2014 - The price of electric power in New York City could double over the next three years as the result of a recent ruling by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Power prices in New York City are already nearly two-thirds higher than the average price paid by consumers in other U.S. cities during any given month of the year. The gravamen of the dispute stems from federal “reliability standards” stipulating that New York City must be able to provide at least 80% of the electricity it uses during hours of peak demand from local power plants. In January, FERC issued a ruling that would substantially increase the price companies selling power in New York City pay for “capacity.” These companies pass the cost of buying this capacity on to consumers in the form of higher electricity bills. 4/4 Forbes

6. Microsoft, Toyota Partner on Energy Efficiency System - Microsoft and Toyota are forming a partnership to develop an in-car electronics system to allow Toyota's battery-powered vehicles to run more efficiently. They'll jointly invest $11.7 million in a Toyota subsidiary that provides data services to drivers. Along with plans for telematics services including data, navigation, in-car entertainment and multimedia, the system may manage energy use in vehicles. Toyota is looking to deploy the new system, powered by Microsoft's Azure platform, in its 2012 fleet of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles and expand it to all models by 2015. General Motors and Ford also offer products developed with Microsoft. Ford previously tapped Microsoft to power its Sync system. 4/7 Detroit Free Press

7. Emergency Lighting: Automatic Load Control Relay Requirements in 2011 NEC - NFPA 101, the Life Safety Code, and the International Building Code (IBC) require emergency lighting in all commercial and industrial buildings to facilitate emergency egress of people from the building and to reduce the possibility of panic in buildings during the exiting of large numbers of people during an emergency. Emergency lighting loads must be automatically energized or re-energized within 10 seconds of the electrical power outage, based on 700.12 of the NEC, and must stay energized for at least 90 minutes or for the anticipated time of the building evacuation. 3/’11 Electrical Contractor

8. A Systems Approach to Solid State Lighting by TE Connectivity - The transition from incandescent or fluorescent lighting fixtures to solid state lighting (SSL) presents lighting manufacturers with both a significant opportunity for growth and a daunting array of new engineering and design issues. The emergence of high-brightness (HB) LEDs has accelerated the conversion to SSL fixtures and will eventually overtake the use of CFLs as the preferred energy-efficient light source. This white paper provides lighting manufacturers with an overview of the elements involved in the design of SSL fixtures and describes the innovations of the TE Connectivity NEVALO system. http://www.ledjournal.com/images/White_Papers/NEVALO_WP_03%2016%2011.pdf

9. 2010 LED Resource Guide - This special issue features a comprehensive buyers guide of companies that manufacture LEDs, modules and arrays; providers of products, materials, components and services related to LED products and systems; LED technology developers and providers; and vendors of equipment, supplies and services for the manufacture of LED products and systems. http://www.ledjournal.com/images/PDFs/Online20Issues/2010/LEDRG2010.pdf

10. NEMA Guidelines on the Application of Dimming to High-Intensity Discharge Lamps -This document provides general information and considerations involved in the design and application of dimming circuitry employed with specific ballasts and lamps in the HID family. Download it free from the NEMA website. http://www.nema.org/stds/lsd14.cfm

11. LED Roadway Lighting Ltd. Technology to Shine in Australian Market - LED Roadway Lighting Ltd. (LRL) fixtures will soon be lighting up streets and roadways across Australia, thanks to a new partnership between LRL and PECAN Lighting Ltd. (PECAN), an Australian based street lighting company specializing in solar applications. Together, LRL and PECAN will bring energy efficient and environmentally friendly lighting solutions to the streets of Australia. 4/4 EC&M