News Updates for the Week of July 29

1.      DOE Studies Residential Lighting Usage - DOE has published a collaborative study focused on developing new estimates of residential lighting usage and energy consumption at the national and regional levels. The study, Residential Lighting End-Use Consumption Study: Estimation Framework and Initial Estimates, developed a framework that allows for the estimation of U.S. lamp usage and energy consumption not only nationally and by region, but also by household characteristics, lamp characteristics, and the particular room within a home as well as limited combinations of these parameters. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/residential-lighting-study.html

2.      The DOE's LED Lighting Facts Program by James Brodrick - In response to industry feedback, the U.S. DOE launched the LED Lighting Facts program in late 2008 to promote the accurate and consistent reporting of LED product performance claims. The idea behind LED Lighting Facts is that SSL manufacturers, who sign up test their products using industry-standard methods (IES LM-79-2008), report the performance results and use the LED Lighting Facts label—which presents key product metrics in an easy-to-read format in order to help users evaluate those products and identify the best options. www.lightingfacts.com

3.      New ENERGY STAR Product Finder Tools - The product finder tools provide consumers, partners, and interested third parties with an easily-accessible, user-friendly search tool. EPA encourages ENERGY STAR Manufacturing Partners to review your listed models and verify the accuracy of the data. Any concerns about data quality should be reported to your EPA-recognized certification body (CB). http://www.energystar.gov/productfinder/product/certified-light-fixtures/results Utilities, retailers, and other more advanced users can access the detailed datasets (qualified product lists) directly at data.energystar.gov

4.      Energy-Saving Program Launched with $100 Million Commitment - Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett announced an expanded energy-efficiency program that will enable building owners to pay overtime rather than up front for projects that cut energy use and utility bills. In addition, he announced a financing agreement between the Milwaukee Economic Development Corp. and California-based Clean Fund to finance scores of energy-focused building upgrades.  Clean Fund works with Johnson Controls Inc., whose global building efficiency business, based downtown, specializes in engineering projects that replace building chillers, upgrade controls, tap software to make them run better and install more efficient lighting. 7/24 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

5.      ComEd's Energy Efficiency Programs Helped Customers Save $400 Million on Electric Bills Over Past Five Years - The company recently launched the sixth year of its Smart Ideas® energy efficiency programs with more than $56 million in incentives to help customers conserve energy and spend less on electricity. New this year for small businesses, ComEd will cover up to 75 percent (increased from 50 percent) of recommended energy efficiency upgrades - such as lighting, LED exit signs and energy-efficient water heater installation--offered through its Small Business Energy Savings Program. 7/23 PRNewswire

6.      New Lights in Shuttered Chicago Schools - Chicago Public Schools spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to install new lighting systems in at least nine schools just before they were targeted for closing in the city's cost-cutting school consolidation plan. At the same time, the city wants private investors to pay for the new energy-efficient lights in those schools and more than 200 others, as part of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust. The trust is enticing private firms to pay for the school improvements by promising a cut of the energy savings on future electricity bills. But it is unlikely investors will see much of a return from new lights installed in empty schools. 7/19 Chicago Tribune

7.      MaxLite Expands Engineering Department - MaxLite has expanded its engineering department by setting up a team in its West Caldwell, NJ headquarters and appointing key engineering personnel. MaxLite’s new engineering team in New Jersey will work with an existing engineering team in its Rancho Cucamonga, CA, location. MaxLite is collaborating with electrical engineers to troubleshoot indoor and outdoor LED product issues and performing internal testing.

8.      Introducing Hubbell Loans - Removing a significant barrier to wider adoption of energy efficient lighting, Hubbell Lighting announced a creative financing solution called “Cash Flow Positive.” The initiative provides flexible and easy access funding for commercial and municipal customers, through Hubbell Lighting and its agent network. Working through the company’s Hubbell Capital team, commercial customers can receive competitive rate financing with terms from 12 to 60 months (up to 120 months for municipal customers) on projects ranging from $5,000 to $10 million. http://www.hubbelllighting.com/resources/financing/

9.      Lutron Survey Shows Who Is Leaving The Lights On - Lutron Electronics announced the findings from a recent “Home Lighting Usage and Behavior” survey to determine wasted energy. This survey looked at energy and electricity within the home and where people tend to leave the lights on. The study shows that 90% of the people surveyed have someone in the house who leaves the lights on when they leave a room, and 55% of the time a child is to blame. Also, the kitchen is the most common room to have the lights left on, while the bathroom, bedroom and living room are all about the same. Lutron is announcing to study to promote its Meastro Occupancy Sensing Switch

10.  Seoul Semiconductor Drives Efficacy Up and Cost Down in Mid-Power LEDs - The new plastic-packaged 5630C LED can deliver efficacy up to 180 lm/W. There has been a race of late to new efficacy levels in the mid-power space. Just before the LFI show back in April, Samsung announced 160 lm/W efficacy in mid-power LEDs, claiming that as an industry high. Then at LFI, LG Innotek announced 170-lm/W efficacy in similar products. http://ledsmagazine.com/news/10/7/16

11.  GE Lighting Makes the Streets of Bristol Shine - GE Lighting has upgraded the street lighting in Bristol, UK to deliver an energy efficient, white light solution - part of Bristol City Council's aim to reduce its carbon footprint and to promote a safer urban environment. The project comprises the replacement of existing high-pressure sodium street lighting with GE’s improved, higher efficiency CMH Streetwise ceramic metal halide lamps. http://specificationonline.co.uk/news-article/4695/ge-lighting-ge-lighting-makes-the-streets-of-bristol-shine

News Updates for the Week of October 22

1.      New Ballast Energy Standards to Take Effect November 2014 - In November 2011, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued new rules regulating the efficiency of fluorescent lamp ballasts, which take effect November 14, 2014. The rulemaking creates a new metric for measuring ballast efficiency and establishes a higher standard of efficiency that will impact many of today's fluorescent T8, T5 and T12 ballasts. Ballasts that do not comply will be prohibited from manufacture and import, but existing inventories can be sold until they are exhausted. The following ballast types are at greatest risk:

• majority of T12 electronic ballasts; 
• majority of outdoor-sign and residential-only ballasts; and 
• T8 and T5 programmed-start ballasts lacking a cathode cutout design.

http://lightingcontrolsassociation.org/new-ballast-energy-standards-coming-in-2014/

      2.      Shipments of LED-Based Street Lights will Surpass 17 Million by 2020 - According to a new report from Pike Research, unit shipments of LED lamps for street lights will rise from fewer than   3 million in 2012 to more than 17 million in 2020. At the moment, however, nearly all smart street lighting projects are still in a pilot phase, with only a handful of large-scale installations in place to date. LED street lights currently cost roughly four times as much as their high pressure sodium counterparts, placing them out of reach for many cash-strapped municipalities. For this reason smart systems are being installed primarily to reduce maintenance costs, improve monitoring, and enhance public safety, rather than energy savings alone. The report, "Smart Street Lighting", analyzes the global market opportunity for lamp upgrades and networked lighting controls across five categories of public outdoor lighting: highways, roads, parking lots, city parks, and sports stadiums. http://www.pikeresearch.com/research/smart-street-lighting

3.      New Report on OLED Lighting Materials Market - Industry Analyst firm NanoMarkets has issued a new report on the OLED lighting materials market. In the report the firm projects that the OLED lighting materials market will grow from its current value of approximately $1.7 million in 2012 to over $1.1 billion in 2019 and surpass $1.3 billion in revenues in 2018 as OLED lighting moved beyond luxury luminaires and designer kits and into larger, general illumination applications. Additional details about the report are available on the NanoMarkets website at: http://www.nanomarkets.net/index.php/market_reports/report/oled_lighting_materials_market_forecast_2013

4.      Bipartisan Legislation to Revamp Tax Deduction for Energy-Efficient Upgrades to Commercial Buildings - A bill introduced into the Senate seeks to extend tax deductions for building upgrades, make it easier for taxpayers to get the deductions, and give more money back. The bipartisan legislation is called the Commercial Building Modernization Act (S.3591) and it would reform the existing Energy Efficient Commercial Building Tax Deduction, which is widely known by its federal tax code section: 179D.  http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-112s3591is/pdf/BILLS-112s3591is.pdf

5.      Solid-State Lighting GATEWAY Demonstrations - DOE GATEWAY demonstrations showcase high-performance LED products for general illumination in a variety of commercial and residential applications. Demonstration results provide real-world experience and data on state-of-the-art solid-state lighting (SSL) product performance and cost effectiveness. These results connect DOE technology procurement efforts with large-volume purchasers and provide buyers with reliable data on product performance. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/gatewaydemos.html

6.      Residential Energy Efficiency Market to Reach Nearly $84 Billion per Year by 2020 - The rising energy consumption of the housing sector, which has an impact on nearly every aspect of a country’s economy, is driving diverse and increasing interest in residential energy efficiency for both new homes and retrofits of existing ones.  Globally, more than half of the energy consumption in buildings – which is expected to rise from 31,983 terawatt-hours (TWh) to 51,253 TWh by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) – comes from residential buildings.  According to a recent report from Pike Research, the energy efficient housing sector will expand rapidly over the remainder of the decade, growing from an annual market value of $14 billion in 2012 to almost $84 billion in 2020. More than 118 billion square feet of energy efficient residential space will be created over that time period.  http://www.pikeresearch.com/research/energy-efficient-homes

7.      Energy-Efficiency Improvements Can Make New Orleans Business Owners Eligible for Low-Interest Loans - NOLA Wise, a $15 million city-run program has made low-interest loans available to New Orleans business owners to make energy-efficiency improvements. Potential upgrades range from new insulation to tune-ups of heating and cooling systems, as well as improved lighting and sealing leaky doors and windows. Under the arrangement, participants could add solar panels through the program if they can achieve at least a 15 percent energy savings from the work. http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2012/10/to_make_energy-efficiency_impr.html

8.      LED Upgrade Produces Substantial Energy Savings in Cleveland Airport's Parking Garage - When the Airport Authority for the City of Cleveland, Ohio looked into LED parking-garage interior lighting systems, it knew an upgrade would save significant energy compared to the existing metal halides. A new type of specially designed parking-garage luminaire employing LED arrays—the Endura ceiling-mounted LED interior luminaire from Beacon Products, a division of Hubbell Lighting—was chosen. As a result of the LED retrofit, the Hopkins Airport parking garage has cut lamp replacement times and costs in half. 10/15 EC&M's ElectricalZone

9.      Milwaukee Downtown Businesses Pledge to Cut Energy Use - The operators of several downtown Milwaukee buildings, including Wisconsin's tallest, are signing on to a national pledge to reduce their energy use. Those commitments could attract aid for the building owners from a stimulus-funded energy savings initiative directed by the city of Milwaukee--Milwaukee Energy Efficiency, or Me2. This summer, Milwaukee announced it was joining the Better Buildings Challenge, a national initiative in which building owners are pledging to cut energy use by 20% by 2020. To date, the Me2 program has approved 67 business projects for Milwaukee businesses, including offices, factories, gas stations, laundries, condominiums, and health care facilities. The Me2 program says it has awarded grants totaling $1.7 million, stimulating $7.4 million of business investment. 10/18 The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

10.  LumenOptix CEO to Present at NREL’s 25th Industry Growth Forum - At the U.S. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 25th Industry Growth Forum in Denver, Colorado on October 23^rd, LumenOptix Founder and CEO Jay Goodman will present information on the company’s American-made Retrofit Downlight Luminaire, or “LRD,” a unique and modular LED retrofit solution that enables a downlight of any make, model, or size to be upgraded in just minutes to energy-efficient, maintenance-free LED technology.

11.  USG Corp. Partners with GE Lighting - Two of the building industry’s largest manufacturers are collaborating on a new ceiling system designed for use in commercial applications. USG Corp. will offer its Logix Integrated Ceiling System with GE Lumination’s LED Linear Recessed Luminaires. The system is ideal for office, retail, healthcare and hospitality environments. 10/16 HCN

12.  Nexxus Lighting Announces Distributor Agreement with Polybrite - Nexxus Lighting has executed a distributor agreement with PolyBrite International. Under the agreement, Nexxus will begin offering all of PolyBrite's Borealis LED lighting solutions to Nexxus' customers. Key components of the expanded product line are indoor and outdoor lighting fixtures, including LED recessed flat panels, low-bay and canopy lighting systems, and area site and roadway luminaires. In addition, Nexxus will feature Borealis' new LED T8 tubes, A19, R20, R30, candelabra and other decorative lamp products, along with its premier Array line of LED replacement lamps. 10/17 HCN

13.  More than 11 Million EV Charging Stations Will be Installed Worldwide by 2020 - The past year has seen a major uptick in deployments of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE).  This acceleration is a direct result of developments in the market for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs): More than 135,000 PEVs will be sold globally in 2012, and growth is expected to continue at a steady pace.  According to a new report from Pike Research, the EVSE market will expand steadily, as well.  Unit sales of EVSE will rise from under 200,000 in 2012 to almost 2.4 million in 2020.  By 2020, the study concludes, 11.4 million EV charging stations will be in operation worldwide. http://www.pikeresearch.com/research/electric-vehicle-charging-equipment

14.  Ford C-Max Energi Ranked America’s Top Fuel-Efficient Plug-In Hybrid - Ford recently announced that its plug-in vehicle was given a rating from the US EPA of 108 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) for city use, along with a100 MPGe overall rating. When stacked up against other vehicles, Ford noted that the C-Max Energi 100 MPGe outpaces the Toyota Prius by 5 MPGe. The C-Max Energi, along with the Ford Focus Electric (110 MPGe in the city) are two of just a handful of cars that have a prestigious US EPA ranking of 100 MPGe or more. Ford is expected early next year to bolster its lineup of top-notch electric and plug-in hybrids with the Ford Fusion Energy plug-in hybrid. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ford_C-MAX_Energi_Hybrid.jpg

15.  Boom in Chinese Energy Efficiency Market Predicted - China's growth has continued seemingly without pause. Over the course of 2011, its GDP reached US$7.4 trillion. This is a year-on-year increase of 9.2%. China's energy efficiency sector is set to deliver an estimated US$31.4 billion in 2012, which is a 54.2% growth over five years. The number of companies and consultants in the energy-saving field has grown rapidly, and the profit margin for this year is being projected at 13.8% of wealth generated. http://www.esi-africa.com/node/15519

16.  Latin America Commercial Fluorescent Lighting Market 2011 – 2017 - This report is an effort to identify factors, which will be the driving force behind the commercial fluorescent lighting market and sub-markets in the next few years in Latin America. The report provides extensive analysis of the industry, current market trends, industry drivers and challenges for better understanding of the market structure. This report highlights the industry trends and forecast for seven geographic markets, namely Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Panama.    

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/product/3hwgvg/commercial_fluorescent_lighting_market_lati

17.  America's Top 7 Energy-Efficient Baseball Stadiums - Major League Baseball (MLB) has emerged as a vanguard of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)'s Sports Greening Project, which has sparked a sustainability movement across a slew of professional and collegiate sports leagues. The MLB was the first professional sports league to partner with NRDC on the initiative in 2005. Rankings are based on sheer numbers of energy-efficient features, as well as the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

1.      Marlins Park: Miam​i Marlins

2.      Target Field: Minnesota T​wins

3.      Nationals Park: Washingto​n Nationals

4.      AT&T Park: San Francisco Giants

5.      Safeco Field: Seattle Mariners

6.      Miller Park: Milwaukee Brewers

7.      Busch Stadium: St. Louis Cardinals

Runners Up: Fenway Park: Boston Red Sox; Citi Field: New York Mets; Yankee Stadium: New York Yankees; Progressive Field: Cleveland Indians http://ase.org/efficiencynews/americas-top-7-energy-efficient-baseball-stadiums