News Updates for the Week of November 12

1.      E Source Finds U.S. Businesses Annually Waste $60 Billion on Energy - A new E Source report reveals that U.S. businesses waste more than $60 billion annually on energy, presenting significant opportunities for utilities to increase enrollment in energy-efficiency programs. The report includes energy-use data from a variety of industries, including restaurants, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, data centers, education, and government.  E Source found that restaurants are among the worst offenders, with nearly 80 percent of the $10 billion spent annually by the commercial food service sector lost to inefficient cooking methods. Another sector of note is healthcare: On average, hospitals use twice as much energy per square foot as office buildings. For more information: http://www.esource.com/Blog/ESource/9-27-12-Waste

2.      Energy-Efficient LED Lighting Hits the Streets: 95 Percent of Cities Satisfied - There are more than 50 million streetlights in the United States. From parking lots to park trails to bridges, these ubiquitous lights permeate our night lives and go largely unnoticed by the sustainability-inclined city dweller.  But this necessary technology comes with a whopping energy cost. A 2009 University of Pittsburgh study shows most streetlights use high-pressure sodium bulbs. A 2012 survey by Northeast Group LLC was published in October, claiming 95 percent of U.S. cities that have tried LED streetlights are satisfied with the results, saving nearly 60 percent in costs. Yet, LED lighting currently accounts for only about 1 percent of the streetlights in the country. http://www.motherearthnews.com/energy-matters/led-streetlights-zb01210zrob.aspx

3.      400 Builders Commit to ENERGY STAR Homes in 2012 - Although we wonder how many new homes will be built in 2012, 400 of the nation's builders pledged they will meet newly upgraded ENERGY STAR standards, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The 400 builders include six of the country's largest - Ashton Woods Homes, Beazer Homes, KB Home, Meritage Homes, M/I Homes and NVR, Inc. http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/23139

4.      Honeywell and Tinker Air Force Base Launch Landmark Efficiency Project - Honeywell today announced an $80.6-million energy efficiency project for the U.S. Air Force that will improve operations and cut utility costs at Tinker Air Force Base (AFB) near Oklahoma City, Okla. The project is the Air Force's largest domestic energy retrofit funded through guaranteed savings to date. And, combined with previous Honeywell-led improvements and other on-base initiatives, it will help Tinker meet the mandated 30 percent energy reduction goal defined by Presidential Executive Order 13514. It should also remove Tinker from atop the list of the most energy-intensive Air Force bases. 10/30 PRNewswire

5.      New DOE GATEWAY Report on Occupancy Sensors for the Outdoor Lighting Market – The report, Use of Occupancy Sensors in LED Parking Lot and Garage Applications: Early Experiences, describes the results at four sites–two parking lots and two parking garages–where LED lighting was controlled by occupancy sensors. At this early stage, simply installing occupancy sensors in parking lots and garages don't guarantee you'll get energy savings, or that the energy savings you do get will be worth the initial cost. But the potential is there, waiting to be tapped by those who are willing to do their homework. http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/2012_gateway_sensors.pdf 

6.      Cree-Powered LED in Best Buy Stores - An LED light bulb started selling in more than 1,000 Best Buy stores last week that’s made to look like a typical incandescent light bulb.  The bulb, called the Insignia LED bulb, is made with LED technology from Cree Inc., a Durham-based company.  This is the second consumer product made with Cree LEDs on the store shelves of a major national retailer, which also has an LED light that directs light downward selling in Home Depot stores.  The cost is $13.99 for an Insignia LED bulb that produces 450 lumens of light, and is meant to be equivalent to a 40-watt incandescent. An Insignia LED bulb that creates 800 lumens of light, and is equivalent to a 60-watt light bulb, is selling for $16.99. The Herald-Sun - Cree powered LED in Best Buy stores

7.      Rexel Acquires Munro Distributing Company - Rexel announced it has reached an agreement to acquire Munro Distributing Company, an electrical products and services distributor specializing in energy efficiency solutions in the Eastern United States and California. According to a Rexel press release, "Munro Distributing Company significantly reinforces Rexel's position in the U.S. as a premier provider of energy efficiency solutions. The combination of Rexel's robust energy platform within its Gexpro and Rexel Inc. banners and Munro Distributing Company will create an energy efficiency solutions offering of unrivaled scope in the U.S. market." http://www.tedmag.com

8.      Millions in Green Energy Grants, Loans Remain to Be Used - More than two years into a three-year government program to create jobs and boost energy efficiency in homes and businesses in three southeastern Wisconsin cities, many millions of dollars in grants and low-interest loans available for property owners remain uncommitted. Funded by federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the $20 million program is focused on Madison, Milwaukee and Racine. And, while more than 500 homeowners and about 100 businesses have seen green updates under the program--known collectively as Wisconsin Energy Efficiency, or WE2, and as Green Madison locally--much opportunity remains in the program's last seven months. After that, any unused money must be returned to the federal government. 11/04 Wisconsin State Journal

9.      DOE Releases Feasibility Assessment of LED Roadway Lighting on the Golden Gate Bridge - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a technical feasibility assessment of replacing existing high-pressure sodium and low-pressure sodium roadway lighting on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. The goal was to identify solutions which would reduce maintenance and energy use without compromising the quantity or quality of existing illumination. However, the historic status and high efficacy of the existing luminaires—as well as their accepted color characteristics—present challenges for energy-saving alternatives. The report is available for download at: www.ssl.energy.gov/gatewaydemos_results.html

10.  Election Results: What It Means for Energy in CA - Energy took the stage in Tuesday's elections, from the presidential race to California's long list of ballot propositions, and the results hold immediate and long-term implications for Southern California. The approval of Proposition 39 should funnel an estimated $500 million a year for five years into energy efficiency retrofits on buildings, starting with public schools and universities. As for Proposition 39, the measure closes at out-of-state tax loophole and is expected to raise up to $1 billion a year. Half of those funds will be dedicated to energy-efficiency retrofits.  That infrastructure investment is designed to pay off in long-term energy savings, adhering to existing state laws that stress conservation ahead of all other energy solutions. 11/8 North County Times

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

News Updates for the Week of June 27

1. Draft ENERGY STAR Guidance Regarding Lumen Maintenance Performance Data - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is developing guidance regarding the content and treatment of lumen maintenance performance data for LED packages, LED arrays and LED modules intended for use in ENERGY STAR qualified solid state lamps and luminaires. Attached is a draft of this guidance, developed in consultation with LED package and array manufacturers to ensure it is informed by the latest technological developments in solid state lighting subcomponents.

2. GE Lighting Embarks on a 47 City Energy Efficiency Tour of North America - For all dates, schedules and locations, visit: http://gelightingrevolutiontour.com/schedule/

3. States' Efforts Lead the Way on Energy Efficiency - With Congress largely stalled on the issue, U.S. states are taking the lead on energy efficiency. New research shows 26 have set rules requiring utilities to save a certain amount of power each year, and the results are lower bills for consumers and a reduced need to build power plants. Last year alone, utilities in those states saved energy equaling up to 2% of annual sales by making their own efficiency changes as well as encouraging them by customers, both residential and commercial, according to a progress report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a Washington-based research group. 6/21 USA TODAY

4. Existing-Home Sales Decline 3.8% in May - Existing-home sales fell 3.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million in May, compared with a downwardly revised 5 million in April, according to statistics released today by the National Association of Realtors. Compared with the 5.68 million pace of May 2010, which benefited from a surge of sales to beat a deadline for the home buyer tax credit, the current reading is down 15.3%. 6/21 HCN

5. Philips Needs A Shake-Up - Although Dutch conglomerate Philips has bounced off the late 2008/early 2009 bottom in the stock, it has been many years since Philips was really a credible candidate for a long-term investor. Once an unquestioned leader in lighting and a strong competitor in consumer electronics, Philips has fallen victim to the bloat and malaise that seems to affect almost every conglomerate sooner or later. Lighting, for instance, has turned into a tough business as the transition to LED has not quite worked out as expected for Philips, Siemens, GE or Cree. While Philips continues to spend large sums of money in R&D, its large conglomerate rivals seem to be more focused on stripping costs out of existing technology. Read more: http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2011/Philips-Needs-A-Shake-Up-PHG-SI-GE-VAR-CREE-SNE-HOLX0623.aspx?partner=YahooSA#axzz1QImGuBLm

6. Department of Energy Announces $120 Million to Support Development of Innovative Manufacturing Processes - The Advanced Manufacturing Partnership is a national effort bringing together industry, universities and the federal government to invest in emerging technologies that will create high quality manufacturing jobs and enhance our global competitiveness. This clean energy investment in new energy-efficient manufacturing processes and novel materials will help U.S. manufacturers save money by reducing the energy needed to power their facilities. 6/24 http://www.energy.gov/news/10397.htm Applications are due by August 25, 2011. More information and application requirements can be found at the https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/

7. Industrial Buildings Across U.S. To Go Solar - The DOE has issued a $1.4 billion conditional loan guarantee to fund a massive project that would install solar panels on unused industrial roof space across the U.S. The project's aim is ambitious, with a goal of installing 733 megawatts' worth of photovoltaic solar panels across 28 states within the next four years. Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20073713-54/industrial-buildings-across-u.s-to-go-solar/#ixzz1QIqWt2oN

8. The 2011 Green Building Opportunity Index - The annual Green Building Opportunity Index remains the first office market assessment tool to provide weighted comparisons of the top U.S. office markets on the basis of both real estate fundamentals and green development considerations. The Index focuses on the primary factors that influence successful development, retrofitting, leasing and sales of investment grade green office buildings in the largest U.S. Central Business Districts.

The Index's top 10 markets overall by Cushman & Wakefield and NEEA's BetterBricks:

1) San Francisco

2) Midtown, NY

3) Washington, D.C.

4) Midtown South, NY

5) Los Angeles

6) Boston

7) Downtown, NY

8) Portland

9) Seattle

10) Oakland

http://www.betterbricks.com/sites/default/files/Office/2011greenbuildingindex-nationaloverview-final.pdf

9. Rexel Launches www.electrical-efficiency.com - The aim of this website is to assemble a selection of information from reliable yet varied sources on the subject of electrical efficiency.