News Updates for the Week of May 28

1.      Cooper Industries Sold to Eaton for $11.8 Billion - The acquisition will allow Cleveland-based Eaton, an industrial manufacturer, to further expand its power management reach and its electrical business.  The acquisition is expected to close by the end of 2012, after which Eaton and Cooper will be combined as a new company, expected to be called Eaton Global Corporation Plc., incorporated in Ireland, where Cooper is currently incorporated. Alexander Cutler, Eaton’s CEO and chairman, will lead the combined company.  Based on 2011 revenues, Eaton and Cooper combined would have revenues of $21.5 billion that year. http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/news/2012/05/21/cooper-industries-sold-to-eaton-for.html

2.   Electric Rates Going Up in 2015 - Your electric rates are going up but not until 2015. That year, electric bills are set to be about $130 a year more than now, according to the results of annual auction that decides which electricity providers will be paid for committing to run their power plants so the lights stay on. 5/18 McClatchy-Tribune Regional News

3.   Coal Plant Closures Could Send Electricity Costs Soaring - Residential electricity prices are expected to spike by more than 10 percent beginning in 2015, with consumers paying between $150 and $330 a year more than this year, as coal plants, the least expensive producers of electricity, continue to close. 5/18 McClatchy-Tribune Regional News

4.      California Poised to Issue 2013 Title 24 Building Efficiency Standards - The California Energy Commission is in the final stages of adopting changes to the 2008 Building Energy Efficiency Standards contained in the California Code of Regulations (CCR), Title 24, Part 6 (also known as the California Energy Code). The revised standards were approved May 9, 2012 and are scheduled to take effect in January 2014. Mandatory requirements also include the use of daylighting sensors to adjust lighting systems near windows to produce more or less light based upon the amount of natural light entering the space. 5/21 Glass on Web

5.      Smart Buildings: Ten Trends to Watch in 2012 and Beyond - Demand for efficient HVAC and lighting systems, as well as other types of hardware like controls and submeters, is growing as the value proposition for energy efficiency is proven again and again.  In addition, advances in software for building energy management systems (BEMS) as well as for building design (through building information modeling, or BIM) are making it easier to design and maintain high performance buildings. This white paper report from Pike Research examines these trends worldwide. http://www.pikeresearch.com/research/smart-buildings-ten-trends-to-watch-in-2012-and-beyond

6.      Existing-Home Sales Increased 3.4% in April - According to the tally from the national Association of Realtors, there’s the beginning of a return to normalcy taking place across housing. Existing-home sales in April rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million, up 3.4% from a downwardly revised 4.47 million in March. Compared with a year ago, existing starts are up 10.0%. The national median existing-home price for all housing types jumped 10.1% to $177,400 in April from a year ago; the March price showed an upwardly revised 3.1% improvement. 5/22 HCN

7.      JEDEC Publishes Five International Thermal-Testing Standards For LEDs - The JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the standards organization based in Arlington, VA, has announced the publication of a new series of standards for component-level testing of high-brightness/power LEDs. Development within JEDEC’s JC-15 Committee involved LED industry leaders, and resulted in the new JESD51-5x series of standards aimed at thermal characterization of power LED components. The four standards, JESD51-5, JESD51-50, JESD51-51, JESD51-52 and JESD51-53, are in compliance with the International Commission on Illumination's (CIE) existing LED measurement recommendations. http://www.jedec.org/standards-documents/results/jesd51-5

8.      EC&M's Top 30 Rankings of Electrical Design Firms - The companies on EC&M’s 2012 Top 30 Electrical Design Firms list earned $1.1 billion in revenue related to electrical design services in 2011. By comparison, last year, 27 design firms reported $553.9 million in revenue related to electrical design services for 2010. In addition, the 17 design firms on this year’s list that also reported revenue related to electrical design services in last year’s survey averaged a year-over-year increase of 6.1%. http://ecmweb.com/images/205ecmCStable1.gif

9.      Speaking Out: LEDs: The Time is Now - LED usage in commercial lighting is expected to grow at an annual rate of 39 percent for the next three years, putting LED commercial lighting sales at $4.5 billion a year by 2015 (from a report published by the Strategies in Light conference). The overall market for LED products for applications such as backlighting for televisions, laptops and mobile devices is declining due to the saturation of the TV market, which will cause a flood of LED components into the commercial lighting market bringing lower prices and increasing adoption rates. In 2010, the global LED market—all products included—increased by 93 percent (Strategies in Light report). Such impressive growth rates for products using LED technology have brought major global attention from electronics manufacturers eager to enter large markets that previously had barriers to entry, such as the U.S. commercial and residential construction markets. http://ewweb.com/mag/electric_leds_time/

10.   NEMA Lighting System Index Jumps 5.2% - The National Lighting Bureau (NLB) reports that first-quarter 2012 NEMA Lighting Systems Index (LSI) performance bested fourth-quarter 2011’s by 5.2%, a gain that NLB Executive Director John Bachner characterized as “cause for optimism, especially in light of encouraging year-over-year data.” Bachner noted that year-over-year performance, while strong at 3.7%, was less robust than quarter-over-quarter performance because of “intervening quarterly fluctuations. Nonetheless, year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter performance, taken as a whole, is extremely positive.” http://www.nlb.org/Index.cfm?pid=10213

News Updates for the Week of December 26

1.     Light Bulb Standards Remain in Place - Congress passed a spending bill that will, among other things, defund the enforcement of the EISA light bulb standards for the 2012 fiscal year. While this means that the DOE will have no funding to enforce the standards until October 2012, the standards themselves remain in place. Efficiency standards will remain in place with a January 1, 2012 effective date (effective date refers to date of manufacture, not sales.  Retailers can still “sell through” their inventories beyond January 1st). http://lumennow.org/ 

2.     New ENERGY STAR Qualified Light Bulbs Product List - The U.S. EPA would like to inform partners and stakeholders of a new, consolidated ENERGY STAR qualified light bulb list.  This new list includes products qualified to the CFL V4.2 specification, the Integral LED Lamps V1.4 specification and self-ballasted fluorescent GU24 lamps qualified under the Residential Light Fixture V4.2 specification. The combination of all qualified light bulbs into one list provides a more useful tool for consumers and partners to easily identify all the bulbs that are currently ENERGY STAR qualified.  The excel version allows for sorting of data by any of the parameters (i.e. technology, model type, base type, color temperature) using the drop down arrow menus for each of the column headings. This new list will be updated at the beginning and middle of each month and can be accessed at www.energystar.gov/lightbulbs. 

3.     Webinar: The L Prize-Winning LED A19 Replacement—What Commercial Building Owners/Operators Can Expect in 2012 - On January 18, 2012, the U.S. DOE will host a 60-minute live webinar presenting an update on the status of LED A19 lamp options for commercial businesses, with an overview of DOE's L Prize competition and the rigorous lab, lifetime, and field testing that went into selection of the Philips Lighting winning lamp. The webinar will begin promptly at 1:00 p.m. ET and will include a 40-minute presentation followed by a 20-minute question-and-answer session with attendees. To learn more or to participate, register now.

4.     GE Lighting’s Sylvester Says LEDs May Be 80% of Market by 2020 - General Electric Co. expects most light bulbs to be replaced within a decade by light-emitting diodes that can last from a child’s birth through college.  Maryrose Sylvester said in an interview in New York, “By 2020, about 70 to 80 percent of the general lighting market is going to be enabled by LEDs.”  Siemens AG’s Osram unit and Royal Philips NA, GE’s traditional rivals, have both predicted similar growth rates as new regulations combine with declining LED prices to make the lighting systems more attractive to individual and commercial buyers.  Munich-based Siemens is expecting the market to grow to $13 billion by 2013 and rise another 44 percent by 2016. Philips, based in Amsterdam, predicted in September that 45 percent of the market will be LED-based by 2015.  12/20 Bloomberg

5.     Green Energy to Hit Roadblocks in 2012 - The signs are very difficult to ignore. On Wall Street; in Washington, DC; in states with Renewable Portfolio Standards; and just about every region of the U.S. where renewable sources of electricity and fuels have made significant inroads since 2006.  The next year, and possibly the several years after, renewable energy industries face a combination of fiscal austerity and partisan gridlock that is clamping down on clean energy deployment. Companies in the solar, wind, geothermal, energy storage, biofuels and biomass industries are girding for perhaps the toughest fight of their corporate lives. http://www.energybiz.com

6.     Cree Licenses Pioneering Remote Phosphor Patents - Cree, Inc. announces it has granted five LED lighting manufacturers licenses (Aurora Energie Corp., Horner APG, Ledzworld Technology, Vexica Technology, and Wyndsor Lighting, LLC.) to select Cree patents through its recently launched remote phosphor licensing program. By making fundamental remote phosphor patents available through license, Cree is further enabling LED lighting adoption, as Cree innovations facilitate the development of LED lights combining remote phosphor optical elements with blue LEDs.  Cree is currently in discussions with other companies to license the remote phosphor patents and aims to sign additional licensing agreements in the coming months. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Cree-Licenses-Pioneering-bw-126671934.html?x=0

7.     Commerce Department Unveils Stronger-Than-Expected Starts Data - The Commerce Department's residential construction report released Tuesday morning showed housing starts at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 685,000 -- that's 9.3% higher than the revised October estimate of 627,000 (revised from a previously released figure of 628,000). It's also the highest level of starts since April 2010. Compared with last year's near-record low, total housing starts were up 24.3%.  Single-family housing starts were up a modest 2.3%, coming in at a pace of 447,000, according to the government figures.  12/20 HCN

8.     Existing-Home Sales Increase 4.0% - Existing-home sales rose again in November and remain above a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).  The November figure came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.42 million, up 4.0% from October's pace, and up 12.2% from November 2010.  12/22 HCN

9.     Consumer Sentiment Keeps Rising - An index of consumer sentiment rose for the fourth month in a row, gaining 5.8 points and reaching its highest level since last June. The Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index hit 69.9 points in December, and researchers pointed to falling gasoline prices, mildly better employment prospects, an uptick in the stock market and real income growth. IHS Global Insight is forecasting holiday retail sales to rise slightly less than 5.0% above last year’s sales of approximately $453 billion. 12/22  HCN

10.  Billion Dollar Green Challenge Launches -The Billion Dollar Green Challenge invites colleges, universities, and other nonprofits to invest a total of $1 billion in self-managed green revolving funds that finance energy-efficiency upgrades. Harvard, Stanford, Arizona State, and other leading universities have already committed $65 million to new energy-efficiency financing initiatives. In revolving funds, an initial sum of money is set aside to finance sustainability projects that have a quantifiable monetary savings. A portion of these returns (lowered operating costs) is returned into the fund until the project is “paid back.” The money is then reinvested in additional energy-conservation measures, theoretically funding sustainability projects in perpetuity.   http://lighting.com/billion-dollargreen-challenge/

11.  Stimulus Funding for Georgia Convenience Stores Lighting Retrofit Project - The Georgia Association of Convenience Stores (GACS) lighting retrofit fund has retrofitted more than 30 convenience store locations across the state. The group is one of four programs receiving financing from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) division of Energy Resources, the DOE Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. The GACS made lighting retrofits, including T12 to T8 interior lighting conversions, the replacement of cooler door lighting with LED lights, and the retrofitting of outdoor canopy lighting. http://www.environmentalleader.com

12.  GLOBALCON 2012 - To feature a multi-track conference program, free expo and exhibit hall workshops, and networking opportunities http://www.globalconevent.com/registration/

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.

News Updates for the Week of March 28

1. Siemens Hasn’t Finished Revamp Yet as Board to Vote on Osram IPO - Siemens’s supervisory board may meet for an extraordinary meeting on March 28. The 20-member panel may approve an initial public offering of the Osram lighting unit and fold the industrial solutions unit into other businesses. Siemens is weighing a share sale of the lighting business before the end of April. 3/24 http://www.bloomberg.com/

2. Existing-Home Sales Decline in February - After three consecutive months of existing-home sales increases, the National Association of Realtors reported a 9.6% drop in completed transactions for February. The NAR's existing home sales figure fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million, compared to 5.40 million in January. The February pace is 2.8% below the February 2010 pace of 5.03 million. The NAR also reported that the national median existing home price for all housing types was $156,100 in February, down 5.2% from February 2010. 3/21 HCN

3. New-Home Sales Sputter in February - Sales of new single-family homes in February fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 250,000, according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The February stat is the lowest since the government began keeping track in 1963.

4. LED Fab Database - LED Fab Database co-branded with EPIC is a unique tool for business and marketing managers institutions and investors. It gives a complete vision of the worldwide LED players with products, positioning on the value chain and production capacity. In a user-friendly Excel format, it allows search and statistics for customer’s identification, and market / technology analysis. The tool is split in 3 sub-databases:

 GaN-based LED manufacturers: 97 inputs

 InGaAlP LED manufacturers: 37 inputs

 LED packagers: 114 inputs

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/product/edee3b/led_fab_database

A sample for this product is available. Please Login/Register to download this sample.

5. Cree LBR-30 - The core of the innovation is a new way to generate white light with LEDs. Designed to replace BR30 lamps, the LBR-30 provides higher efficacy and longer life than ceramic metal halide with the beautiful light quality that you would expect from halogen. Specs: 12 Watts (equivalent to 60W); 600 lumens (50 LPW); 25 and 50 Degree Beam Angles; 94 CRI; 2700K; 50,000 hours. http://www.creeledlighting.com/products/Lamps/LBR-30.aspx?WT.mc_id=CR3327

6. Nexxus Lighting's Array LED Light Bulbs to be Sold at Lowe's® - Nexxus Lighting, Inc. announced the Nexxus' Array™ brand of premium LED light bulbs will be offered on www.Lowes.com and in 1,100 Lowe's stores across the United States. Lowe's will offer seventeen different Array products, including Par 38, R30, R16, GU10 and MR-16 bulbs that have qualified for the ENERGY STAR rating. The bulbs will be available to consumers beginning June 2011. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nexxus-Lightings-Array-LED-prnews-3143038461.html?x=0&.v=1


7. Xcel Energy Offering Discounted CFLs in NM - Xcel Energy is offering discounts for more than 150,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs for New Mexico residential customers this year to help them use less electricity. Xcel Energy will offer special prices on CFL bulbs at participating retailers throughout the year. 3/24 AP

8. Free Light Bulb Plan Gets Regulators' OK - The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has approved a revised program for FirstEnergy Corp. to distribute free CFLs. The program was postponed in late 2009 after customers and politicians sharply criticized the utility's initial proposal to distribute two CFLs door to door in a mandatory program. As part of the revised light bulb program, FirstEnergy customers can immediately begin calling 888-846-2235 to request up to six bulbs for free. The bulbs will be mailed to homes or businesses within four to six weeks at no cost. By April or May, customers who want more CFLs will be able to buy them through an online store or such area retailers as Home Depot and Lowe's for no more than 50 cents per bulb, until the 4 million bulbs run out. 3/24 The Akron Beacon Journal

9. City of Dallas to Go Green with Energy Efficient LED Lighting in Its Parking Garages - Lumetech Group, a provider of commercial LED lighting solutions, and Lighting Science Group , an American maker of LED lighting, announced today the conversion of five downtown parking garages to energy efficient LED lighting, positioning Dallas as one of the first major cities in the United States to adopt this energy and cost saving technology. Lighting Science Group's long-lasting and ultra-efficient Flat LowBay LED fixtures were installed in garages at Dallas City Hall, Dallas Public Library, the Jack Evans Police Building, the freight terminal beneath Thanksgiving Square and the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. 3/24 PRNewswire

10. Duke Energy Strives to Give Away Another 10 Million CFLs - In 2010, Duke Energy distributed more than 10 million free CFLs to approximately one million residential customers. They announced plans to distribute 10 million free CFLs to eligible customers in 2011. Duke Energy residential customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Ohio can request complimentary CFLs be delivered to their homes at http://www.duke-energy.com/freecflsnow%20or%20may%20also%20call%20(800)%20943-7585. 3/22 PRNewswire