News Updates for the Week of June 3

1.     T5 And T8 Linear Fluorescent Lamp Shipments Surge During First Quarter - NEMA’s T5 and T8 linear fluorescent lamp indexes surged upward 6.3 and 15.7 percent on a year-over-year basis (y/y), respectively, during 2013Q1. Moreover, the T8 index value of 120.2 was the second highest in the history of the series. Meanwhile, the index reading of 173.9 for T5 lamps was the highest since 2011. Not surprisingly, the index for T12 lamp shipments continued to diminish, posting a decrease of 38.9 percent (y/y), settling at a value of 36.5 for the quarter.  T8 lamps increased in market share by 2.2 percentage points reaching 75 percent; T5 lamps garnered a share of 10.1 percent; T12 lamps dipping to a share of 14.9 percent. http://www.nema.org/News/Pages/T5-and-T8-Linear-Fluorescent-Lamp-Shipments-Surge-During-First-Quarter.aspx

2.     HID Lamp Shipment Indexes Remain Dim - NEMA’s shipment indexes for high intensity discharge (HID) lamps declined on a year-over-year basis (y/y) for the fourth consecutive quarter in 2013Q1. Shipments of sodium vapor lamps decreased 14.1 percent (y/y) to an index reading of 71.2 during the quarter. Mercury vapor lamp shipments were down a similar magnitude at 13 percent (y/y) to 44.2, the third lowest level in the index series. Metal halide lamp shipments fell too, posting an index value of 77.5, a decrease of 9.5 percent (y/y).  www.nema.org

3.     Global LED Light Bulb Shipments to Reach 842 Million Units in 2013 - The global market is expected to grow and Digitimes Research forecasts 2013 global LED light bulb shipments to reach 842 million units, representing a sequential increase of 151%, accounting for 52.3% of products.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130529PD206.html

4.     United States Smart Infrastructure: LED and Smart Street Lighting - LED streetlights are quickly transforming the landscape of cities and municipalities across the United States, but still only make up about 1% of the country's more than 50 million streetlights. The next step of advanced smart lighting systems will improve upon the existing benefits of LED streetlights and contribute to cities' growing "smart infrastructure." This study identified nearly 400 US cities and towns that range from those having considered LED streetlights to those having completed changeovers and experimented with advanced smart lighting systems. For more information click on: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/publication/uemyga/united_states_smart_infrastructure_led_and_s

5.     DOE Webcast on LED Troffers, Retrofit Kits, and Replacement Tubes - On Thursday, June 20, DOE will host a 60-minute live webcast on its recently completed CALiPER Exploratory Study, Recessed Troffer Lighting, in which a group of lighting designers, engineers, and facility managers compared the performance of conventional fluorescent troffers with T8 LED tube retrofits, LED retrofit kits, and dedicated LED troffers. Troffers (1'×4', 2'×2', and 2'×4') comprise more than half of all luminaires installed in commercial applications, so switching to LED technology has the potential to yield significant energy and environmental benefits. The webcast will begin at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and will include a 40-minute presentation, followed by a 20-minute Q&A. To register, visit the DOE SSL website. The CALiPER study is available online at www.ssl.energy.gov/exploratory.html

6.     LEUKOS Volume 9 Print Compilation – IES members are entitled to free online access to LEUKOS, the Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. If you prefer to read LEUKOS in print, you can purchase a year-end print compilation for only $25. Volume 9, Numbers 1 - 4 will be available in June.
http://www.ies.org/leukos/introduction.cfm

7.     U.S. Energy Secretary Moniz to Keynote the 2013 U.S. Energy Information Administration EIA Energy Conference June 17 and 18 at the JW Marriott in Washington, DC - The EIA Energy Conference has become a premier forum for addressing energy issues in the United States and around the world. This event will bring together thought leaders from industry, government, and academia to discuss current and future challenges facing domestic and international energy markets and policymakers. http://www.fbcinc.com/e/EIA/

8.     Cheap Leases Offered to Spur Electric Car Sales - Honda announced Thursday that it's slashing the monthly lease cost of its tiny Fit EV by one third, following similar moves by other automakers. Honda also is throwing in other goodies, such as a free home charging station and unlimited mileage. With the Fit EV, Honda is offering a $259 per month lease, down $130 from the initial $389 per month offer when the car went on sale in July of last year. The reduced lease price starts June 1. The three-year lease requires no money down and comes with unlimited mileage, free routine maintenance, collision insurance coverage and a free 240-volt home charging station,  Earlier this month, General Motors Co. said that it would lease the subcompact Spark EV for $199 per month with $999 due at signing as it goes on sale in California and Oregon. Nissan is offering a $199-per-month lease on its Leaf electric car with $1,999 down. 5/30 AP

9.     Big Data and Microseismic Imaging Will Accelerate the Smart Drilling Oil and Gas Revolution -Over the past five years, technology has improved the productivity of the typical oil or gas rig on America’s shale fields between 200 and 300 percent.  Globally, the average cost to find and yield a new barrel has increased from $6 in 1998 to $27 a barrel today.  But in America’s oil shale fields it’s now dropped to the $7 to $15 range.  American oil production will soon surpass Saudi Arabia's output, according to the International Energy Agency. The end result: U.S. drilling success rates have risen from an average of barely 50 percent in 1972 to over 85 percent today.  5/08 Forbes

News Updates for the Week of January 28

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

http://ase.org/efficiencynews/americas-top-5-energy-efficient-football-stadiums

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

11.  DOE Finds Up to 76% Energy Savings with Occupancy Sensors - The U.S. DOE has published a GATEWAY demonstration report that summarizes and compares experiences from field installations of occupancy sensor-controlled LED lighting in two parking structures and two parking lots. http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/2012_gateway_sensors.pdf

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