1. Ten Ways to Save Money by Going Green - If you're worried about the environment, here are 10 "green" moves you can make that also have a payback—they'll help the earth and your wallet.

1) Stop the energy leaks from your home
2) Change your light bulbs
3) Stop heating an empty house
4) Rethink your appliances
5) Stop leaving your computers and home entertainment
systems on standby overnight
6) Make the most of your green taxpayer incentives
7) Tackle your hot water heater
8) Drive a more-efficient car
9) Get a home energy audit
10) Buy an e-book reader
9/03 Wall Street Journal

2. BCAP Compliance Planning Assistance Program - In response to unprecedented federal funding through the Recovery Act, states are working hard to adopt and implement the model energy codes. With new funding comes new challenges, as states must achieve 90 percent compliance by 2017. BCAP’s CPA Program will provide 15 states with on-the-ground assistance to assess the current gaps in energy code enforcement and compliance. The BCAP Team will develop practical, targeted action plans that meet federal goals while accommodating state and local needs and concerns. The following states have been approved for the CPA Program, although not all have committed to participating yet: Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia.

http://bcap-ocean.org/compliance-planning-assistance-program

3. Light Bulb Factory Closes; End of Era for U.S. Means More Jobs Overseas - The last major U.S. factory making ordinary incandescent light bulbs will soon be closing. When it does, the remaining 200 workers at the Winchester, Va., plant, about 70 miles west of Washington, D.C., will lose their jobs. What made the plant here vulnerable is, in part, a 2007 energy conservation measure passed by Congress that set standards essentially banning ordinary incandescents by 2014. The law will force millions of American households to switch to more efficient bulbs. But the move also had unintended consequences. Rather than setting off a boom in the U.S. manufacture of replacement lights, the leading replacement lights are CFLs, which are made almost entirely overseas, mostly in China. 9/08 Washington Post

4. GE Teams with Major Utilities, Builders, and Communities to Increase American Home Efficiency by 70% - A team of technologists from GE’s Industrial Solutions, Appliances, Lighting, and Research divisions is investing $5 million with the DOE to employ a mix of energy efficiency and clean power measures to reduce energy usage for new and existing homes. GE and its project partners will assemble a comprehensive package of home energy solutions, which will be demonstrated in several test houses located in various cities throughout the western U.S., including Phoenix; Sacramento; and San Diego. GE is part of DOE’s Building Industry Research Alliance (BIRA). http://ecmweb.com/news/increasing-home-efficiency-20100902/

5. Energy Industry Companies Make the Inc. 500 List of Americas Fastest Growing Private Corporations - Several leading firms in the energy industry recently earned a spot on Inc. magazine’s prestigious 2010 Inc. 500 list, including Standard Solar, Global Wedge, GreenLogic, Vycon, Mercury Solar Systems, Cenergy, link Alteris Renewables, and Rising Sun. To access the entire list, which includes company profiles and an interactive database that may be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, visit http://www.inc.com/500

6. SMUD, City of Sacramento to Offer Energy Rebates for Small Businesses - City officials and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District next month will roll out a new rebate program for small businesses looking to install solar panels and invest in other energy upgrades. Funded by a $500,000 federal stimulus block grant from the DOE, the program also will provide energy audits for small business hoping to lower energy costs and reduce their carbon footprints. Currently, SMUD offers rebates of up to $10,000 for business customers and residential customers for energy efficiency design projects. The rebate program is SMUD's first that specifically targets energy retrofits for small businesses. 9/08 The Sacramento Bee

7. Deere Sells Wind Energy Business - Moline, Ill.-based Deere & Co. has signed an agreement to sell John Deere Renewables, its wind energy business, to Exelon Generation Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Exelon Corp. Deere said the $900 million sale, including earn-out provisions, will result in an after-tax charge of about $25 million in its fourth-quarter results. 9/01 HCN

8. Legrand Hires Rochford - Susan Rochford is now Vice President, Energy Efficiency, Sustainability & Public Policy for Legrand North America. At Legrand, Susan is passionate about putting a stop to energy waste. “We're committed to designing “energy smart” products and systems that provide significant savings in dollars and energy. As well as contribute toward LEED certification.” In this capacity, she will work closely with all the Legrand North America entities to identify, design and deliver sustainable products and solutions to meet the needs of the customers they serve.

9. LEP vs. LED - LUXIM’s LiFi® brand of Light Emitting Plasma™ is a new class of solid state high intensity light sources and is positioned to complement the emerging LED technology: http://www.luxim.com/

• Consider LED for low and mid-illuminance applications, such as 100 watt, 150 watt, and even 250 watt replacement solutions.

• Use LEP™ in high illuminance applications such as streets, parking lots, big-box retailers, distribution centers and factories.

• Wherever there is a 400 watt metal halide or HPS system (which is really 465 watts) consider replacing with LUXIM's LiFi for comparable light output using just 266 watts—a savings of 43%!

• In addition, all LiFi products can be dimmed to 20% with either analog or digital controls.

Something to Think About

Flashback: EnergyWatch October 1998

National Contracts: Corporate America Says “What’s the Hurry?”

As deregulation gains momentum, many major corporations say they are in no hurry to sign a national contract due to uncertainty about:
• effects of deregulation
• politics of deregulation
• rules that will emerge to govern electricity business

When it comes to buying electricity, major corporations want:
• suppliers with proven track records
• financially stable suppliers
• simple / short term deals
• flexible contracts

- From the 9/98 Energy User News

Yes, back in 1998, deregulation of the utility industry was all the rage. And in October of that year, with the help of my son David, we started the EnergyWatch newsletter. This is what it looked like then and that was the lead story. Time sure passes quickly when you are having fun.

To be honest, I started EnergyWatch to force David to stay current on energy issues since he decided to get in the lighting business right out of college. It was a great start for him as now he runs the sales force of the FSG branch in New Jersey as they focus on energy projects, very successfully, I might add.

Over the years, it has been my pleasure to keep you all current on the energy issues of the day as well. We will continue to remind over 3,000 of you when the monthly EnergyWatch newsletter is posted on my website: www.attardimarketing.com. Moreover, many of you have requested more current information and that will start today with the launch of www.energywatchblog.com, almost 12 years to the date of the launch of EnergyWatch.

We intend to post current energy issues to watch weekly or if it is appropriate, when it happens. The focus will continue to be energy and specifically lighting when you need to know it.

This will be an interactive blog so we encourage you to comment at any time. Let me know what you think. Add it to Your Favorites, check on it frequently and thanks for your many years of friendship and support.

Monthly Special Feature…

CFL Lamp Index Gives Back Prior Gains for Second Quarter 2010 -http://www.nema.org/media/pr/20100825a.cfm

NEMA’s compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) index posted a reading of 210.1 during the second quarter of 2010, negating the 3.1 percent year-over-year gain during the previous quarter. CFL shipments decreased 4.2 percent on a quarterly basis following increases of 14.0 and 1.8 percent for the previous two quarters. Meanwhile, shipments of incandescent lamps decreased 2.8 percent on a year-over-year basis, as the index slipped to 57.0. This reading indicates shipments are less than 60 percent of 2006 levels.

Although sales of both lamp types remain at lower levels compared to last year, CFLs continue to gain market share at the expense of incandescent lamps. The share of CFL lamps increased to a new high water mark of 26.7 percent while A-line incandescent lamps fell for the second consecutive quarter, decreasing to 73.3 percent.

Significant Growth for Sodium Vapor Lamps During Second Quarter - http://www.nema.org/media/pr/20100826a.cfm

Shipments of sodium vapor high intensity discharge (HID) lamps increased 3.9 percent to 92.6 in 2010Q2, the highest level in two years. The index reading was 17.1 percent above the same period last year. Metal halide HID lamp shipments decreased 4.0 percent to 82.5 from the previous quarter, but were still 0.5 percent above the same period last year. The mercury vapor HID index declined 9.5 percent to 49.2, indicating shipments were less than half of the average 2006 level.

Market shares for sodium vapor and metal halide HID lamp types increased during the quarter. Sodium vapor lamps showed a 35.4 percent share of sales while metal halide lamps registered a 60.5 percent share, a slight difference versus the 34.5 and 60.4 percent figures, respectively, registered in calendar year 2009. The share of mercury vapor lamps slipped to 4.1 percent from 4.8 percent during the previous quarter.

NEMA's T5 Fluorescent Lamp Shipments Show Double Digit Increase - http://www.nema.org/media/pr/20100831a.cfm

NEMA’s T5 lamp shipments index registered a reading of 152.0 during the second quarter of 2010, a 41.1 percent increase from a year ago. The index reclaimed lost ground from the previous quarter, rebounding by 19.8 percent. T8 lamp shipments also showed robust growth, increasing 12.7 on a year-over-year basis. Conversely, shipments of T12 lamps declined 2.6 and 7.9 percent for the quarterly and year-over-year comparisons, respectively.

The share of T12 lamps in the linear fluorescent market also declined. T12 lamps accounted for 26.3 percent of sales, 5.1 percentage points below the 2009 average of 31.4 percent. T8 lamps increased to a 65.0 percent, a half point below its all-time high. The portion of the market held by T12 lamps grew to a new high of 8.7 percent. These market share trends are likely to continue due to the July 1, 2010 completion of the phase-out of T12 magnetic ballasts.