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Energy-Efficient Lighting Industry Growing Steadily

Submitted by JS on Fri, 04/27/2012 - 13:42

 

 

Wednesday, April 04, 2012

Over the last few years, we’ve seen the energy-efficient lighting industry grow despite the recession. According to the lighting professionals we surveyed in December, the industry will grow even stronger in 2012.

Our survey went out to more than 2,900 energy-efficient lighting professionals across the country. Of those who responded to the survey, 69% either met or exceeded their revenue expectations in 2011 and were preparing for growth in 2012.  

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Respondents are confident 2012 will be a good year for business. Over 80% predicted more opportunities for growth this year, both for the industry and for their individual companies.

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 If business has been slow the past two months, fear not. Survey respondents predict the second and third quarters will be the most lucrative. 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The survey also shows Solid State Lighting is growing in popularity. Respondents estimate that 22% of the fixtures they install will be LED-based – up 9% from last year. But, even though Solid State LED use is growing, 84% of survey respondents say Linear Fluorescent will be the dominant technology they expect to install in relighting projects this year. 

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here at [P2], we feel positive about 2012 too. Like most of our survey respondents, we had a great year in 2011 and can’t wait to see all the exciting opportunities 2012 brings. 

We’d like to say thanks to all the energy efficient lighting professionals who filled out our survey. We appreciate your feedback and look forward to working with you in the coming months. 

Green Light, Go!

Submitted by JS on Fri, 04/06/2012 - 13:48

Compact fluorescent, light-emitting diode and halogen bulbs have improved dramatically recently and are only getting better. Michael Hsu gives us the guide to the new era of energy-efficient light bulbs on Lunch Break.

Testing the best and brightest in the new class of eco-friendly bulbs

By MICHAEL HSU
 
I'VE BEEN A DEVOTED FAN of incandescent light bulbs for years, but huge advances in energy-efficient alternatives are winning me over. Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) and the light-emitting diode variety (LEDs) have improved dramatically recently and are only getting better. You no longer have to choose between energy efficiency and warm, beautiful light that makes everything in a room look as nature intended.
 
The best eco-friendly bulbs can be pricey. But spending an extra $10 or even $70 on a light bulb that renders colors pleasantly is a worthwhile investment—especially since these bulbs last such a long time. (According to some manufacturers, certain LEDs are estimated to last over 25 years.) The projected savings on your energy bill are beside the point. The way these lights transform a space is well worth the price alone.

Fluorescent Lighting and Controls - Debunking the Myths

Submitted by JS on Tue, 03/27/2012 - 11:50
 
Today's lighting controls offer facility managers an effective means of reducing energy use while maintaining a highly productive and safe visual environment. These systems accomplish those goals simply by providing the right quantity of light where it is needed, when it is needed, and no more. Those who have implemented a comprehensive lighting control program have found that lighting energy use can be reduced on average by 50 percent in existing buildings, and by 35 percent in new construction when compared to traditional wall switches. Those reductions in lighting energy use are particularly significant when one considers that in a typical commercial facility, lighting is responsible for approximately 40 percent of the facility's total electricity use.
 
With such energy and financial benefits to lighting control systems, why don't all facility managers aggressively pursue all possible lighting control options? While such issues as installation costs and disruptions do contribute to the reluctance to install lighting control systems, much of the blame can be traced to longstanding misconceptions. Some are the result of misunderstandings about how the systems work. Others concern issues that may have been true at one time but that have been reduced or eliminated by advances in lighting components and lighting control technologies.
 
MYTH #1: A fluorescent light takes more energy to start than to operate
This misconception can be traced back to older generations of fluorescent lamps and ballasts that, when turned on, went through a starting cycle that included flickering for several seconds before reaching full operating brightness. Users came to believe that while these lamps were flickering, they were using high levels of energy — much higher than the lamps would use during normal operation.
 
It is true that while starting, fluorescent lamps do use more energy than while operating. But even in those older generations lamps, the higher level of energy use lasted for only a few seconds. Today's lamps and ballasts typically reach normal operating currents in less than 0.1 seconds. During the startup time, there is a brief jump in current that is several times greater than the lamp's normal operating current. The duration of this increased current, however, is so short that the energy used is about the equivalent of operating the lamp for five seconds.
 
The energy required to start a fluorescent lamp, compared to the energy saved by turning the lamp off when it is not required, is insignificant.

Retrofits could yield $1T in US energy savings

Submitted by JS on Mon, 03/12/2012 - 15:51
Retrofits could yield $1T in US energy savingsSavvy investments in energy efficiency retrofits for buildings could yield more than three times their value, mounting to about $1 trillion in energy savings in a decade, says new research from Deutsche Bank and The Rockefeller Foundation. The study released today said that yield would be just one of the returns if $279 billion were spent for retrofits of residential, commercial and institutional buildings in the United States.
 
In addition to saving about 30 percent of the United States' entire energy spend during the course of a year, completion of the energy efficiency retrofits could reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the country by 10 percent and create 3.3 million job years -- which means the projects could create an estimated 3.3 million cumulative years of employment -- the study said.
 
Researchers in the building and sustainability fields have been touting the robust returns and benefits produced by energy efficiency retrofits for several years. In 2010, a study forecast that such projects could result in savings of as much as $41 billion a year in the U.S. And market leaders in business and real estate have made a point of spotlighting their successes, one of the most prominent being the Empire State Building retrofit. The New York City icon also serves as an example of green leasing program, a further strategy to achieve energy efficiency in commercial property.

Going Into Effect - New standards and regulations take aim at lighting

Submitted by JS on Fri, 02/24/2012 - 16:15
 
2012 Federal lighting standardsWelcome to 2012, the year lighting efficiency takes center stage. From federal regulations to emerging standards affecting bulbs, lighting systems and controls, the next 12 months and beyond will present electrical contractors and their customers with change and choice.
 
The most immediate effect, though minimal for the electrical contractor, is the enactment of new efficiencies for general-service incandescent lamps. The Edison bulb, as we know it, was set to begin its initial phase-out this month with the traditional 100-watt (W) lamp; the enforcement of this ban is effectively pushed back until September. Last-minute Congressional wrangling over implementation of the 100W incandescent phase-out has created murkiness, but the fact is that the availability of the phased-out lamps will be limited to lesser known manufacturers and may be subject to quality and performance issues.
 
Barring futher Congressional action, 75W incandescent lamps will no longer be sold starting in 2013, and 60 and 40W lamps will follow in 2014. As directed in the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, lamps must be at least 30 percent more efficient than their predecessors. It’s a mandate for manufacturers and consequently a mandated choice for consumers. Though consumers may still find 100W incandscent products on the market, they won’t be from the big three major lamp manufactuers and other well-known companies.
 
Regardless of whether the lamps are officially banned or not, the lighting manufacturers have been hard at work producing replacements for years, and more-efficient products will dominate the shelves at authorized dealers and major retailers. For instance, newer halogen--based incandescent lamps already meet the 30 percent less energy threshold. Exemptions include appliance lamps, colored lights, three-way lamps and 19 other “specialty” lights.

The Economic Benefits of Lighting Retrofits for Commercial Facilities

Submitted by JS on Mon, 02/13/2012 - 15:24

The new tax codes make the decision to relight a facility an easy — and profitable — one!

Don McDougall, Director, Engineered Tax Services (2012 Directory)
 
Lighting accounts for over 70 percent of all retrofits and remodels. Nowadays, the decision to relight or remodel a property is no longer one of aesthetics only. With the EPAct and other tax credits and deductions available, and taking into account the reduction of energy costs over time, the potential savings are substantial. The question now is how much money do you want to save? And how do you want to save it?
 
What Are the Economic Benefits for Relighting? 

Office LED system simulates clouds passing overhead

Submitted by JS on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 11:47

Office employees could soon be working under open skies thanks to a ceiling lighting system that imitates clouds passing overhead.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO) have developed an LED-based tile system that could improve working conditions by simulating outdoor lighting conditions.LED cloud system
 
‘Each tile comprises an LED board with 288 light-emitting diodes,’ said Dr Matthias Bues, head of department at the IAO, which developed the system in partnership with German company LEiDs.
 
‘The board is mounted on the ceiling. A diffuser film in matt white is attached approximately 30cm beneath the LEDs and ensures that the individual points of light are not perceived as such.’
 
The researchers used a combination of red, blue, green and white LEDs in order to produce the full light spectrum using more than 16 million hues.

Motivation down? Take on a rival

Submitted by JS on Fri, 01/06/2012 - 10:52

(MoneyWatch)  If your motivation or enthusiasm is on the wane, sometimes a rival is just what you need -- even if your "competition" is completely one-sided and imaginary.

Healthy competition is motivating. It helps spark creativity and innovation, raises performance, provides greater focus, and helps individuals and teams accomplish their goals.

Motivation down? Take on a rival
In sports, competition is a given. That's just as true in business, but without a scoreboard that spirit of competition is easier to lose sight of.
 
So how can you reap the benefits of competition? Take on a real rival, or if you like, make one up.

Green federal buildings far outperform typical commercial buildings, finds PNNL

Submitted by JS on Mon, 12/12/2011 - 16:39

November 28, 2011—A report released by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Re-Assessing Green Building Performance: A Post-Occupancy Evaluation of 22 GSA Buildings, makes clear to what extent sustainably designed federal buildings outperform typical commercial buildings.

The U.S. General Services Administrationcommissioned PNNL to conduct a post-occupancy evaluation of 22 "green" federal buildings from across the country. In the report, PNNL found that, on average, green buildings, compared to commercial buildings in general: 

  • Cost less to maintain, by 19%;                                                                          
  • Use less energy, by 25%, and less water, by 11%;                            
  • Emit less carbon dioxide, by 34%; and
  • Have more satisfied occupants, by 27%.
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