News Tagged ‘legislation’

Prior to the late 1970′s, ballast manufacturers used a group of compounds called polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, to insulate and cool the inner components in certain electrical products. One common application was to cool the internal capacitor of fluorescent lamp ballasts. These components contained a small amount of PCB oil and most of it is typically absorbed by several layers of paper within the device. Since these compounds were found to be health hazards and were linked to the development of certain cancers, they were prohibited by the US Congress in 1979. The risk of PCB leakage is quite low, however anyone considering a lighting retrofit project, or involved in these types of projects routinely, must understand how to determine if a ballast contains PCBs and what to do if it does. Read the rest of this entry »

On February 12th, the Obama Administration announced a multi-agency initiative to spur regional economic growth while making buildings more energy efficient.  Seven federal agencies, including the Dept. of Energy, Dept. of Labor and the Small Business Administration, issued a combined Funding Opportunity Announcement of nearly $130 million over five years to create a regional research center that will develop new building efficiency technologies and work with local partners to implement the technologies in area buildings.

Since buildings account for nearly 40 percent of U.S. energy consumption, energy efficiency improvements in buildings can provide significant benefits not only to the building owners through lower utility bills, but the entire country through decreased carbon emissions.

“Energy efficient buildings represent one of our best and most immediate opportunities to create jobs, save money and cut carbon pollution.” – U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.

The research center will be based at a university, DOE national laboratory, nonprofit organization, or private firm in what the release calls an Energy Regional Innovation Cluster (E-RIC) that is centered around an Energy Innovation Hub.  The center is expected to partner closely with local or state government officials and leverage the expertise of local architects, builders, and manufacturers.

For more details, view the full release on the DOE web site.

President Bush has signed into law an extension of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that will continue to provide the $1.80 per square foot tax deduction for energy efficient commercial and industrial building upgrades through December 31, 2013. This five-year extension was passed by the Senate on October 1 by a vote of 74-25 and by the House on October 3 by a vote of 263-171 as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides valuable tax deductions for businesses that complete energy efficient upgrades on their lighting, HVAC or building envelope systems.  These deductions are available as either a $1.80 per square foot deduction for comprehensive measures that reduce the energy consumption by 50% as compared to the ASHREA 90.1-2001 standard or as a $0.60 per square foot deduction for each system that reduces energy consumption by 16-2/3% as compared to the same standard.

Relight Depot is committed to helping our clients ensure their lighting retrofit projects qualify for the Energy Policy Act tax deduction.  Our expert staff understands the nuances of this important legislation and can guide you in selecting the right fixtures and controls to meet the EPAct requirements.  We have partnered with the leading energy tax firm to provide all of the certifications necessary to achieve the maximum tax deduction possible.  Contact us today if you have any questions about how we can help.