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For far too long, the standard for lighting warehouses, industrial facilities, manufacturing facilities and other high ceiling height applications has been the 400-Watt Metal Halide fixture. Advances in ballast technology and the improvements of the T5 High Output (T5 HO) Linear Fluorescent lamp have led to many new light fixtures that are targeted specifically to replace old HID high bays. The following article details the many benefits th Read more

The vast majority of existing warehouse space in the US is lit with inefficient high intensity discharge or magnetically ballasted T12 fluorescent light fixtures.  Unfortunately, lighting is one of the few areas that is often overlooked when investigating cost reduction opportunities.  Owners and managers blindly budget tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars for utility bills without realizing that switching to more energy efficient warehouse l Read more

If you are in or around Washington DC on March 10th, 2010, you may want to register to attend the Great Energy Efficiency Day event being held at the Dirksen Senate Office Building.  The event is organized by the Alliance to Save Energy and promises an in-depth discussion on funding, technology and policy measures required to realize energy efficiency's full potential. Thie Great Energy Efficiency Day, which has been going on since 2004, has a Read more

For years, the standard method of lighting gymnasiums has been the 400W Metal Halide High Bay. This has led to gyms with deteriorating light levels and poor playing conditions that are expensive to operate. New technologies have allowed lighting designers to specify T5 High Output (T5HO) Fluorescent High Bay Fixtures in place of the more inefficient metal halide fixtures. This shift has reduced the power consumption of gymnasium lighting systems, Read more

There has been a flurry of media attention being given to Bloom Energy as they get ready to come out of stealth mode with their Bloom Box fuel cell technology.  Bloom Energy has been developing their fuel cell for almost a decade and has received approximately $400M in capital investment from some of Silicon Valley's biggest names. K.R. Sridhar, the company's rocket scientist founder, believes that his fuel cells will be able to power y Read more

At this years TED talks, Bill Gates unveiled his vision for the world's energy future, describing the need for "miracles" to avoid planetary catastrophe and explaining why he's backing a dramatically different type of nuclear reactor. The necessary goal? Zero carbon emissions globally by 2050. You can watch his whole talk below or visit the TED site to view other interesting talks. TED is a small nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. I Read more

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 technologie Read more

New Jersey's SmartStart Buildings program offers valuable rebates for commercial and industrial customers looking to implement energy-efficient lighting projects in their facilities. SmartStart is sponsored by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in partnership with local gas and electric utilities and is funded through the New Jersey Societal Benefits Charge. These rebates are available to non-residential retail electric service customers of Read more

The National Energy Technology Lab has announced on behalf of the US Department of Energy that it is funding 17 solid state lighting projects with over $37M of American Recovery and Reinvestment funds.  The goal of the solid state lighting project is to develop advanced solid-state lighting technologies by the year 2025 that, compared to conventional lighting technologies, are much more energy efficient, longer lasting, and cost competitive by Read more

The Environmental Protection Agency has just announced the ENERGY STAR National Building Competition, the first coast-to-coast contest for commercial buildings to save energy and fight global warming. ENERGY STAR partners are being asked to nominate one or more of the facilities they own or manage from across the country for consideration. Approximately a dozen contest participants will be selected by EPA and will "work off the waste" through imp Read more