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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 te …

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 Atlantic City Electric, Jersey Central Power & …

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 targeting a product system efficiency of 50 percen …

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 improvements in energy efficiency with help from EPA' …

We're often asked how 4-lamp T5HO High Bays and 6-lamp T5HO High Bay Fixtures fare when compared with traditional 400W Metal Halide fixtures.  The chart below compares 4-lamp and 6-lamp T5 fixtures against a traditional 400W Metal Halide High Bay along a number of dimensions.  The comparison dimensions are listed below with a short description of each.   400W MH Compared to 4-Lamp and 6-Lamp T5 HO High Bays Comparison Dimension 400W Metal Halide 4-Lamp T5 High Bay 6-Lamp T5 High Bay …

One of the most common questions that facility and operation managers ask is “How much light do I need to properly illuminate my facility?” Since 1958, the Illuminating Engineering Society has been publishing recommended illuminance levels for a multitude of tasks and facility types in table form.  The published tables provide guidance for both generic tasks and hundreds of very specific tasks.  In order to understand these tables, it’s best to start with an overview of how light is measured. …

For many that keep track of the global climate debate, the next 12 days is about as exciting as it gets.  That’s because from December 7th through the 18th,  193 of the world’s nations will have their top climate and environmental ministers in Copenhagen for the 15th annual Conference of the Parties (or COP15) of the United Nations Climate Change Convention.  The goal for this year’s conference is to establish an ambitious global climate agreement that can take the place of the expiring Kyoto Pr …

T5 and T5HO fluorescent high bay fixtures and other T5-based specialty lights are built around a linear fluorescent tube lamp.  Like other types of lamps, the number in the name of the lamp reflects its size.  The “T5” name reflects the diameter of the tube in eighths of an inch.  A T5 lamp is five-eighths of an inch (5/8”).  Similarly, a T8 fluorescent lamp is eight-eighths (or one inch) in diameter and a T12 fluorescent lamp is 12 eighths (or 1-1/2 inches) in diameter.  One of the features tha …

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 deductio …