CEE’s Commercial Lighting Committee is working with its members and industry partners to spread the word about energy-saving opportunities in commercial lighting.
Recent activities include:
- A presentation by CEE Deputy Director Ed Wisniewski at a recent Edison Electric Institute (EEI) conference
- Development of lighting application reference guidance for program implementers
- Committee education regarding emerging technologies, such as commercial applications for solid-state lighting
Presentation at Edison Electric Institute
Wisniewski detailed CEE’s North American Commercial Lighting Initiative to national account clients at EEI’s Spring Meeting in Phoenix on March 13.
Marguerite Towne of National Grid moderated the session. National Grid is an Edison Electric Institute member.
EEI, whose members include electric utilities and manufacturers, has recently devoted attention to energy efficiency’s growing role.
In his presentation, Wisniewski made the case for efficient commercial lighting as a means to significantly reduce energy consumption, with potential national annual energy savings that exceed 17,000 gigawatt hours.
He noted that 4-foot high-performance T8s can reduce electricity use 40 percent when compared to the 4-foot T12s, and 20 percent when compared to standard-efficiency T8s.
“I was somewhat surprised to learn how little is known by major players about specifying high-performance lighting,” Wisniewski said. “At the same time, I was encouraged to see the huge turnout by national account players interested in CEE’s high-performance specification. Commercial lighting clearly remains an area worthy of continued pursuit.”
Towne coordinated a survey on Wisniewski’s presentation and the feedback was very positive. One survey respondent described the talk as a “real-world view of how equipment manufacturers are influenced to make design modifications in response to needs for reduced energy usage or higher efficiencies.”
Another survey respondent noted that “there was good program background as well as applications for super T8s and reduced-wattage T8s. We [also learned] where the incentives were being offered.”
Application guidance
The Commercial Lighting Committee has developed an Application Guidance section for the CEE Web site as an aid to members running T8 lighting programs.
This new resource includes quick summaries and links to fact sheets, user tips, research, case studies and links to relevant organizations.
Click here to access the Application Guidance section.
Members with suggestions and/or additional resources can contact CEE Senior Program Manager Jason Erwin at 617-589-3949, ext. 212.
Solid-state lighting
On March 28, the Commercial Lighting Committee convened for a conference call to discuss commercial applications for solid-state lighting.
Mark Ledbetter of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) updated the group on their efforts to support the Department of Energy’s work to commercialize solid state lighting technology.
Ledbetter explained the advantages and limitations of solid-state lighting. PNNL’s foci include the development of product testing, industry standards and the verification of product performance. All of these areas are critical in determining the viability of solid-state lighting in the commercial sector.
Information on solid-state lighting will become increasingly important to the committee as LED technology continues to develop. CEE has received a DOE grant to help communicate information and technology updates pertaining to solid-state lighting in the residential and commercial markets.
[ back to top ]
