With the recommendation of the Lighting for Tomorrow (LFT) sponsors, the Board approved the 2009–2011 LFT Program Plan. They were supportive of the proposed changes for Phase V (2009–2011) of the competition in order to address current market needs and continue to be relevant.
Phase V of LFT remains consistent with the original objective to increase the market presence of ENERGY STAR lighting fixtures within the residential new construction and renovation markets but shifts its emphasis to address the small number of good quality dimming products and lackluster fixture sales.
In 2009, LFT is focusing the fluorescent competition on ENERGY STAR fixtures and CFL lamps that are dimmable to help overcome this remaining market barrier. Focusing on dimming products will encourage manufacturers to speed up their development timeline and improve the overall quality of their dimming CFLs and fixtures. LFT is also expanding the applications included in the solid state lighting (SSL) competition with the objective of highlighting products that successfully manage the unique attributes of LEDs such as directionality, sensitivity to heat, and so on.
Starting in 2010, LFT plans to run an application competition focused on installations of energy efficient lighting in residences. This competition will be open to lighting retailers, builders, and consumers to enter lighting installations that produce high quality lighting with minimum kWh/sq ft. The goal of this competition is to demonstrate that energy efficient lighting can be beautiful and achieved in a variety of different ways. By directly engaging our target audiences, LFT will encourage the presence of ENERGY STAR lighting fixtures at retail. Since the application competition is a significant departure from past LFT activities, a new sponsor, Avista Utilities, has volunteered to run a pilot of this competition in 2009.
The 2009 dimming and SSL competitions were announced at the Dallas International Lighting Market on January 15th. Activities will be fully launched pending full funding from sponsors.
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