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Coming in 2011: New Labels for Light Bulb Packaging

Labels Will Emphasize Lumens, Not Watts, as a Measure of Bulb Brightness

Starting in mid-2011, the Federal Trade Commission announced today, consumers shopping for light bulbs will notice new labeling on packaging designed to help them choose among the different types of bulbs on the market – traditional incandescent bulbs, and newer high-efficiency compact fluorescent (CFL) and light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. The new labels will enable consumers to save money by selecting the most efficient bulbs that best fit their lighting needs.

Under direction from Congress to re-examine the current labels, the FTC is announcing a final rule that will require the new labels on light bulb packages. For the first time, the label on the front of the package will emphasize the bulbs’ brightness as measured in lumens, rather than a measurement of watts. The new front-of-package labels also will include the estimated yearly energy cost for the particular type of bulb.

While watt measurements are familiar to consumers and have been featured on the front of light bulb packages for decades, watts are a measurement of energy use, not brightness. As a result, reliance on watt measurements alone make it difficult for consumers to compare traditional incandescent bulbs to more efficient bulbs, such as compact fluorescents. A compact fluorescent bulb may be able to produce the same amount of brightness as a traditional incandescent bulb, while using significantly less energy, or watts. New energy standards mandated by Congress will effectively phase out traditional low-efficiency incandescent bulbs from the U.S. market over the next few years. The new labels that focus on brightness in lumens will help consumers make purchasing decisions as they transition to more energy-efficient types of bulbs.

Under the new rule, the back of each package of light bulbs will have a “Lighting Facts” label modeled after the “Nutrition Facts” label that is currently on food packages. The Lighting Facts label will provide information about:

  • brightness;
  • energy cost;
  • the bulb’s life expectancy;
  • light appearance (for example, if the bulb provides “warm” or “cool” light);
  • wattage (the amount of energy the bulb uses); and
  • whether the bulb contains mercury.

The bulb’s brightness, measured in lumens, and a disclosure for bulbs containing mercury, also will be printed on each bulb.

Read the complete article at Federal Trade Commission

Alliance Says Senate Energy Bill’s ‘Home Star’ Provision Would Create More than 168,000 New Clean Energy Jobs

Washington, D.C., July 27, 2010 – The Alliance to Save Energy expressed its support for inclusion of the Home Star Energy Retrofits Act in the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Spill Accountability Act sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and expected to be introduced later today. The Home Star program, which would create as many as 168,000 American construction jobs over the next two years, offers rebates to homeowners who make energy efficiency home improvements.
“Including Home Star in the Senate energy bill underscores the widespread benefits that energy efficiency offers to U.S. households and to the nation as a whole,” said Alliance President Kateri Callahan.
“With the American construction industry experiencing record unemployment in recent years, it’s time for Congress to deliver a program that will not only create thousands of jobs but also will help thousands of Americans invest in home energy efficiency, thus helping to lay the foundation for a clean energy economy,” she added.
Home Star would provide rebates to homeowners who retrofit their homes with energy-efficient equipment and materials, including insulation, windows and heating and cooling equipment. The legislation would create two rebate programs: Silver Star for those specific improvements, would offer rebates of up to $3,000 per home; Gold Star would offer up to $8,000 per home for whole-house reductions in energy use.
Callahan continued: “While we are disappointed at the limited scope of the overall bill introduced today, Home Star is a creative solution to the energy and economic problems facing our country. It provides needed financial resources to help make it possible for Americans to invest in energy efficiency upgrades so they can realize substantial energy and money savings, improve the comfort of their homes and reduce the amount of pollution that their homes produce. In addition, the work generated by the demand for such home improvements will create up to 168,000 new jobs.
“We call on Congress to pass this provision promptly and set in motion a tidal wave of American energy efficiency investment that will have a positive and immediate impact on our economy.”

The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, economy, and national security.

For further information:

Ronnie Kweller: 202-530-2203

Craig Schattner : (202) 530-4346

More Information on Tax Credits for Efficiency Upgrades

Did you know that small businesses may be eligible for tax incentives for energy-efficiency upgrades made to commercial buildings? The way the credits work for commercial buildings (non-residences that pay taxes) is that you need to show energy saved and do not automatically get credit for installing an ENERGY STAR qualified unit or product, which is different than the way incentives are given for residential credits. Per IRS notice 179D, a tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot is available to owners or designers of new or existing commercial buildings that save at least 50% of the heating and cooling energy of a building that meets ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001. Partial deductions of up to $.60 per square foot can be taken for measures affecting any one of three building systems: the building envelope, lighting, or heating and cooling systems. These tax deductions are available for systems placed in service from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2013. The credits are being administered by the IRS, so although ENERGY STAR can provide you with general information, if you need specific details you may need to speak with your accountant or a representative from the IRS. For information on what falls under the categories “building envelope, lighting, or heating and cooling systems”, how to actually measure energy savings, and how to apply for the credits see the following links.

Federal Tax Credits for Consumer Energy Efficiency

If you purchase an energy-efficient product or renewable energy system for your home, you may be eligible for a federal tax credit. Below you will find an overview of the federal tax credits for energy efficiency.

Please note, not all ENERGY STAR qualified products qualify for a tax credit. ENERGY STAR distinguishes energy efficient products which, although they may cost more to purchase than standard models, will pay you back in lower energy bills within a reasonable amount of time, without a tax credit.

Energy Star Tax Deductions for Commercial Buildings

A tax deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot is available to owners or designers of new or existing commercial buildings that save at least 50% of the heating and cooling energy of a building that meets ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2001. Partial deductions of up to $.60 per square foot can be taken for measures affecting any one of three building systems: the building envelope, lighting, or heating and cooling systems. These tax deductions are available for systems “placed in service” from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2013.

Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency: DSIRE is a comprehensive source of information on state, local, utility and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Established in 1995 and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, DSIRE is an ongoing project of the N.C. Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council.

DOE Webinar: Petroleum Reduction in the Transportation Sector

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Technical Assistance Project (TAP) for state and local officials presents a Webinar about how to use online tools and resources for petroleum reduction projects in the transportation sector. At the Webinar, you will learn how to use online calculators, databases, and interactive maps that can help you fine-tune your transportation programs to fit local conditions.

The presentation will take place this Wednesday, July 28, from 12:00 to 1:15 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, and is titled “Clean Cities and Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC): Tools and Resources for Petroleum Reduction in the Transportation Sector.”  The speakers will be Wendy DaFoe, Clean Cities project leader at the DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Johanna Levene, senior applications engineer at NREL.

Webinar section of the DOE Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program Web site.

America’s Energy Future: A Transportation Perspective

The National Academies’ America’s Energy Future project aims to stimulate and inform a constructive national dialogue about the nation’s energy future. With a sustained national commitment, the United States could achieve considerable energy-efficiency improvements, acquire new sources of energy supply, and effect substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through the accelerated development and deployment of a portfolio of existing and emerging energy-supply and end-use technologies.

The future of America’s energy is closely connected to the development and direction of the transportation sector.  This webinar will explore America’s Energy Future project through the eyes of transportation professionals. Presenters will discuss the impact that petroleum has on the economy and national security, the ability to incorporate liquid fuels produced from coal and biomass into U.S. energy strategy, and the development of efficiency technologies and new vehicles that could reduce projected U.S. energy use.  People interested in the intersection between energy and transportation should attend this webinar.
Register at Transportation Research Board

Stormwater Model to Inform Regulators on Future Development Projects

North Carolina State University researchers have developed a computer model that will accurately predict stormwater pollution impacts from proposed real-estate developments — allowing regulators to make informed decisions about which development projects can be approved without endangering water quality. The model could serve as a blueprint for similar efforts across the country.

“The model is designed to evaluate the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus found in stormwater runoff from residential and commercial developments — particularly runoff from a completed project, not a site that is under construction,” says Dr. Bill Hunt, an associate professor and extension specialist of biological and agricultural engineering at NC State who helped develop the model. “To comply with regional water-quality regulations, cities and counties have to account for nutrient loads,” Hunt says, “but the existing tools are antiquated and aren’t giving us sufficiently accurate data.”

The researchers developed the model using chemical, physical and land-use data specific to North Carolina and surrounding states. This allowed them to account for regional conditions, which will improve the model’s accuracy. “Because the model uses regional data, it could be modified easily for use east of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina and adjoining states,” Hunt says.

The model could also serve as a blueprint for similar efforts nationally. “The primary obstacle to applying this model outside North Carolina — in Florida or Colorado, for example — would be collecting relevant data from those areas and incorporating it into the model’s framework,” Hunt says. “The actual model itself would be fairly easy to modify.”

Read the complete article at Science Daily

Will the Great Basin Finally Get The Attention That It So Ecologically Deserves?

An ad hoc group of concerned stakeholders, the PJ Partnership, is gathering steam.  The groups goal is to establish a landscape-scaled demonstration project in Northeast Nevada aimed at rangeland restoration.  The target of this project is the incursive Pinyon Pine and Single Needle Juniper, affectionately known as PJ.  There are literally millions of tons of the small trees/large bushes which also bear the classification of “biomass” located throughout the 40,000 square miles that constitute the Great Basin.

There are many problems with the PJ.  It’s an incursive species—leaving its natural ranges.  Each tree aspires more than 50 gallons of water each day.  It’s crowding out sagebrush and affecting the Sage Grouse populations.  And it’s one hell of a fire hazard.  It catches fire easily.  Hundreds of thousands of acres burn, releasing carbon to the air.  The list goes on and on.

Solutions?  Well, the Federal land managers—mainly BLM and USFS—are using what funds they do have to practice “restoration forestry”—largely thinning out the trees and chipping or grinding them in place.  There is no lumber to be had and no market for the chips.  We hope that’s soon to change.

You can make stuff out of PJ biomass—mulch, compost, fire bricks—easily enough.  There is the potential to haul the chips to a power-plant and co-fire the coal with some of the chips.  There is one chip boiler in the state—White Pine school district—but it only uses 500 tons per year.  Some scientists are investigating bio-char (charcoal for soil amendment) and cellulosic ethanol products.

Two big questions remain—Will Congress be able to provide the hundreds of millions of dollars to restore the rangelands and watershed?  And, more importantly, will the Partnership gain the “social license” to complete the tasks?

Intersolar: Lower Prices on Solar BUT Barriers To Growth

The Intersolar Conference held in San Francisco was a dramatic demonstration of the Green Economic Revolution’s potential for delivering lower prices, a cleaner environment, economic development and jobs.

I worked the after-conference receptions to gain candid information on solar’s current pricing and future. I was blown away by how low solar prices have fallen. I can’t name names due to confidentialities but I heard concrete examples from solar power developers that utility scale PV panels are selling for around $1.75-$1.85 per watt. This is approximately 60-70% LESS than the price for panels just four years ago! Inverters are now priced around 40+ cents per watt. Completed solar power plants are coming on line at $3.50 to $4 per watt.
The spark behind this dramatic price drop is worldwide competition. The Intersolar Conference filled THREE huge conference floors within the Moscone Center with solar technology vendors including what appeared to be an entire floor of Chinese companies offering solar panel and solar hot water heating technologies. Also represented was an impressive array of manufacturers from Japan, Europe and the U.S. including a really cool technology developed by DEGERenergie, a German company that enables a solar panel to so effectively track the sun’s UV radiation that it increases a solar system’s output by 40+%.

But there is a dark cloud hanging over the bright future for solar and the smart grid. A common theme expressed in private conversations and public panel discussions was a view of utilities as the 800-pound gorilla standing in the way of progress.

Read the complete article at Triple Pundit