Fluorescent Magnetic T12 Ballast Phaseout: It's Time to Upgrade Existing Lighting and Control Systems
by Craig DiLouie, Lighting Controls Association
Posted August 2010
Last month, we covered regulations covering fluorescent ballasts that have essentially eliminated the magnetic T12 ballast with few exceptions, including F40T12, F96T12 and F96T12HO ballasts for both full-wattage and energy-saving versions of these lamps.
Two years later, in 2012, additional regulations will take effect, creating new energy standards for selected linear T5, T8 and T12 lamps. The net result, with few exceptions, is a majority of 4-ft. linear and 2-ft. U-shaped T12, many 8-ft. T12 and T12HO, and some low-color-rendering 4-ft. T8 lamps will be eliminated.
Based on these facts, one could make a simple argument that it is now time to upgrade existing lighting and control systems to improve energy efficiency and lighting quality.
Replace individually or in a planned upgrade?
A basic choice will be whether to replace the existing T12 lighting system all at once in a planned upgrade or replace individual components as they fail.
At first glance, replacing individual components as they fail appears to be the easiest path forward as it avoids the upfront cost of equipment and installation labor and potential disruption of a renovation.
However, a planned upgrade presents several major advantages:
good lighting performance, uniformity and space appearance by switching from T12 to T8 all at once, avoiding confusion resulting from maintaining two incompatibility lamp and ballast types in inventory; and most importantly:
higher energy savings and greater lighting quality resulting from reevaluating the existing lighting system and upgrading it to current best practices. Once a decision is made to upgrade the lighting system, the owner has taken control of the situation and can maximize the benefit of the new lighting.
The biggest energy-saving and lighting quality opportunities are in:
older, overlighted buildings that use older technologies such as T12 systems
where utility costs are very high; and
where lighting is uncontrolled and left ON all night.
T12 systems, for example, can be upgraded to realize energy savings as high as 50% or more in offices, classrooms and other applications, according to the National Lighting Bureau.
Retrofit or redesign?
The next basic choice facing the facility manager is whether to retrofit or redesign. In a retrofit, new lamps and ballasts are installed in existing fixtures and existing controls replaced. In a redesign, the fixtures themselves may be replaced or moved.
Good lighting quality accounts for factors such as visual comfort, glare, uniformity, color rendering, lighting on walls and ceilings, and harsh patterns, shadows and flicker. If the building’s primary spaces have been retasked to new purposes for which the existing lighting system provides insufficient lighting conditions, or uniformity is poor, or there is little light on walls and ceilings, or there are obvious, unaddressed sources of glare, and if occupants are unhappy with their lighting, then the space may benefit from a redesign.
The owner may benefit prior to the upgrade by simply asking occupants—the people who use the lighting regularly—whether they are satisfied with their lighting, what their lighting problems are, and what they want.
Lamps and ballasts
Energy-efficient lighting technologies have had decades to develop and so many good, reliable solutions are now available from manufacturers.
Regarding lamps and ballasts, consider T8 systems. There are now 23W, 25W, 28W, 32W (normal output) and 32W (high output, or “Super T8”) T8 lamps available offering a choice of power and light output.
There are also electronic ballasts available with a range of efficiencies and ballast factors enabling further tuning of light output. The most efficient ballasts carry the NEMA Premium mark on the ballast label. Dimmable ballasts are becoming more efficient, versatile and affordable, making dimmable general lighting a reality.
Regarding fixtures, consider T5 systems, direct/indirect lighting and, if recessed, volumetric-distribution fixtures that place some light on walls to eliminate the “cave effect” common with some parabolic fixtures. LED lighting offers exciting opportunities to dramatically improve efficiency but as the overall technology is still relatively new, owners should proceed with caution, particularly when confronted by options such as LED T8 lamp replacements, which have not faired well in independent product testing at the Department of Energy.
Lighting controls
According to the New Buildings Institute, advanced lighting controls can generate up to 50% lighting energy savings in existing buildings. Effective strategies include automatic shutoff, light reduction control, daylight harvesting and demand response.
The biggest challenge to incorporating advanced control strategies to an existing building is adding low-voltage control wiring, generally limiting opportunities for installation of sophisticated control systems. As a result, the simplest upgrade options involve the least amount of rewiring or simply swapping out older ballasts and controls for new controls.
The easiest controls retrofit involves replacing components with the least amount of rewiring. While this often leads to occupancy sensors and lighting panelboard upgrades, new wireless controls and the falling cost of dimming ballasts are expanding the potential role for lighting control in building upgrades. Photo courtesy of WattStopper.
The first lighting control strategy to consider is automatic shutoff. It is considered the easiest, lowest-risk path to energy savings and is relatively simple to set up and commission. If LEED (for existing buildings) is used as a model path or actual requirement for the upgrade, this will be essential, as LEED requires that buildings meet the ASHRAE 90.1 energy standard as a prerequisite to gaining points for transcending it.
Start at the lighting panel. Are there large, open spaces in the building with predictable hours of operation? Are there public spaces where the lights must stay ON even when a space is unoccupied? If so, consider upgrading the existing lighting panelboard to an intelligent lighting control panel that offers programmable scheduling. Be sure to give local users override capability with a maximum 2- to 4-hour override.
Next, consider replacing the wall switch. Are there smaller, enclosed spaces in the building that are intermittently occupied during the day and are lighted with instant-ON light sources? If so, consider replacing toggle wall switches with occupancy sensors. If there is a clear line of sight between the switch and the primary task area, PIR sensors can present a cost-effective option. If greater sensitivity is needed for small levels of motion or if there are obstacles between the wall switch and the task, consider ultrasonic. For the ultimate in reliability, consider dual-technology sensors.
If the space is a private office already circuited for bilevel switching, consider replacing the manual switches with a manual-ON/auto-OFF occupancy sensor for the highest positive energy savings and some flexibility. If the space requires an occupancy sensor be installed in a location other than at the wall switch, consider wireless occupancy sensors that run on batteries or ambient light in the space harvested using an integral solar cell. These sensors install anywhere within range of the receiver switch, which replaces the wall switch, and present no wiring requirements, although wireless technology is presently a premium option. Similarly, wireless photosensors are also available.
If the upgrade involves replacing light fixtures, consider integral controls. In a workstation-specific open office lighting layout, for example, direct/indirect fixtures can be installed that include an integral occupancy sensor and/or, if placed in a daylight zone, a photosensor and dimmable ballast, with the control wiring located inside the fixture. If the space is a hibay lighting application where metal halide is being replaced by fluorescent fixtures, consider fixture-integrated or mounted line-voltage occupancy sensors, which can be an economical addition to a new fluorescent fixture or separate add-on that is field installed. Photosensors could be similarly added for control of fixtures mounted over spaces that receive ample daylight from skylights.
Light levels can be stepped using a single ballast called a step dimming or light level switching ballast. If the existing space is already circuited for bilevel switching, step-dimming ballasts can be installed to ensure light levels are reduced uniformly, without a checkerboard pattern. These ballasts can operate without low-voltage wiring. Most products are programmed-start T8 ballasts, which may experience a loss of efficacy during light level reduction; dimming to 50%, for example, may reduce wattage by 40%. Instant-start step-dimming ballasts are available that offer proportional reductions in light output and input watts, although instant-start operation is not recommended by some manufacturers for applications with five or more ON/OFF cycles per day. Other hi/lo switching opportunities include corridors that receive a lot of daylight (with a photosensor) and stairwells (with an occupancy sensor).
Continuous-dimming ballast costs have been falling for years, putting this control method within reach of many upgrade projects. Efficiency has also improved such that dimmable ballasts are available that are as efficacious as standard instant-start fixed-output ballasts. Look for the NEMA Premium label for the most efficient ballasts.
Step-dimming ballasts provide uniform light level reduction without a checkerboard pattern. Photo courtesy of Universal Lighting Technologies.
Some dimming ballasts are available that communicate with lighting controls using existing line-voltage wiring. Two-wire phase-control dimming ballasts use existing line-voltage lines for both power and communication and are suitable for any application where greater flexibility is desired, such as conference rooms, boardrooms and private offices. A dimming range of 100-5% is available for T8 lamps and CFLs, and 100-1% for T5HO lamps. The lighting is typically controlled via local controls accessible to occupants.
Line-voltage stepped dimming (“load shedding” or “demand response”) ballasts may be combined with specialized energy management systems enabling a preset light level reduction, with a fade transition between light levels, in response to a variety of control inputs such as photosensors and schedules. The ballast may be combined with a signal transmitter that initiates load shedding in response to some type of demand response program. While demand response is still emerging as a trend, it will likely play a larger role in lighting in the future.
The ultimate control upgrade involves creating a fully realized lighting control system combining multiple strategies. In spaces where stationary tasks are performed, dimming will be preferable to switching while the space is occupied. If the ballasts will be replaced with dimmable ballasts, then multiple strategies should be enacted to make this installation more economical. When wiring a control system enacting multiple strategies around a dimmable ballast, one should consider a digital communication architecture, which eliminates multiple home runs and produces installation savings. If a digital architecture is chosen, one can consider creating a system out of DALI-compatible components, or specifying a proprietary system built around relays in distributed power packs and occupancy sensors, or digital dimming ballasts.
Finally, if the existing installation already includes automatic lighting controls that will be retained after the upgrade, ensure these controls are working properly by re-commissioning them as part of the project. The system may have been improperly designed, installed or commissioned when first put in place, or its operating parameters may have drifted out of sync with the space and how its lighting is used. Re-commissioning can therefore become a source of energy savings by itself.
The bottom line is that in most spaces, simple control strategies can be economically incorporated into lamp/ballast upgrades and fixture replacement projects, accelerating energy savings and, in some cases, improving flexibility.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Electrical Energy Management
The Energy Management Standard is Coming, is Your Organization Ready?
Whether in the United States or across the world, in industrial or commercial settings, energy must be managed. End users of energy often cannot control energy prices, political events or global economic shocks, but they can manage how they use energy. The ISO Energy Management Standard (ISO 50001) offers a promising mechanism to help end users proactively assess, measure and manage their energy consumption.
The ISO 50001 Energy Management System Standard has the potential to impact up to 60 percent of global energy demand based on broad applicability across multiple sectors. Once finalized in 2011, the ISO 50001 Standard will be able to help a wide variety of organizations in multiple sectors implement an energy management system for continuous improvement. By conforming to this standard, companies and other organizations will have a methodology that will enable them to manage energy use, address carbon emissions and demonstrate corporate social responsibility.
ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard
Today, energy management is a subjective concept with an array of programs across companies and institutions. The ISO 50001 Standard addresses this very issue. As an internationally recognized standard, ISO 50001 will provide a uniform framework under which an adopter may develop its own Energy Management Plan tailored to its personnel, facilities, operations and resources. ISO 50001 also will help companies and governments achieve continuous progress toward energy efficiency gains, quantifiable energy reduction and third-party verification of energy savings.
ISO 50001 currently is available as a Draft International Standard. The standard is being developed through a project committee consisting of 41 participating countries and 10 countries with observer status and is expected to be approved and published by the middle of 2011.
The ISO 50001 Standard will establish a framework for industrial plants and commercial facilities, as well as government and institutional organizations to manage energy use by integrating energy efficiency into their management practices. This is accomplished by requiring organizations to establish, implement, maintain and improve their energy management systems, enabling systematic achievement of continual improvement in energy performance, energy efficiency and energy conservation. To this end, the ISO 50001 Standard contains requirements on energy supply and consumption, including:
•Measurement
•Documentation and reporting
•Design and procurement practices for energy-using equipment and systems
•Processes and personnel
ISO 50001 applies to all factors that can be monitored and influenced by the organization to affect energy use. In addition, the ISO 50001 Standard is designed to be used independently and to be compatible with other ISO management systems such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, which are widely used worldwide.
Implementation of the ISO 50001 Standard could have several significant potential impacts. By managing energy more effectively, industrial plants and commercial and institutional buildings could achieve energy-savings of between 10 and 30 percent, and even more in some cases. Because of its widespread applicability, the ISO 50001 Standard could influence up to 60 percents of the world’s energy use across many economic sectors.
Adoption of ISO 50001 will be driven by companies seeking an internationally recognized response to:
•Corporate sustainability programs
•Energy cost-reduction initiatives
•Demand created along the manufacturing supply chain
•Future national cap and trade programs; carbon or energy taxes; increasing market value of “green manufacturing” and reduced carbon footprint
•International climate agreements
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports the development of ISO 50001 because it will complement their efforts to reduce energy intensity in U.S. industrial facilities. The DOE views the ISO 50001 Standard as a foundational tool that any facility can use to manage energy consumption. To that end, DOE supports the industry-led Superior Energy Performance (SEP) program; a voluntary program that certifies industrial facilities for energy efficiency; a key condition of certification is conformance to ISO 50001.
Whether in the United States or across the world, in industrial or commercial settings, energy must be managed. End users of energy often cannot control energy prices, political events or global economic shocks, but they can manage how they use energy. The ISO Energy Management Standard (ISO 50001) offers a promising mechanism to help end users proactively assess, measure and manage their energy consumption.
The ISO 50001 Energy Management System Standard has the potential to impact up to 60 percent of global energy demand based on broad applicability across multiple sectors. Once finalized in 2011, the ISO 50001 Standard will be able to help a wide variety of organizations in multiple sectors implement an energy management system for continuous improvement. By conforming to this standard, companies and other organizations will have a methodology that will enable them to manage energy use, address carbon emissions and demonstrate corporate social responsibility.
ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard
Today, energy management is a subjective concept with an array of programs across companies and institutions. The ISO 50001 Standard addresses this very issue. As an internationally recognized standard, ISO 50001 will provide a uniform framework under which an adopter may develop its own Energy Management Plan tailored to its personnel, facilities, operations and resources. ISO 50001 also will help companies and governments achieve continuous progress toward energy efficiency gains, quantifiable energy reduction and third-party verification of energy savings.
ISO 50001 currently is available as a Draft International Standard. The standard is being developed through a project committee consisting of 41 participating countries and 10 countries with observer status and is expected to be approved and published by the middle of 2011.
The ISO 50001 Standard will establish a framework for industrial plants and commercial facilities, as well as government and institutional organizations to manage energy use by integrating energy efficiency into their management practices. This is accomplished by requiring organizations to establish, implement, maintain and improve their energy management systems, enabling systematic achievement of continual improvement in energy performance, energy efficiency and energy conservation. To this end, the ISO 50001 Standard contains requirements on energy supply and consumption, including:
•Measurement
•Documentation and reporting
•Design and procurement practices for energy-using equipment and systems
•Processes and personnel
ISO 50001 applies to all factors that can be monitored and influenced by the organization to affect energy use. In addition, the ISO 50001 Standard is designed to be used independently and to be compatible with other ISO management systems such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, which are widely used worldwide.
Implementation of the ISO 50001 Standard could have several significant potential impacts. By managing energy more effectively, industrial plants and commercial and institutional buildings could achieve energy-savings of between 10 and 30 percent, and even more in some cases. Because of its widespread applicability, the ISO 50001 Standard could influence up to 60 percents of the world’s energy use across many economic sectors.
Adoption of ISO 50001 will be driven by companies seeking an internationally recognized response to:
•Corporate sustainability programs
•Energy cost-reduction initiatives
•Demand created along the manufacturing supply chain
•Future national cap and trade programs; carbon or energy taxes; increasing market value of “green manufacturing” and reduced carbon footprint
•International climate agreements
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports the development of ISO 50001 because it will complement their efforts to reduce energy intensity in U.S. industrial facilities. The DOE views the ISO 50001 Standard as a foundational tool that any facility can use to manage energy consumption. To that end, DOE supports the industry-led Superior Energy Performance (SEP) program; a voluntary program that certifies industrial facilities for energy efficiency; a key condition of certification is conformance to ISO 50001.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Alternative energy
Zuma in China: Renewables high on agenda
South African
President Jacob Zuma
26 August 2010 - Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd, China's largest maker of solar panels, said on Thursday that it has signed a deal to develop solar plants in South Africa with up to 100 megawatts in capacity as the country looks to boost clean energy output.
The signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU), which coincided with the visit by South African President Jacob Zuma to China, was one of a dozen deals involving investments in energy, power transmission and railways between the two nations.
Zuma has urged China to invest more in infrastructure and manufacturing in his country, as his government seeks to broaden South Africa's economic appeal beyond mines and resources.
Analysts say total investment for building a 100 MW solar power plant could be between $350 million and $400 million.
"This (deal) highlights that there are so many markets that are completely off the radar screen for people who follow the sector, South Africa being one of them," said CLSA analyst Charles Yonts. "It's good for Suntech most definitely."
Suntech sells solar equipment to Australia, Germany, Japan, Peru, Spain, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
The deal also highlights China's desire to export its infrastructure and building expertise, with Beijing offering cheap loans to countries that agree to let Chinese companies build power plants, roads and telecommunications networks.
Suntech's non-binding MOU had no financial terms, Rory Macpherson, director of investor relations, told Reuters. He declined to name the South African companies in the project.
"We're exploring development of solar projects with an unnamed solar firm," Macpherson said, declining give a timetable for the investments.
"Obviously, we are committed to developing the solar market in South Africa. We will look for solar opportunities as soon as possible," he said, adding that the total size of the photovoltaic market in South Africa could be more than $1 billion.
Suntech's agreement is the latest among Chinese renewable energy companies looking to enter South Africa.
China Longyuan Power Group Corp Ltd, the nation's biggest wind power producer, has said it is setting up wind projects in South Africa, according to media reports. Longyuan was not immediately available for comment.
Those deals included a 240 million euro loan agreement between South Africa's third-largest mobile phone operator, Cell C, and China Development Bank, and a memorandum of understanding signed between South Africa's Standard Bank Group and China Railway Group Ltd to cooperate on funding for rail and infrastructure projects in Africa.
South African
President Jacob Zuma
26 August 2010 - Suntech Power Holdings Co Ltd, China's largest maker of solar panels, said on Thursday that it has signed a deal to develop solar plants in South Africa with up to 100 megawatts in capacity as the country looks to boost clean energy output.
The signing of the memorandum of understanding (MOU), which coincided with the visit by South African President Jacob Zuma to China, was one of a dozen deals involving investments in energy, power transmission and railways between the two nations.
Zuma has urged China to invest more in infrastructure and manufacturing in his country, as his government seeks to broaden South Africa's economic appeal beyond mines and resources.
Analysts say total investment for building a 100 MW solar power plant could be between $350 million and $400 million.
"This (deal) highlights that there are so many markets that are completely off the radar screen for people who follow the sector, South Africa being one of them," said CLSA analyst Charles Yonts. "It's good for Suntech most definitely."
Suntech sells solar equipment to Australia, Germany, Japan, Peru, Spain, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
The deal also highlights China's desire to export its infrastructure and building expertise, with Beijing offering cheap loans to countries that agree to let Chinese companies build power plants, roads and telecommunications networks.
Suntech's non-binding MOU had no financial terms, Rory Macpherson, director of investor relations, told Reuters. He declined to name the South African companies in the project.
"We're exploring development of solar projects with an unnamed solar firm," Macpherson said, declining give a timetable for the investments.
"Obviously, we are committed to developing the solar market in South Africa. We will look for solar opportunities as soon as possible," he said, adding that the total size of the photovoltaic market in South Africa could be more than $1 billion.
Suntech's agreement is the latest among Chinese renewable energy companies looking to enter South Africa.
China Longyuan Power Group Corp Ltd, the nation's biggest wind power producer, has said it is setting up wind projects in South Africa, according to media reports. Longyuan was not immediately available for comment.
Those deals included a 240 million euro loan agreement between South Africa's third-largest mobile phone operator, Cell C, and China Development Bank, and a memorandum of understanding signed between South Africa's Standard Bank Group and China Railway Group Ltd to cooperate on funding for rail and infrastructure projects in Africa.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Electrical Energy Management
Iran provides finance for Zimbabwe's energy sector
A Zimbabwean diplomat announced that Iran has opened a multi-million-euro credit line to aid the African state in financing its energy sector.
Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Iran Nicholas Kitikiti said that Iran's €40 million credit line will finance energy, banking and industrial projects in the African country.
The funds would be used to rehabilitate the country's main power station to increase electricity supplies and reduce rationing, Kitikiti has said.
"The facility is there and waiting for us to harness. I am sure this will go a long way in assisting us in our economic development programs," Nicholas Kitikiti said, referring to the Iranian credit line.
He said Zimbabwe had already opened negotiations with Iran for further lines of credit covering the agriculture, health and technology sectors.
In April 2010, Iran and Zimbabwe signed 11 documents for expansion of cooperation between the two countries in different fields.
The protocols, signed during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the African state, envision cooperation in the fields of tourism, science, technology, youth affairs, transportation, aviation and education as well as lifting political and service visa issuance.
Furthermore, Iran's Export Guarantee Fund and Zimbabwe Finance Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the meeting as the two countries' officials agreed on formation of mutual investment companies and drawing up executive plans for scientific, cultural, and technical cooperation.
A Zimbabwean diplomat announced that Iran has opened a multi-million-euro credit line to aid the African state in financing its energy sector.
Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Iran Nicholas Kitikiti said that Iran's €40 million credit line will finance energy, banking and industrial projects in the African country.
The funds would be used to rehabilitate the country's main power station to increase electricity supplies and reduce rationing, Kitikiti has said.
"The facility is there and waiting for us to harness. I am sure this will go a long way in assisting us in our economic development programs," Nicholas Kitikiti said, referring to the Iranian credit line.
He said Zimbabwe had already opened negotiations with Iran for further lines of credit covering the agriculture, health and technology sectors.
In April 2010, Iran and Zimbabwe signed 11 documents for expansion of cooperation between the two countries in different fields.
The protocols, signed during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to the African state, envision cooperation in the fields of tourism, science, technology, youth affairs, transportation, aviation and education as well as lifting political and service visa issuance.
Furthermore, Iran's Export Guarantee Fund and Zimbabwe Finance Ministry signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the meeting as the two countries' officials agreed on formation of mutual investment companies and drawing up executive plans for scientific, cultural, and technical cooperation.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Lighting Control
Fluorescent Magnetic T12 Ballast: RIP
by Craig DiLouie, Lighting Controls Association
Posted July 2010
This month, Federal efficiency standards regulating fluorescent magnetic T12 ballasts entered their final phase, effectively eliminating these ballasts from the market, with few exceptions.
Between 2005 and 2010, efficiency standards created by Department of Energy regulations became phased into effect, covering magnetic ballasts designed to operate full-wattage F40T12, F96T12 and F96T12HO lamps.
By 2006, ballast manufacturers were no longer allowed to sell them to fixture manufacturers and fixture manufacturers were no longer allowed to sell them to the public.
As of July 1, 2010, ballast manufacturers were prohibited from manufacturing even replacement ballasts that did not meet the new standards.
Between July 2009 and July 2010, additional rules created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 went into effect that expanded the energy standards to cover energy-saving versions of these T12 lamps (e.g., 34W F40T12 lamps).
As no ballasts meet these standards, the industry's least-efficient fluorescent ballasts have been eliminated from the market, which will result in a shift to higher-efficiency ballasts (i.e., electronic) in existing installations. The market has already largely shifted to electronic ballasts in new fixtures but a significant number of magnetic ballasts are sold each year for replacement purposes in existing buildings. For example, according to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), about 7% of the ballast market was magnetic ballasts.
Even as owners begin to upgrade existing buildings, magnetic ballasts will continue to be sold, however. These include recognized exceptions, including ballasts designed:
• for dimming to 50 percent or less of their maximum light output;
• for use with two F96T12HO lamps at ambient temperatures of -20ºF and for use in outdoor signs; or
• labeled for use only in residential applications and have a power factor of less than 0.90.
On July 14, 2012, recently enacted DOE regulations will take effect that will also eliminate the T12 lamps that the ballasts operate.
The new DOE rules expand on efficiency rules established by the Energy Policy Act of 1992 by strengthening standards for covered lamps types while also covering 8-ft. T8 lamps, 4-ft. T5 lamps and more wattages of 4-ft. T8 and T12 lamps. The net result, with few exceptions, is a majority of 4-ft. linear and 2-ft. U-shaped T12 lamps, many 8-ft. T12 and T12HO, and some low-color-rendering 4-ft. T8 lamps will be eliminated. While no longer popular in new construction, an estimated 30 percent of fluorescent 4-ft. lamps sold every year are T12, according to NEMA market data.
For more information about the law and current product availability, consult the ballast manufacturers
by Craig DiLouie, Lighting Controls Association
Posted July 2010
This month, Federal efficiency standards regulating fluorescent magnetic T12 ballasts entered their final phase, effectively eliminating these ballasts from the market, with few exceptions.
Between 2005 and 2010, efficiency standards created by Department of Energy regulations became phased into effect, covering magnetic ballasts designed to operate full-wattage F40T12, F96T12 and F96T12HO lamps.
By 2006, ballast manufacturers were no longer allowed to sell them to fixture manufacturers and fixture manufacturers were no longer allowed to sell them to the public.
As of July 1, 2010, ballast manufacturers were prohibited from manufacturing even replacement ballasts that did not meet the new standards.
Between July 2009 and July 2010, additional rules created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 went into effect that expanded the energy standards to cover energy-saving versions of these T12 lamps (e.g., 34W F40T12 lamps).
As no ballasts meet these standards, the industry's least-efficient fluorescent ballasts have been eliminated from the market, which will result in a shift to higher-efficiency ballasts (i.e., electronic) in existing installations. The market has already largely shifted to electronic ballasts in new fixtures but a significant number of magnetic ballasts are sold each year for replacement purposes in existing buildings. For example, according to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), about 7% of the ballast market was magnetic ballasts.
Even as owners begin to upgrade existing buildings, magnetic ballasts will continue to be sold, however. These include recognized exceptions, including ballasts designed:
• for dimming to 50 percent or less of their maximum light output;
• for use with two F96T12HO lamps at ambient temperatures of -20ºF and for use in outdoor signs; or
• labeled for use only in residential applications and have a power factor of less than 0.90.
On July 14, 2012, recently enacted DOE regulations will take effect that will also eliminate the T12 lamps that the ballasts operate.
The new DOE rules expand on efficiency rules established by the Energy Policy Act of 1992 by strengthening standards for covered lamps types while also covering 8-ft. T8 lamps, 4-ft. T5 lamps and more wattages of 4-ft. T8 and T12 lamps. The net result, with few exceptions, is a majority of 4-ft. linear and 2-ft. U-shaped T12 lamps, many 8-ft. T12 and T12HO, and some low-color-rendering 4-ft. T8 lamps will be eliminated. While no longer popular in new construction, an estimated 30 percent of fluorescent 4-ft. lamps sold every year are T12, according to NEMA market data.
For more information about the law and current product availability, consult the ballast manufacturers
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Lighting control and energy management
China Fears Warming Effects of Consumer Wants
Jul 5, 2010 New York Times
GUANGZHOU, China — Premier Wen Jiabao has promised to use an “iron hand” this summer to make his nation more energy efficient. The central government has ordered cities to close inefficient factories by September, like the vast Guangzhou Steel mill here, where most of the 6,000 workers will be laid off or pushed into early retirement.
Already, in the last three years, China has shut down more than a thousand older coal-fired power plants that used technology of the sort still common in the United States. China has also surpassed the rest of the world as the biggest investor in wind turbines and other clean energy technology. And it has dictated tough new energy standards for lighting and gas mileage for cars.
But even as Beijing imposes the world’s most rigorous national energy campaign, the effort is being overwhelmed by the billionfold demands of Chinese consumers.
Chinese and Western energy experts worry that China’s energy challenge could become the world’s problem — possibly dooming any international efforts to place meaningful limits on global warming.
If China cannot meet its own energy-efficiency targets, the chances of avoiding widespread environmental damage from rising temperatures “are very close to zero,” said Fatih Birol, the chief economist of the International Energy Agency in Paris.
Aspiring to a more Western standard of living, in many cases with the government’s encouragement, China’s population, 1.3 billion strong, is clamoring for more and bigger cars, for electricity-dependent home appliances and for more creature comforts like air-conditioned shopping malls.
As a result, China is actually becoming even less energy efficient. And because most of its energy is still produced by burning fossil fuels, China’s emission of carbon dioxide — a so-called greenhouse gas — is growing worse. This past winter and spring showed the largest six-month increase in tonnage ever by a single country.
Until recently, projections by both the International Energy Agency and the Energy Information Administration in Washington had assumed that, even without an international energy agreement to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, China would achieve rapid improvements in energy efficiency through 2020.
But now China is struggling to limit emissions even to the “business as usual” levels that climate models assume if the world does little to address global warming.
“We really have an arduous task” even to reach China’s existing energy-efficiency goals, said Gao Shixian, an energy official at the National Development and Reform Commission, in a speech at the Clean Energy Expo China in late June in Beijing.
China’s goal has been to reduce energy consumption per unit of economic output by 20 percent this year compared with 2005, and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases per unit of economic output by 40 to 45 percent in 2020 compared with 2005.
But even if China can make the promised improvements, the International Energy Agency now projects that China’s emissions of energy-related greenhouse gases will grow more than the rest of the world’s combined increase by 2020. China, with one-fifth of the world’s population, is now on track to represent more than a quarter of humanity’s energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions.
Industry by industry, energy demand in China is increasing so fast that the broader efficiency targets are becoming harder to hit.
¶Although China has passed the United States in the average efficiency of its coal-fired power plants, demand for electricity is so voracious that China last year built new coal-fired plants with a total capacity greater than all existing power plants in New York State.
¶While China has imposed lighting efficiency standards on new buildings and is drafting similar standards for household appliances, construction of apartment and office buildings proceeds at a frenzied pace. And rural sales of refrigerators, washing machines and other large household appliances more than doubled in the past year in response to government subsidies aimed at helping 700 million peasants afford modern amenities.
¶As the economy becomes more reliant on domestic demand instead of exports, growth is shifting toward energy-hungry steel and cement production and away from light industries like toys and apparel.
¶Chinese cars get 40 percent better gas mileage on average than American cars because they tend to be much smaller and have weaker engines. And China is drafting regulations that would require cars within each size category to improve their mileage by 18 percent over the next five years. But China’s auto market soared 48 percent in 2009, surpassing the American market for the first time, and car sales are rising almost as rapidly again this year.
One of the newest factors in China’s energy use has emerged beyond the planning purview of policy makers in Beijing, in the form of labor unrest at factories across the country.
An older generation of low-wage migrant workers accepted hot dormitories and factories with barely a fan to keep them cool, one of many reasons Chinese emissions per person are still a third of American emissions per person. Besides higher pay, young Chinese are now demanding their own 100-square-foot studio apartments, with air-conditioning at home and in factories. Indeed, one of the demands by workers who went on strike in May at a Honda transmission factory in Foshan was that the air-conditioning thermostats be set lower.
Chinese regulations still mandate that the air-conditioning in most places be set no cooler than 79 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. But upscale shopping malls have long been exempt from the thermostat controls and have maintained much cooler temperatures through the summers. Now, as the consumer economy takes root, those malls are proliferating in cities across China.
Premier Wen acknowledged in a statement after a cabinet meeting in May that the efficiency gains had started to reverse and actually deteriorated by 3.2 percent in the first quarter of this year. He cited a lack of controls on energy-intensive industries, although the economic rebound from the global financial crisis may have also played a role.
Global climate discussions, in pinning hopes on China’s ability to vastly improve its efficient use of energy, have tended to cite International Energy Agency data showing that China uses twice as much energy per dollar of output as the United States and three times as much as the European Union. The implicit assumption is that China can greatly improve efficiency because it must still be relying mainly on wasteful, aging boilers and outmoded power plants.
But David Fridley, a longtime specialist in China’s energy at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, said that the comparison to the United States and the European Union was misleading.
Manufacturing makes up three times as much of the Chinese economy as it does the American economy, and it is energy-intensive. If the United States had much more manufacturing, Mr. Fridley said, it would also use considerably more energy per dollar of output.
“China has been trying to grab the low-lying fruit — to find those opportunities where increased efficiency can save money and reduce carbon-dioxide emissions,” said Ken Caldeira, a climate change specialist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, Calif. “It is starting to look like it might not be that easy to find and grab this fruit.”
Jul 5, 2010 New York Times
GUANGZHOU, China — Premier Wen Jiabao has promised to use an “iron hand” this summer to make his nation more energy efficient. The central government has ordered cities to close inefficient factories by September, like the vast Guangzhou Steel mill here, where most of the 6,000 workers will be laid off or pushed into early retirement.
Already, in the last three years, China has shut down more than a thousand older coal-fired power plants that used technology of the sort still common in the United States. China has also surpassed the rest of the world as the biggest investor in wind turbines and other clean energy technology. And it has dictated tough new energy standards for lighting and gas mileage for cars.
But even as Beijing imposes the world’s most rigorous national energy campaign, the effort is being overwhelmed by the billionfold demands of Chinese consumers.
Chinese and Western energy experts worry that China’s energy challenge could become the world’s problem — possibly dooming any international efforts to place meaningful limits on global warming.
If China cannot meet its own energy-efficiency targets, the chances of avoiding widespread environmental damage from rising temperatures “are very close to zero,” said Fatih Birol, the chief economist of the International Energy Agency in Paris.
Aspiring to a more Western standard of living, in many cases with the government’s encouragement, China’s population, 1.3 billion strong, is clamoring for more and bigger cars, for electricity-dependent home appliances and for more creature comforts like air-conditioned shopping malls.
As a result, China is actually becoming even less energy efficient. And because most of its energy is still produced by burning fossil fuels, China’s emission of carbon dioxide — a so-called greenhouse gas — is growing worse. This past winter and spring showed the largest six-month increase in tonnage ever by a single country.
Until recently, projections by both the International Energy Agency and the Energy Information Administration in Washington had assumed that, even without an international energy agreement to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, China would achieve rapid improvements in energy efficiency through 2020.
But now China is struggling to limit emissions even to the “business as usual” levels that climate models assume if the world does little to address global warming.
“We really have an arduous task” even to reach China’s existing energy-efficiency goals, said Gao Shixian, an energy official at the National Development and Reform Commission, in a speech at the Clean Energy Expo China in late June in Beijing.
China’s goal has been to reduce energy consumption per unit of economic output by 20 percent this year compared with 2005, and to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases per unit of economic output by 40 to 45 percent in 2020 compared with 2005.
But even if China can make the promised improvements, the International Energy Agency now projects that China’s emissions of energy-related greenhouse gases will grow more than the rest of the world’s combined increase by 2020. China, with one-fifth of the world’s population, is now on track to represent more than a quarter of humanity’s energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions.
Industry by industry, energy demand in China is increasing so fast that the broader efficiency targets are becoming harder to hit.
¶Although China has passed the United States in the average efficiency of its coal-fired power plants, demand for electricity is so voracious that China last year built new coal-fired plants with a total capacity greater than all existing power plants in New York State.
¶While China has imposed lighting efficiency standards on new buildings and is drafting similar standards for household appliances, construction of apartment and office buildings proceeds at a frenzied pace. And rural sales of refrigerators, washing machines and other large household appliances more than doubled in the past year in response to government subsidies aimed at helping 700 million peasants afford modern amenities.
¶As the economy becomes more reliant on domestic demand instead of exports, growth is shifting toward energy-hungry steel and cement production and away from light industries like toys and apparel.
¶Chinese cars get 40 percent better gas mileage on average than American cars because they tend to be much smaller and have weaker engines. And China is drafting regulations that would require cars within each size category to improve their mileage by 18 percent over the next five years. But China’s auto market soared 48 percent in 2009, surpassing the American market for the first time, and car sales are rising almost as rapidly again this year.
One of the newest factors in China’s energy use has emerged beyond the planning purview of policy makers in Beijing, in the form of labor unrest at factories across the country.
An older generation of low-wage migrant workers accepted hot dormitories and factories with barely a fan to keep them cool, one of many reasons Chinese emissions per person are still a third of American emissions per person. Besides higher pay, young Chinese are now demanding their own 100-square-foot studio apartments, with air-conditioning at home and in factories. Indeed, one of the demands by workers who went on strike in May at a Honda transmission factory in Foshan was that the air-conditioning thermostats be set lower.
Chinese regulations still mandate that the air-conditioning in most places be set no cooler than 79 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. But upscale shopping malls have long been exempt from the thermostat controls and have maintained much cooler temperatures through the summers. Now, as the consumer economy takes root, those malls are proliferating in cities across China.
Premier Wen acknowledged in a statement after a cabinet meeting in May that the efficiency gains had started to reverse and actually deteriorated by 3.2 percent in the first quarter of this year. He cited a lack of controls on energy-intensive industries, although the economic rebound from the global financial crisis may have also played a role.
Global climate discussions, in pinning hopes on China’s ability to vastly improve its efficient use of energy, have tended to cite International Energy Agency data showing that China uses twice as much energy per dollar of output as the United States and three times as much as the European Union. The implicit assumption is that China can greatly improve efficiency because it must still be relying mainly on wasteful, aging boilers and outmoded power plants.
But David Fridley, a longtime specialist in China’s energy at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, said that the comparison to the United States and the European Union was misleading.
Manufacturing makes up three times as much of the Chinese economy as it does the American economy, and it is energy-intensive. If the United States had much more manufacturing, Mr. Fridley said, it would also use considerably more energy per dollar of output.
“China has been trying to grab the low-lying fruit — to find those opportunities where increased efficiency can save money and reduce carbon-dioxide emissions,” said Ken Caldeira, a climate change specialist at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, Calif. “It is starting to look like it might not be that easy to find and grab this fruit.”
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Lighting control and automation
Take the IEEE Green Your World Challenge to Celebrate World Environment Day, 5 June 2010
Jun 1, 2010 Canada NewsWire Group
PISCATAWAY, N.J., Jun. 1, 2010 (Canada NewsWire Group delivered by Newstex) -- /CNW/ --
In celebration of the 2010 World Environment Day (WED), and the positive impact global sustainability technologies have made on the environment, IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, initiates a call-to-action: asking citizens of the world to accept the IEEE Green Your World Challenge.
Take the Challenge! Starting 1 June 2010, and continuing throughout the week leading up to WED (5 June 2010), IEEE invites individuals from around the globe to take one or more of the five challenges, and commit to making simple, yet powerful changes in daily life that can benefit humanity and the environment:
-- Step into the (Energy Efficient) Light: Replace incandescent light
bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) or light emitting
diode (LED) light bulbs
-- Be an e-Waste Hero: Find a local electronics recycler, and
eco-consciously dispose of old computers, TVs, and mobile phones
-- Every Drop Counts: Reduce your daily in-home water usage
-- Reforest Your Community: Plant a tree or garden and create a
sustainable future
-- Stop 'Energy Vampires' from Draining Your Resources: Unplug standby
electronics
"When it comes to our environment, we must be agents of change in our daily routines and in our support for sustainable developments through advancements in technology," said Pedro Ray, 2010 IEEE president and chief executive officer. "IEEE and its members are working globally to capitalize on the impact technology plays in sustainability efforts - from implementing water conservation and irrigation systems in underserved areas, and lowering the carbon footprint of consumer devices by engineering smaller, faster semiconductors, to preserving the Earth's natural resources by exploring new alternative energy sources. I encourage every individual to take the IEEE Green Your World Challenge and do their part to better serve this planet."
Take the IEEE Green Your World Challenge and commit to an environmental change that will impact our future: http://www.ieeegreenyourworld.org.
After taking the Challenge, explore which challenges other people have taken around the globe, and check out the IEEE Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ieeegreenyourworld and Twitter feed (@IEEEorg) - to get regular updates on the IEEE Green Your World Challenge.
The IEEE Green Your World Challenge is registered with the United Nations Environmental Programme - WED 2010, which aims to be the most widely celebrated, global day for positive, environmental action. By celebrating WED, IEEE is linking individuals around the globe in support of environmental issues.
About IEEE
IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, is dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Learn more at http://www.ieee.org.
Newstex ID: PRN-0001-45597194
Jun 1, 2010 Canada NewsWire Group
PISCATAWAY, N.J., Jun. 1, 2010 (Canada NewsWire Group delivered by Newstex) -- /CNW/ --
In celebration of the 2010 World Environment Day (WED), and the positive impact global sustainability technologies have made on the environment, IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, initiates a call-to-action: asking citizens of the world to accept the IEEE Green Your World Challenge.
Take the Challenge! Starting 1 June 2010, and continuing throughout the week leading up to WED (5 June 2010), IEEE invites individuals from around the globe to take one or more of the five challenges, and commit to making simple, yet powerful changes in daily life that can benefit humanity and the environment:
-- Step into the (Energy Efficient) Light: Replace incandescent light
bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) or light emitting
diode (LED) light bulbs
-- Be an e-Waste Hero: Find a local electronics recycler, and
eco-consciously dispose of old computers, TVs, and mobile phones
-- Every Drop Counts: Reduce your daily in-home water usage
-- Reforest Your Community: Plant a tree or garden and create a
sustainable future
-- Stop 'Energy Vampires' from Draining Your Resources: Unplug standby
electronics
"When it comes to our environment, we must be agents of change in our daily routines and in our support for sustainable developments through advancements in technology," said Pedro Ray, 2010 IEEE president and chief executive officer. "IEEE and its members are working globally to capitalize on the impact technology plays in sustainability efforts - from implementing water conservation and irrigation systems in underserved areas, and lowering the carbon footprint of consumer devices by engineering smaller, faster semiconductors, to preserving the Earth's natural resources by exploring new alternative energy sources. I encourage every individual to take the IEEE Green Your World Challenge and do their part to better serve this planet."
Take the IEEE Green Your World Challenge and commit to an environmental change that will impact our future: http://www.ieeegreenyourworld.org.
After taking the Challenge, explore which challenges other people have taken around the globe, and check out the IEEE Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/ieeegreenyourworld and Twitter feed (@IEEEorg) - to get regular updates on the IEEE Green Your World Challenge.
The IEEE Green Your World Challenge is registered with the United Nations Environmental Programme - WED 2010, which aims to be the most widely celebrated, global day for positive, environmental action. By celebrating WED, IEEE is linking individuals around the globe in support of environmental issues.
About IEEE
IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, is dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Learn more at http://www.ieee.org.
Newstex ID: PRN-0001-45597194
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)