Building & Design

US Government turns light on energy efficiency

US President Barack Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu joined forces yesterday to announce new efficiency standards for lighting and further investment in energy efficient buildings.

The new energy conservation standards for lamps and lighting equipment, which will come into force in 2012, will save enough electricity over the next thirty years to power every US home for nearly a year.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) says the new minimum energy efficiency requirements for light bulbs will save more energy than any other standard ever issued by any administration.

Lighting currently accounts for around 7% of all energy consumed in the US and President Obama asked the Department of Energy back in February to tighten up standards for appliances. The new standards will phase out conventional incandescent reflector lamps and improve the efficiency of fluorescent lamps.

Obama and Chu also announced a $346 investment from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for the development and deployment of energy efficient technologies in homes and commercial buildings.

Residential and commercial buildings account for around 40% of the country’s energy use – but could be reduced by up to 80% through the implementation of existing technologies like insulation, more efficient lighting, daylighting, double- or triple-glazing and combined heating, cooling and power.

The funds will be divided between research efforts to improve the design and control of buildings ($100 million) and solid-state lighting technology ($50 million).

Meanwhile, $53.3 million will go towards building partnerships with companies that design, build and operate large fleets of buildings and a further $72.5 million will expand the ENERGY STAR programme and support the design, construction, and enforcement community to achieve the 30% improvement in energy efficiency required by 2010 buildings code. T

he training of workers to carry out energy efficient retrofits and new builds also gets a $70 million boost.

“One of the fastest, easiest, and cheapest ways to make our economy stronger and cleaner is to make our economy more energy efficient,” said President Obama. “That’s why we made energy efficiency investments a focal point of the Recovery Act.”

Energy Secretary Chu added: “Energy efficiency isn’t just low hanging fruit; it’s fruit lying on the ground.”

For further information:
www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/residential/incandescent_lamps.html
aceee.org
www.recovery.gov

01 July 2009

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