LIGHTING INDUSTRY NEWS
Current Legislation*
New Federal Ballast Regulations
Effective April 1st, 2005, new Federally-mandated ballast efficacy standards will impact magnetic ballasts for (1) or (2) 40 Watt T12 Fluorescent Lamps as well as (2) 75 Watt Slimline or 110 Watt High Output Fluorescent Lamp systems.
Specifically, these non-compliant ballasts cannot be:
- Manufactured after April 1, 2005
- Sold to OEMs on or after July 1, 2005
- Sold by OEMs in fixtures on or after April 1, 2006
- Sold to distributors for replacement purposes on or after July 1st, 2010
A similar ruling and standards will also take effect in Canada.
For a brief overview of the Federal Ballast Ruling or for a list of the specific Advance products affected as well as their replacement options, please click on the attached links below.
For more information on the new ballast efficacy standards themselves, please visit www.nema.org .
The National Energy Bill
While the 2003 Energy Bill as it was originally proposed remains stalled, the element of the bill involving tax incentives for energy efficiency has been broadly supported by both the Senate and the House of Representatives, so much so that energy-related tax incentives were packaged within another tax vehicle (the FISC ETI Bill) during 2004. The FISC ETI bill is scheduled to be voted on by late 2004 or early 2005.
Previously-considered incentives ($2.25 per square foot in total/$.75 for lighting on those upgrades exceeding ASHRAE Standard 90.1) may be reduced to $1.75/$.50 or less within the FISC ETI Bill, but the Federal government still hopes that such incentives will help reduce national energy consumption by their intended 4-6%.
For more information on the status of the National Energy Bill or FISC ETI Bill, please visit www.nema.org
New ASHRAE Standards
On July 15, 2004, ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1999 became the new state building code for energy nationwide. Among other changes, the new ASHRAE Standard mandates the increased use of lighting controls and improved exit sign efficacy. Advance offers a broad range of energy-efficient electronic fluorescent and electronic HID ballasts as well as LED drivers which can assist commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities in meeting the new ASHRAE standards.
For more information on the new ASHRAE standards, please visit Department of Energy (DOE) website www.energycodes.gov or www.ashrae.org.
* Legislation information on this page courtesy of Advance Transformer. |
