Residential Light Fixture Newsletter - Lighting the Way to a Brighter Future

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT: Progress Lighting

Committed to providing a diverse selection of high quality lighting fixtures for over 90 years, Progress Lighting is one of the largest residential lighting manufacturers among builders and remodelers.

Progress Lighting strives to retain this reputation year after year by offering products that deliver aesthetic appeal, performance, easy installation and good value for their customers. Pursuant to these goals, Progress introduced ENERGY STAR qualified versions of their two best selling families of incandescent decorative fixtures – "The Savannah Collection" and "The Avalon Collection." In addition, a Michael Graves Collection wall sconce and decorative recessed can trim was introduced, along with a variety of other fixtures and trims. With these latest additions, Progress Lighting now has 147 ENERGY STAR qualified fixtures; this number rises to 206 when alternative trim options are included. Progress Lighting introduced an updated version of their dedicated ENERGY STAR catalog to include these fixtures and plan to update this catalog once again in the near future to include their twelve newly launched ENERGY STAR qualified ceiling fans.

In addition to these recently qualified products being available through Progress Lighting's extensive electrical distributor and showroom network, Home Depot's EXPO Design Center stores in California and Arizona have started stocking Progress Lighting's ENERGY STAR qualified recessed cans along with the appropriate replacement lamps and a variety of trims as of March 2005. These recessed cans are insulated ceiling air-tight rated (ICAT) minimizing air infiltration, saving consumers even more energy and money. The cans can be installed in any ceiling from ½" to 2" thick, and comply with the upcoming Title 24-2005 requirements in California that take effect on October 1 of this year. Additionally, the EXPO Design Centers will have Progress Lighting's Arts & Crafts post-top outdoor lantern available by special order as of June 2005.

For more information on Progress Lighting, please visit: www.progresslighting.com.

Pictured: At left, the Arts & Crafts post-top outdoor lantern (available at EXPO Design Centers in CA and AZ on special-order in June); center, the Avalon five-light chandelier; and right, the Performance fan in cherry finish.

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New Utility Incentives for ENERGY STAR Qualified Fixtures in MN!

Minnesota Power has incorporated ENERGY STAR qualified fixtures into their suite of residential product rebates. Beginning in February 2005 and extending through mid-May, Minnesota Power is offering a $15 rebate on any qualified portable fixture purchased through participating retailers. Working in cooperation with Menards and Westinghouse, Minnesota Power is also offering a $15 rebate on Westinghouse's ENERGY STAR qualified Oracle ceiling fans with light kits purchased from Menards through the end of 2005.

In addition to fixture rebates, Minnesota Power is also promoting the ENERGY STAR Advanced Lighting Package (ALP) to all new residential customers. When a new residential meter is activated, Minnesota Power will send the new customer an information packet that will include information on the ALP.

Minnesota Power is interested in working with industry partners to further promote qualified fixtures through retail channels. Interested manufacturers should contact Karl Hillker at (608) 249-9322.

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Access the ENERGY STAR Visual Catalog!

The ENERGY STAR ® Residential Light Fixture and Ceiling Fan Visual Catalog is now accessible online! To view the catalog please visit: https://quickplace.icfconsulting.com/visualcatalog.

Click on "Library" to view or download the current Visual Catalog, which will be updated periodically.  Please feel free to contact Brooke Taylor, ICF Consulting, at btaylor@icfconsulting.com if you have any difficulty accessing the Visual Catalog.

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Qualified Products Update

The ENERGY STAR ® for Residential Light Fixtures Qualified Product List is updated on a continual basis. There are currently 9,500 qualified fixtures listed with ENERGY STAR. To make your search easier, the following is a list of ENERGY STAR for Residential Light Fixture manufacturing partners with fixtures that have recently earned the ENERGY STAR: CFL wall-mount vanity bar from MaxLite; decorative and framed linear ceiling-mount fixtures from Fluorescent Supply Company (FSC); CFL torchiere and portable fixtures from Good Earth Lighting; IC-rated, air-tight CFL recessed downlight fixture from Juno Lighting; IC-rated, air-tight CFL recessed downlight fixture from Nutech Lighting, Inc.; outdoor CFL wall-mount fixtures from TCP; outdoor CFL ceiling-mount fixtures from Light Process Company; circular and linear ceiling-mount, and CFL ceiling and wall-mount fixtures from Lithonia Lighting; circular ceiling-mount and CFL ceiling and wall-mount fixtures by Hubbardton Forge; a circular ceiling-mount fixture from Lusa Lighting; and CFL worklights from TMC Enterprise. For additional details on these, and all ENERGY STAR qualified residential light fixtures, view the Qualified Product List on the ENERGY STAR Web site by visiting www.energystar.gov, and clicking on Products and then on Residential Light Fixtures.

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2005 National ENERGY STAR Lighting Partner Meeting Highlights and Presentations

This year's National ENERGY STAR Lighting Partner Meeting was held in Las Vegas, NV from April 4-6. The meeting brought together ENERGY STAR utility, state, regional, retail and manufacturing partners for a combination of plenary sessions, workshops and interactive breakout sessions. This year's meeting had the highest attendance to date with almost 200 attendees, including representatives from 40 lighting manufacturing partners! Discussions covered a number of recent ENERGY STAR developments, initiatives, and lighting trends, and speakers included representatives from all aspects of the lighting industry, including government, industry experts, utilities, showrooms, and electrical distributors. There was also a session that introduced the 2005 Change a Light, Change the World Campaign!

Some of the highlights from the meeting include:

• An overview of the current state of the industry for energy efficient light fixtures and ceiling fans, and ways of increasing the presence of these ENERGY STAR qualified products in the retail market.
• An ENERGY STAR Lighting Expo that showcased the latest lighting products from ENERGY STAR manufacturing partners.
• Special recognition awards presentation to utilities that had made valuable contributions to the program.
• An in-depth look at the new construction industry as it relates to lighting and the ENERGY STAR New Homes Program. The penetration and advantages of the ENERGY STAR Advanced Lighting Package (ALP) were also discussed from the perspectives of builders, electrical distributors, and manufacturers.
• An overview of Title 24 and its impact on the Californian lighting market, and ways to incorporate ENERGY STAR qualified fixtures to meet the new residential lighting requirements.
• A discussion of the growing emphasis on the proper management of spent fluorescent lighting products and the importance of lighting recycling.
• An overview of LED technology's role in the market and its huge potential in the future.
• Technical sessions on the self-ballasted lamp concept and its benefits; dimmability; and the standardized line-voltage socket competition, and EPA's future implementation plans.
• Technical sessions on fluorescent color quality; the final ENERGY STAR CFL and fixture third party testing and verification system; and the revision to the ENERGY STAR program requirements for CFLs.
• An introduction to the new on-line bulk-purchasing tool for ENERGY STAR qualified CFLs.

Thank you to all who participated in the 2005 National ENERGY STAR Lighting Partner Meeting in April. We hope you found value in the session topics and the opportunity to network with other lighting stakeholders. The meeting presentations will be available online at: www.energystarpartners.net after April 25th. To access the presentations, select the 2005 National ENERGY STAR Lighting Partner Meeting and click on the "Agenda" link. The meeting agenda features hyperlinks to most of the presentations (saved as .pdf files).

Pictured: American Fluorescent product showcase at Lighting Expo

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Congratulations to the 2005 ENERGY STAR Award Winners!

On March 15, 2005, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized 50 businesses and organizations that made outstanding contributions to the ENERGY STAR program. We would like to congratulate the following manufacturer, retail, utility and energy efficiency program sponsor (EEPS) partners for their invaluable contributions to the program:

• Austin Energy
• GE Consumer and Industrial
• Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. and the Maryland Energy Administration
• Lowe's Companies, Inc.
• Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners
• New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
• Northeast ENERGY STAR Lighting and Appliance Initiative Members
• Office of Clean Energy, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
• Sacramento Municipal Utility District
• Sea Gull Lighting
• Sears, Roebuck and Co.
• Sierra Pacific Power Company
• Nevada Power Company
• SYLVANIA
• The Home Depot
• The California Investor-owned Utility Companies:
• Pacific Gas and Electric Company
• San Diego Gas and Electric
• Southern California Edison
• Southern California Gas Company
• TXU Electric Delivery
• Wisconsin Focus on Energy

Pictured: EPA's Public Service Announcement (PSA): 2005 ENERGY STAR Award Winners

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