California has announced the 2013 version of its Title 24 energy code, which regulates energy-efficient design of buildings. The changes take effect in 2014 and are mandatory. The California Lighting Technology Center has published a guide to the major changes. Download it here.
Advanced Control Options for LEED v.4
Version 4 of the popular Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating system is expected to be released at Greenbuild in November 2013. Final balloting to approve the new LEED version is expected to occur in June, so we don’t know exactly what will be contained in the new rating system. One […]
Lighting and the International Green Construction Code
In March 2012, the International Code Council announced availability of the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), a model code for constructing and remodeling buildings to a higher sustainability standard. The IgCC establishes a baseline for new and existing construction regarding energy efficiency, water efficiency, site impacts, building waste, material source efficiency and other sustainability measures, […]
Last Chance for Commercial Buildings Deduction?
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 created the Energy-Efficient Commercial Buildings Tax Deduction (CBTD) to encourage owner investment in energy-efficient building systems. The CBTD establishes a special tax deduction rewarding investment in energy-efficient interior lighting, HVAC/hot water systems and building envelope, subject to a cap of up to $1.80/sq.ft. It’s an accelerated tax deduction, meaning […]
IECC 2012 Decoded
The International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) is a model residential and commercial building energy code produced by the International Code Council. First published in 1998, the IECC was updated in 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009 and, earlier this year, 2012. The IECC is actually not a code, but instead a template for legal jurisdictions to use […]
New WattStopper CodeSmart Publication Spotlights Up-to-Date Energy Code Requirements and Best Practice Control Solutions
Just as the US Department of Energy (DOE) recognized ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2010 as the national energy standard, WattStopper launched a new CodeSmart publication designed to guide lighting and building professionals through the intricacies of the many lighting control requirements that debuted in this newest version of the code. The informative booklet available for free download […]
Department of Energy Names ASHRAE 90.1-2010 as New National Energy Standard
In July 2011, the Department of Energy recognized the ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2007 standard as the new national energy standard, superseding the 2004 version. In a bold move, on October 19, 2011, DOE recognized the 2010 version of 90.1 as the new national energy standard. By October 18, 2013, all states in the United States must put […]
Consulting-Specifying Engineer Publishes Article About Lighting And Control Changes in ASHRAE 90.1-2010
Consulting-Specifying Engineer has published an article by Brian Baumgartle, PE, LC, LEED AP of CMTA Inc. about lighting and control changes in the ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2010 energy standard, recently recognized by the Department of Energy as the national energy standard effective October 2013. Check it out here.
Daylight Zones: Toplighted Spaces
Last month at LightingControlsAssociation.org, we published an article about how to establish daylight zones in sidelighted (windowed) building spaces. We looked at an industry rule of thumb and then how the latest generation of energy codes and standards address it. In review, when designing an energy-saving daylight harvesting control system, a critical decision is to […]
Daylight Zones: Sidelighted Spaces
When designing an energy-saving daylight harvesting control system, a critical decision is to establish lighting control zones, identifying lighting loads to be separately controlled. Before this decision can be made, however, we must first determine the daylight zones. A daylight zone, also called the daylight area (expressed in square feet), is defined by the ASHRAE/IES […]