ENERGY STAR Gazing

By Brian Owen, Contributing Editor of LEDs Magazine

On June 2, 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR for RLF 4.2 went into effect, containing SSL references, which commenced the controversy and the ensuing agency feud. See News.

Like a Seinfeld episode, being a show about nothing, the one-year anniversary of the EPA race to the solid-state space and the EPA's claim to ENERGY STAR for SSL has come and gone ... the story? NOTHING!

With respect to the “resolution in 45 days” memo issued by the EPA prior to the ENERGY STAR Partner Meeting in San Antonio, Texas, DOE sources commented, "We are seeing progress and activity at the Committee level, such as legislative language, and it is moving in the right direction, identifying and recognizing the DOE as the lead agency in ENERGY STAR for SSL and SSL research matters, BUT it is still too soon to make a final conclusion as there is still much more work ahead."

In a recent posting on Green Inc., the New York Times online blog, entitled “http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/can-incandescent-bulbs-be-made-efficient,” Michael Siminovitch, the director of the California Lighting Technology Center, described super-efficient incandescents as the “holy grail” of lighting industry research right now.

“The stuff is happening, and will happen,” Siminovitch said. “We’re all going to be doing it because people hate fluorescents so much.”

The blog went on to say, “The federal ENERGY STAR program does not certify advanced incandescents. But that may change if the technology catches up to CFLs, which are purported to use 75 percent less energy than incandescents and last seven to 10 times as long.”

The blog added, “Alex Baker, the EPA lighting program manager for ENERGY STAR, told Green Inc. that if the performance of a halogen or other advanced incandescent source rivaled that of currently qualified CFLs, the program might consider certifying them.”

Alex, get your house in order, before inviting new guests!