NEMA Urges DOE To Adopt New Energy Savings Rule For Fluorescent & Incandescent Reflector Lamps
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) submitted comments to the Department of Energy (DOE) on the Notice of Proposed Rule, Energy Conservation Standards for General Service Fluorescent Lamps and Incandescent Reflector Lamps. In these comments, NEMA states that it has provided proposals that will result in significant energy savings by removing the least efficient lighting products on the market today.
The 31-page document includes several scenarios that would result in the phase-out of the T12 lamp without causing disruption in the marketplace. NEMA and its members have called upon DOE to adopt new minimum lamp-efficiency standards that would lessen the disruptive impact on residential consumers and users of lighting products, while effectively transitioning the country to take advantage of more efficient lighting products as they become available.
According to NEMA President and CEO Evan R. Gaddis, these proposals also stress the challenges faced by manufacturers in making high-efficiency lighting products. These include the looming shortage of rare earth phosphors, which are used in making fluorescent lamps; technology limitations that are critical for safety and longer-life lamps; and the sizable investments required for the radically shrinking market for some of these lamps.
"I am thrilled that NEMA’s lighting manufacturers have submitted ideas that will save energy while maintaining the delicate balance between what is technologically feasible and economically justified," Gaddis said. "NEMA members have shown time and time again that they are capable of leading the world in innovation. Our lighting industry has more than a century of practical manufacturing experience as well as knowledge of the consumer base that will benefit from these innovative products. Our recommendations take advantage of this valuable knowledge."
The DOE is expected to issue a final rule for fluorescent and incandescent reflector lamps in July 2009.
