May 2011 - Illuminating Engineering Society

POLICY POINTS
Lighting and the Zero-Sum Game
by Bob Horner
The official goal is
net-zero energy
buildings by 2030,
but, in truth, the
timeline could be
even shorter
Those of you that have been reading
this column have heard about the
Zero Energy Commercial Building
Consortium (CBC); and those of you
that have not been reading this column,
welcome! The CBC has been quite busy of
late, so here’s an update. Remember, the
Zero Energy CBC is charged with producing
recommendations as to how we can
achieve net-zero energy buildings by the
year 2030. A full explanation is available
on the website http://zeroenergycbc.org.
The final report has been completed. It
is divided into two major categories: “Next
Generation Technologies, Barriers, and
Industry Recommendations for Commercial
Buildings” and “Analysis of Cost & Non-cost
Barriers and Policy Solutions for Commercial
Buildings.” The first one deals mostly with
product and technical topics such as lighting,
mechanical systems and the building
envelope; the second with market and policy
areas such as owners and tenants, integrated
design, and financial issues.
The CBC reports are quite timely, following
closely on President Obama’s February
3 announcement about the new Better
Buildings Initiative, which is aimed at improving
energy efficiency in commercial buildings
by 20 percent over the next 10 years by stimulating
private investment in building energy
efficiency. The reports were compiled from
input taken from the lengthy individual working
group reports available at http://zeroenergycbc.org/workinggroups.
There were several overarching principles
and recommendations common
across most of the working groups:
• Existing technologies need to be more
rapidly developed and commercialized.
• There is significant opportunity today
to reduce energy consumption in buildings—underutilized
existing technologies
should be applied for immediate
results.
• Integrated design will be necessary to
even approach net zero.
Following are some of the salient points
specific to lighting noted in the report:
• Traditional light sources do have a
place in net-zero energy buildings, but
to a limited extent. High-efficiency
fluorescent systems for general lighting
and improved performance metal
halide for higher ceilings, atria, small
auditoriums, etc. should be considered
as part of an overall lighting design.
• The major portion of the lighting in netzero
energy buildings will need to be
done by some form of improved solidstate
lighting due to its high-efficacy,
long-life and ability to control.
• New lighting design techniques and
software are needed to ensure the
significant lighting demands of net-zero
energy buildings are met.
• Net-zero energy buildings will depend
heavily on improved designs and application
of daylighting and control systems.
• Buy-in from building owners is paramount.
• Even though the target is 2030, product
development cycles will dictate that
the real timeline is shorter, perhaps
2020 or 2025.
Gap analysis is also part of the report,
noting those areas where significant R&D
is needed to achieve net-zero energy.
Lofty goals? You bet! But the challenge
is not insurmountable. Energy independence
is a bi-partisan issue (or should I
say non-partisan). It can drive innovation,
50 May 2011 | LD+A www.ies.org