To stay current on lighting trends and provide cost-effective incentives, there were significant adjustments to the Energy Trust Lighting Tool and commercial and industrial lighting incentives, which will become effective on February 15, 2016.
LED technology has become the predominant lighting technology in energy efficiency projects, and we anticipate this trend to continue. Long life, maintenance savings, absence of hazardous materials, controllability and higher wattage savings per fixture or lamp combined with increased cost-effectiveness have resulted in a shift toward using LED products on most energy efficiency projects.
As a result of market changes and the expanding capabilities of more efficient technologies, the following legacy technologies will no longer be eligible for incentives:
- Metal halide, MH
- Electronic metal halide, EMH
- Compact fluorescent, CFL
None of these technologies represented a significant portion of the commercial and industrial lighting savings in 2015.
Lighting control technologies are becoming increasingly important to energy efficiency programs across the country. For the first time, a tiered lamp and fixture incentive approach will be used to encourage the use of controls on all projects in order to help increase the average savings per project while still giving a lower incentive option where controls are not desired or not appropriate. It is important to note that since most LED fixtures and retrofit kits are available with a dimming option or come with dimming as standard, controls can provide options beyond simple on/off. There are many applications where turning the lighting off would be inappropriate, so most LED lighting can be controlled to provide low level security lighting when the space is unoccupied. Once an occupant enters, the lighting can be programmed to provide full light output. With factory installed controls integrated into many new fixtures or kits, coupled with the ease of adding wireless controls to existing spaces, integrating controls into any project is easier now than it has ever been. Read below for a summary of significant changes to the incentives. To view the updated 190L Program Information form, click here.
Highlights for technologies with significant incentive changes effective February 15, 2016:
| Technology | Discontinued | Modified | New |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compact fluorescent lamp | Retrofitting to CFLs is no longer incentivized and is not eligible for custom incentives. | ||
| Metal halide and electronic metal halide | Retrofitting to metal halide or electronic metal halide is no longer incentivized and is not eligible for custom incentives. | ||
| T12 to T8 retrofits | Most T12 to T8 retrofit combinations no longer have prescriptive incentive options. Those combinations without a prescriptive incentive option may be eligible for custom incentives. | Remaining T12 to T8 prescriptive incentives are subject to the tiered incentive structure. When new controls are installed as part of the same project, the controlled fixtures will get a higher incentive in addition to the standard controls incentives. | |
| T8 (32 watt) to reduced wattage T8 retrofits | Most T8 to RWT8 retrofit combinations no longer have prescriptive incentive options. | Remaining T8 to RWT8 prescriptive incentives are subject to the tiered incentive structure (excluding RWT8 in the re-lamp section 6). When new controls are installed as part of the same project, the controlled fixtures will get a higher incentive in addition to the standard controls incentives. Combinations without a prescriptive incentive option may be eligible for custom incentives. | |
| TLED | TLED is now subject to the tiered incentive structure (excluding TLEDs in the re-lamp section 6). When new controls are installed as part of the same project as a TLED retrofit, the controlled TLEDs will get a higher incentive in addition to the standard controls incentives. | ||
| LED kits and fixtures (interior only) | Interior LED kits and fixtures are now subject to the tiered incentive structure. When new controls are installed as part of the same project as a LED kit or fixture retrofit, the controlled LED kits or fixtures will get a higher incentive in addition to the standard controls incentives. | Two-lamp T8 to LED fixture, 25 watts or less. | |
| LED replacement lamps and downlights | • LED downlight incentive decreased. • LED PAR lamp incentives decreased. • LED “A” lamp incentives decreased. | ||
| Refrigerated case lighting | T8 existing is no longer eligible for incentives. | Refrigerated case lighting is now in its own dedicated section. | |
| Outdoor lighting | HID to LED screw in replacement lamps are now in their own section. | HID, nominal lamp wattage 50 watts, to LED 20 watts or less incentive. | |
| Lighting controls | Wall switch type occupancy sensor incentives are no longer available as a prescriptive incentive and are not eligible for custom incentives (vacancy sensors are still eligible for prescriptive incentives). | • >30 watts must be controlled to be eligible for prescriptive incentives. • Occupancy sensors (interior and exterior) now have multiple controlled wattage categories, each with a corresponding prescriptive incentive. |
The lighting team is here to help you through the incentive process and upcoming incentive changes. Please feel free to contact one of our lighting specialists or Aaron Leatherwood, program manager, at 503.724.9375, with any questions.