LUMEN coalition launches energy-efficient lighting website

The LUMEN coalition has launched www.lumennow.org, a website dedicated to educating consumers regarding energy-efficient residential lighting options.
The LUMEN (Lighting Understanding for a More Efficient Nation) coalition, an ad-hoc coalition of organizations and professionals dedicated to informing US consumers regarding energy-efficient lighting options, has introduced its website, www.lumennow.org. The LUMEN website shows that consumers can increase their energy savings per household to $100 per year by replacing less-efficient bulbs with halogen, CFL or LED options. The website includes a guide to selecting replacement bulbs, description of the new FTC Lighting Facts label, frequently asked questions and news regarding energy-efficient lighting options.


Spearheaded by the Alliance to Save Energy (Alliance), the American Lighting Association (ALA) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), the coalition includes participants from more than 40 nonprofit energy-efficiency advocacy groups, utilities, lighting manufacturers and trade associations.


"A homeowner now has many more options than ever before when it comes to lighting the home. Understanding which option is best for a specific application is where LUMEN members can help the homeowner," said Larry Lauck of the American Lighting Association.
Advisory groups to the LUMEN coalition including the California Energy Commission, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the US Department of Energy, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.


Understanding lighting data
In addition to "enlightening" the public about the variety and benefits of new lighting choices, the LUMEN website also explains the new FTC labels that will ease the transition from measuring how much electricity a bulb uses in watts to measuring a bulb's light output in lumens. The new labels provide information on a bulb's expected operating lifetime, lifetime cost and the appearance of the white light it sheds on a continuum from cool to warm. More information regarding the interpretation of LED data can be found in the April 2011 article entitled How to interpret LED lamp data, by Jeanine Chrobak-Kando of Verbatim.


Under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, inefficient 100W bulbs will no longer be made starting January 1, 2012, though retailers can sell out their existing bulbs. The higher energy-efficiency standards will apply to 75W bulbs starting January 1, 2013, and to 60W and 40W bulbs beginning January 1, 2014.