The initial focus of the Commercial Lighting Systems Initiative is national coordination in defining efficient, high-performance lighting products. At the outset, the initiative is addressing higher lumen, 4-foot, 32-watt T8 lighting systems.

In January 2007, a specification for reduced-wattage T8 systems was added to the initiative. Click here for the reduced-wattage T8 system specifications. Future efforts will address other technologies.

For the long term, CEE proposes to enhance energy savings by:

• Evaluating opportunities to support efficient lighting technologies and practices
• Encouraging the adoption and promotion of common specifications for commercial lighting systems
• Developing effective program approaches to increase market share of efficient commercial lighting equipment

Lighting represents roughly 40 percent of the energy consumption in the commercial building sector. The diversity of this sector presents some challenges to effectively mining energy saving opportunities. For example, schools, hospitals and office buildings have varying lighting requirements based upon the workspace in question.

In addition, design and efficiency considerations regarding a new construction versus retrofit situation differ greatly based upon the fixture layout scheme. As a result, national, state and regional programs encourage the use of energy-efficient lighting technologies through a multitude of program approaches and measures to attain energy savings.

To develop a comprehensive initiative strategy, end-user and decision-maker needs will be evaluated and researched based upon the barriers that hinder the rapid market penetration of high-performance commercial lighting systems. These barriers include (1) a higher initial costs, (2) product availability and/or longer lead times, (3) lack of understanding and (4) market confusion regarding application.