Energy Saver News; WattBusters - Don't Get Caught with Your Parts Down

Parts is parts, right? Not for business owners. If you own a business in the United States, you have another government regulation to deal with. It pertains to your lighting. The Department of Energy (DOE) will be implementing new regulations regarding the manufacture and sale of fluorescent lamp ballasts. According to the DOE, this will result in significant energy savings and emission reductions. Lighting accounts for 20-25% of all electricity consumed in the United States.

Americans spend about one quarter of our electricity budget on lighting, or more than $37 billion annually. Adoption of these lighting efficiency standards is expected to save enough energy by 2030 to power between 12-26 million homes in the United States. It will also result in a reduction of greenhouse gasses equivalent to the impact of removing 58 million cars from the road.

Unlike most government regulations, the new ballast efficiency standards were hammered out in two days of negotiations between energy advocacy groups and lighting component manufacturers, including MagneTek, Philips, OSRAM, SYLVANIA, Lithonia Lighting and Advance Transformer. This allows the industry to develop a reasonable timetable to make the transition without closing factories or writing off millions of dollars of investment.

Here's the low down. If your facility uses older, electromagnetic ballasts, you should research the new regulations. Many older products will be phased out completely. You don't want to be held hostage to a product that is no longer available. WattBusters can put you in touch with our parent company, MTI Lighting Specialists, for a logical, energy-saving solution before the problem arises. You don't need to have that horrifying nightmare where you're caught with your parts down...

Overview on the Federal Fluorescent Lamp Ballast Ruling, Effective April 2005
Specific Products Affected
Magnetic core-and-coil ballasts for the following standard (non energy-saving) T12 fluorescent lamps:

F40 (40-watt, 4-foot) Rapid Start, both one-lamp and two-lamp
F96 (75-watt, 8-foot) Slimline, two-lamp
F96 (110-watt, 8-foot) High Output, two-lamp

Relevant Dates and Actions

April 1, 2005 - Affects Manufacturers - Ban on fabrication of affected ballasts by ballast manufacturers
July 1, 2005 - Affects Manufacturers - Ban on U.S. sales of affected ballasts for use in new lighting fixtures
April 1, 2006 - Affects OEMs - Ban on U.S. sales of affected ballasts by fixture manufacturers
July 1, 2010 - Affects Distributors - Ban on U.S. sales of affected ballasts for replacement purposes by ballast manufacturers.

Replacement ballasts:
Must be marked "For Replacement Use Only"
Must have leads shorter than the length of lamps intended to be operated
Must be contained in packages not exceeding ten ballasts
Must meet existing T12 magnetic efficiency criteria > Learn more

For more information, view the EPA's ruling on "Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts Energy Conservation Standards" (September 2000)