The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently introduced Commercial Lighting Solutions, its latest innovation designed to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings. The interactive tool is designed to help commercial building owners improve lighting efficiency by at least 30% over ASHRAE 90.1-2004.

Developed by the DOE in partnership with lighting designers, architects and commercial end-users, the tool provides energy savings projections based on user input and selections. The solutions are designed to meet or exceed energy savings levels needed to qualify for tax incentives established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Commercial users and designers can also use the tool to document performance against energy goals that can support end-user applications for incentives and rebates from utilities and state or regional energy efficiency programs.

Commercial buildings in the U.S. consume an estimated 18% of total U.S. energy use and contribute nearly 4% of global carbon dioxide emissions. In 2006, lighting constituted about 25% of the commercial sector's energy use, making it the largest single component of building energy use, and accounted for 42% of a commercial building's cooling load.

Visit www.lighting-solutions.org for additional details.