ENERGY STANDARDS are a large component in building planning and design for new construction and renovation projects. These guidelines ratchet up building performance over time with regular revision cycles that recognize improvements in equipment. The latest version of one of the two most important energy standards, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1, is just beginning to show up on the radar of local code officials. For those in the lighting industry, this edition marks a milestone in the development of LED technology, as the standard's lighting-energy targets are, for the first time, entirely based on LED lamps and fixtures. This shift illustrates the enormous strides LED product manufacturers have made in a little over a decade. Today's offerings are more than just highly efficient light sources. In almost all cases, they also surpass their incandescent and fluorescent counterparts in lifespan, controllability and color-rendering. They have already played a big role in driving down lighting's contribution to overall building electricity use, from 40% in 2005 to 6%-8% today, according to Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) figures. As this most recent version of the ASHRAE standard shows, the technology still has the potential to drive lighting-related energy use down even further without significant first-cost impacts.
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