July/August 2013 • Volume 43, No. 4
www.americanlightingassoc.com
ALA submits
Responses to
DOe’s Ceiling
Fan Rulemaking
Framework
Document
ALA Testifies at ICC Committee
Action hearing on Building Codes
The ALA successfully prepared a unified industry response to the
questions raised by the U.S. Department
of Energy in its Energy Conservation
Standards Rulemaking Framework
Document for Ceiling Fans and Ceiling
Fan Light Kits, released in March.
The framework document was
prepared by the DOE as a result of the
agency’s initiative to potentionally gain
additional energy savings from ceiling
fans and light kits. The 100-page docu-
ment details the “analytical approach
and scope of coverage for the rule-
making” and identifies 75 issues “on
which DOE is particularly interested in
receiving comment.”
“We have gained great support
and active participation from ceiling
fan manufacturers, Home Depot and
Lowe’s in preparing responses to the
75 questions DOE has raised,” says
Dick Upton, CCE, ALA president and
CEO. “As a result, ALA was able to
file a unified industry response to the
questions in advance of the June 14
deadline for responses.”
According to Upton, the ALA
also evaluated additional actions to
strengthen its responses, including
preparing a cost/benefit analysis of
key proposals; conducting a consumer
survey; hiring a consultant/lobbyist
to assist; and utilizing the ALA-PAC
congressional “champions.”
“Gaining a high level of success
on this ceiling fan challenge by DOE
will have broad benefits for the entire
lighting industry,” Upton adds. “It
will demonstrate we can come to-
gether to respond to these challenges
and that ALA will be fully engaged
on all issues and fight effectively for
industry interests.”
Larry Lauck, the ALA
vice president of
communications,
testified on behalf
of the association
and the lighting
industry at an
International
Code Council
(ICC) committee
action hearing on April 24.
The purpose of the hearing was
to update a building code called the
International Energy Conservation
Code (IECC). Specifically, the ALA
testified in regard to a proposed change
to the IECC listed as RE150-13.
“Right now for new residential
buildings or remodeling, the key IECC
regulation calls for 75 percent of the
sockets to be high-efficiency,” explains
Terry McGowan, FIES, LC, ALA director of engineering and technology.
“However, the IALD and NEMA are
finding this insufficient for good
residential lighting design work,
especially in
high-end homes.
So the IALD
lighting design-
ers proposed a
change to the
IECC listed as
According to McGowan, the RE150-
13 proposal returned the flexibility to
use any lamp type, even incandescent, as
long as the socket has a lighting control.
“This fits with ALA’s objective to use
lighting controls to save energy as well as
to increase the choice of light sources and
luminaires to improve the quality of light
and proper application of light,” he adds.
Lauck personally delivered testimony at the hearing, along with Jeff
Continued on Page 2
ALA Prepares for All-star Conference
Light Watch
The American Lighting
Association is pleased
to report that the
number of registrations received for this
year’s annual conference – Sept. 22-24 at
the Hyatt Regency Lost
Pines Resort and Spa
in Austin, Texas – is
the highest on record
for this time period
since 2007.
“The hotel block
is filling quickly, and
this is an excellent indicator of a great
attendance for this year’s event,” says
Beth Bentley, CMP, LA, ALA Director
of Conferences. “With Jon Schallert
and Shari Harley headlining as keynote speakers and a host of extremely
talented educational
seminar speakers, this
should be the strongest
conference yet. That’s
saying a lot, following
the outstanding per-
formance of last year’s
presenters.”
This year’s venue,
the Hyatt Regency
Lost Pines Resort
and Spa, an intimate
venue where ap-
proachable luxury
and rugged wilder-
ness await you – deep
in the heart of Texas.
Set along the banks of the Colorado
River, this secluded, 405-acre resort
features first-class guestrooms, dining
and pampering at the resort’s Condé
Continued on Page 10
In ThIs Issue
2 Government Affairs
4 Retail Management
6 Technology/Energy Efficiency
7 2013 Annual Conference
11 Association News
12 Education/Training
13 Member News
The American Lighting Association
is a trade association representing
the lighting industry, serving
members and their customers, and
working to protect and advance
the industry while promoting the
sale and application of quality
lighting products.