Halving Residential Lighting Energy Use by 2020: What a Multi-Stakeholder Target and Approach Means for Efficiency Programs

Panel: Strategies for Appliances, Lighting, Electronics, and Miscellaneous End–Uses

Author:
Rebecca Foster, Consortium for Energy Efficiency

Abstract

Residential lighting accounts for approximately 15% of home energy use, and is widely acknowledged as a large, important, and achievable efficiency opportunity. Three main product options are currently seen to address this opportunity: screw-based compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), pin-based fluorescent fixtures, and solid state lighting fixtures. Additional options include enhanced daylighting and lighting design. There is effort to advance each of these solutions by many stakeholders, with both voluntary and regulatory approaches. However, these stakeholders have different assumptions and levels of understanding (some accurate, some not so accurate). These varying assumptions lead to program efforts that are inconsistent and uncoordinated; they are not achieving the gains they otherwise could in these North American markets.

This paper reviews the efforts of a third-party, multi-stakeholder organization to identify a long-term energy savings goal and the activities and approaches needed to achieve it (encompassing all of the options identified above). The paper provides an update on the group's current efforts and describes the next steps necessary to achieve significant energy savings in this important end use. In so doing, it provides the basis for efficiency programs to be more consistent in deploying best solutions for like circumstances and to leverage the activities of other stakeholder groups, resulting in improved energy savings impacts.