State options in lighting: Efficiency standards for existing public buildings

Requirements and options for state lighting efficiency standards for existing public buildings under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act are discussed. It is recommended that states adopt a requirement that owners of all public buildings submit reports of lighting energy audits and estimates of energy savings from modifications to comply with substantive standards. It is further recommended that while filing of reports should be mandatory, substantive compliance, at least initially, need not be. It is recommended that exemptions from the standards be limited to small buildings and that variances under a mandatory standard be available only when an applicant can show insufficient capital to make required modifications, even though they would soon pay for themselves in reduced operating costs. It is suggested that a lighting standard of the kind recommended should substantially reduce wasted energy in lighting, be simple enough to be easily understood and applied, be technically and economically reasonable, and allow for needed exemptions without loopholes.