Energy Star Advanced Lighting Package

Posted Tue, 10/20/2009 - 17:37 by kpbadger

Today we received our certificate:

The qualification for the Advanced Lighting Package is as follows:

  • 60% or more of light fixtures Energy Star qualified
  • 100% of ceiling fans Energy Star qualified

In our home we have 3 ceiling fans (master and kids' bedroom and rear porch) all of which are Energy Star qualified.  We have a total of 56 light fixtures of which 50 are Energy Star qualified, for a "score" of 89.3%.

Here are the non qualified fixtures, and why:

  • Light kits on fans in master and kids' bedroom -- because we want these to be on a dimmer switch and the dimmable CFL bulbs are "not quite there" yet, incandescent bulbs were needed.
  • Master bathroom tub light -- again we wanted it connected to a dimmer switch.
  • Fan light kit on porch -- we picked a light kit that we really liked to match the exterior style of the home. There just was not a big selection of Energy Star qualified damp-rated fan light kits. This fan light kit is also on a dimmer.
  • Flood lights for back yard (2) -- these are on photocells and motion sensors.

In addition to energy savings, there is a $15-per fixture rebate through Focus on Energy.  Unfortunately it's capped at 12 fixtures but that is still a healthy rebate at $180. Also the fixtures all contained their own bulbs which is a further savings versus traditional fixtures.

Generally, we found that with few exceptions, Energy Star qualfied fixtures were available in the styles and sizes to meet our needs. Additionally, many online retailers (e.g. lightingdirect.com and lightingbygregory.com) offer filtering by Energy Star qualfied fixtures, which is very handy.