PRESIDENT OBAMA ANNOUNCES NEW LIGHT BULB STANDARDS
Biggest energy saver in history of Energy Department
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 29, 2009
Washington, D.C.—New national minimum energy efficiency requirements for light bulbs will save more energy than
any other standard ever issued by any administration, according to a coalition representing environmental and
consumer organizations, state government, and utilities. The new standards, announced by President Obama today,
will make the hundreds of millions of fluorescent tube lamps that light offices, stores, and factories more
efficient. They also will phase out conventional incandescent reflector lamps, effectively extending the phase out
of inefficient incandescent products initiated by Congress in 2007 to the common cone-shaped bulbs used in recessed
light fixtures and track lighting.
“With our nation’s birthday around the corner, President Obama has provided the nation an early gift in the form
of big energy savings, dollar savings, and pollution cuts,” said Andrew deLaski, Executive Director of the
Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP). “However, even bigger savings could have been achieved.”
According to the Department of Energy (DOE), lighting uses nearly 40% of all electricity used in
commercial buildings. The standards announced today affect the more than 500 million fluorescent tube lamps and 265
million reflector lamps sold each year in the United States.
“This final standard is a substantial improvement on the draft standard released by the Department of Energy in
the closing days of the Bush Administration,” said Steven Nadel, Executive Director of the American Council for an
Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). “We are heartened that President Obama himself chose to make the announcement and
to focus on the importance of energy efficiency.”
According to DOE, the new standards announced today will save up to 1.2 trillion kilowatt-hours over thirty
years, an amount about equal to the total consumption of all homes in the U.S. in one year. Businesses and
consumers will gain up to $35 billion in net savings and global warming carbon dioxide emissions will be cut by up
to 594 million metric tons, an amount equal to the annual emissions of nearly 110 million cars.
The maximum levels analyzed by DOE would have increased energy savings by another 230 billion kilowatt-hours
over thirty years, or roughly enough to meet the power needs of 22 million more U.S. households for a year. The
higher standards would have saved businesses and consumers as much as another $11 billion, according to DOE.
"A flip of the switch may seem mundane but the way we light our homes and offices is a big chunk of our nation’s
energy use,” said Lane Burt, Policy Analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “This standard
starts cutting the huge energy and pollution costs that come with keeping the lights on. The DOE rule is literally
lighting the way toward a brighter energy future and along with future standards will serve as a cornerstone of our
energy policy that we will build upon in years to come.”
DOE is slated to set a total of 25 new standards during the current presidential term.
The new lamp standards, which will take effect in 2012, will have little effect on the outward appearance
or lighting performance of the affected light bulbs. For fluorescent lamps, highly efficient “T8” lamps (lamps with
a 1 inch diameter) will replace “T12” lamps (which have a 1.5 inch diameter). For reflector lamps, standard
incandescent and halogen technology will be replaced with highly efficient halogen infrared reflector technology, a
change that will save consumers energy, but not result in any outward change to reflector lamp appearance. In 2007,
Congress enacted a phase out of standard incandescent light bulbs in favor of advanced incandescent technology and
other high efficiency products starting in 2012.
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The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing energy
efficiency as a means of promoting economic prosperity, energy security, and environmental protection. ACEEE was
involved in the legislation establishing federal efficiency standards, and has been active in all rulemakings since
then. For information about ACEEE and its programs, publications, and conferences, contact ACEEE, 529 14th Street
N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20045 or visit aceee.org .
The Appliance Standards Awareness Project is dedicated to increasing awareness of and support for cost-effective
appliance and equipment efficiency standards. Founded in 1999, ASAP is led by a steering committee that includes
representatives from energy efficiency organizations, the environmental community, consumer groups, utilities, and
state government. See standardsASAP.org .
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national environmental advocacy organization with over 555,000 members.
NRDC has spent decades working to build and improve DOE’s federal appliance standards programs because of the
important energy, environmental, consumer, and reliability benefits of appliance efficiency standards. NRDC
participated in the enactment of the first federal legislation establishing efficiency standards, and has been
active in all significant rulemakings since then. See nrdc.org.
Cree CEO Meets President Obama to Discuss Advantages of LED Lighting
 Chuck Swoboda Participates in
Presidential Roundtable on American Innovation and Clean Energy Technology
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 2, 2009 — Today, Chuck Swoboda, chairman and chief executive officer of Cree (Nasdaq: CREE)
joined President Obama at the White House to discuss the latest developments in energy-efficient technologies.
Cree, based in Durham, North Carolina, is a market-leading manufacturer of LED (light-emitting diode) products.
Swoboda and seven other CEOs representing American companies at the forefront of innovation were invited to meet
with President Obama to discuss American innovation in areas such as clean energy and the potential benefits to the
U.S. economy.
In his remarks following the White House meeting, the President observed, “I just had a meeting with the CEOs of
some of the most innovative energy companies in America to talk about growth and progress of a sector that
represents a big piece of America’s economic future. It’s men and women like these who will help lead us out of
this recession and into a better future. My job – and our job as a government – is to do whatever we can to unleash
the great generative powers of the American economy by encouraging their efforts. And when you hear the innovation
that’s taking place – everything from LED lighting that can save a huge amount on energy costs to new concrete
materials….that gets you excited about the future.”
“With President Obama’s support and the current momentum surrounding energy efficiency and sustainability, there
are unprecedented opportunities for U.S. companies, like Cree, to deliver innovative technologies and products to
address our current energy challenges,” said Swoboda. “Twenty-two percent of US electricity is used for lighting
and the widespread deployment of LED lighting can reduce this by more than 60 percent.”
About Cree
Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb through
the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of
lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor solutions for wireless and power applications.
Cree’s product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs,
lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and radio-frequency/wireless devices. Cree solutions are driving
improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals,
variable-speed motors, and wireless communications.
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