Electical Contractor

According to the Office Building Energy Use Profile report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), space conditioning and lighting account for 70 percent of all energy consumed in a typical office building with an additional 20 percent of energy consumption used to power office equipment.

Housing starts in 2007 had declined by more than one-third from their 2005 peak, but the market for home technologies remains strong, according to the Sixth Annual State of the Builder Technology Market study conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association.

The recent national energy bill banning incandescent bulbs by 2014 has mandated energy-efficient residential lighting. Before introducing the latest lighting devices, electrical contractors (ECs) need to survey homeowners’ needs and lifestyles.

High-bay applications—such as factories, warehouses, big box stores and gyms—continue to be the hottest lighting retrofit markets.

With 40-hour-plus work weeks the norm and no signs of that trend reversing, seeing well in the office at any time of day or night is necessary to get the job done. Illumination in the office can mean a combination of different types of light, artificial and natural.

Few areas of electrical contracting have changed at a rate greater than residential lighting controls. Residential product offerings have grown exponentially as social and political agendas continue to shape energy supplies—as more middle-income homeowners take control over lighting.

Speelman Electric assists housing authority in lighting installation When Ameresco was seeking a contractor for the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority’s (AMHA) $10 million energy conservation project, the company called on Speelman Electric Inc., Tallmadge, Ohio.

The U.S. market for ballasts ranges from about 77 to 100 million units for electronic and magnetic fluorescent devices.

Cancellation of the 2005 National Electrical Contractors Association’s (NECA) convention in New Orleans due to Hurricane Katrina was a minor disappointment compared to the loss of life, destruction of billions of dollars of property and the diaspora of many of the city’s residents.