Greenhouse gas legislation: Job killer or job creator?

What about all those spaces near windows? Side-lighting can be effective near the windows, particularly for north-facing windows which don't admit direct sunlight. Electric lighting, ideally with dimming ballasts, can be integrated using daylight sensors.

Architectural Energy Corp. of Boulder developed award-winning software called SPOT, for Sensor Placement Optimization Tool, to choose where to place lighting sensors, which is by no means obvious. There are also blinds and reflective devices which can direct sunlight towards the ceiling, effectively illuminating a much larger space.

Sometimes the problem is too much light, usually from direct sunlight, and this of course leads to excessive heat gain as well. Automated shades, sometimes integrated with multi-pane windows, can deal with this condition. Optimally the excess light and heat are blocked before they ever enter the space, by controllable automated external shutters or shades, or by architectural features like light shelves.

There are so many approaches to saving energy with lighting, so many technologies. So many are in their infancy, barely developed at all, only offered by a few companies, and understood by fewer still. All are driven by the need to improve energy efficiency, ultimately by the cost of energy.

The winners of this game will be the ones who can identify, develop, and apply the most cost-effective approaches to saving energy and improving performance. So is AB-32 a job killer? For the energy efficient lighting and daylighting industry, AB-32 is a job making bonanza. Have at it!