Commercial Corner Focus: Lighting Tax Incentives

EDI continues its commitment to the green revolution by partnering with SL Bagby and Lithonia to sponsor a recent U.S. Green Building Council meeting. The program covered how lighting systems contribute to energy efficiency, as well as lighting-related energy tax incentives. Attendees learned how to demonstrate compliance with documentation requirements, how to use spreadsheets designed to estimate EPAct and energy savings, advantages and disadvantages of traditional lighting control solutions, and new concepts for distributed lighting control solutions and their financial benefits. While many of the attendees understood that proper lighting plays a major role in facilitating the health, safety, well-being, and productivity of building occupants, not all knew about the tax incentives for commercial buildings found in EPAct 2005. “A lot of people heard for the first time that the tax advantage existed,” said Chris Studney, manager of business development at EDI. “By showing ways to help companies save energy through these new lighting control strategies and ways to improve installation time on projects, we were able to help contractors both save time and money, as well as take advantage of the tax incentives. The June 13th meeting, attended by about 90 individuals, as well as WBTV, received a lot of positive feedback. “A number of people stayed after the presentations were over to ask questions and request copies of the PowerPoints,” said Anne Jackson, committee chair for the local USGBC chapter. “Since many owners and facility managers are asking about cost, it is very valuable to be able to provide information on incentives. To that end, the program was extremely helpful.” The USGBC has published a series of tools that help all members of the architecture and construction industry—owners, design professionals, contractors, government—get a broad understanding of how to measure high-performance buildings, said Jackson. “The single most important thing this organization has done is give the architecture and construction community a foundation and mandate for having a discussion about the impact of buildings on human health, the economy, and the environment.” To learn more about EDI’s efforts in this area, as well as upcoming USGBC programs, contact Chris Studney at cstudney@edi-nc.com or 704.372.3040, ext. 353.