Friend or Foe...Do Energy Codes Help or Hinder Us?

John Busch has held many positions over his 30+ year career: electrical designer, design build estimator, project manager, and even holds a C-10 Electrical Contractors license in California. This experience allows him to evaluate electrical design challenges with a solutions-oriented perspective. He currently serves as Regional Sales Manager - West, for Lighting Controls of Leviton Manufacturing. John also teaches California Title 24, LEED, lighting controls, the Big 3 Energy Codes (ASHRAE 90.1, IECC, and Title 24), measurement and verification, power management and other energy related topics. John also currently serves as Chair of California Energy Alliance Codes and Standards Committee.

Chip Israel has been a lighting designer for over 35 years. In 1992, he founded LIGHTING DESIGN ALLIANCE, a full-service architectural lighting design firm, where he built a highly-select team of lighting design professionals who now serve a variety of clients worldwide. As CEO and Founder, Chip works closely with the owner, design team, and manufacturers to ensure lighting systems are fully integrated with the architectural design and enhance the designer’s concepts.

He has been elected as a Fellow of the IALD, the International Association of Lighting Designers; Fellow of the IES, Illuminating Engineering Society; has received the Pennsylvania State University College of Engineering’s highest award, the Outstanding Engineering Alumnus Awards and Martin’s Professional Lighting Designer of the Year. He currently serves on three Technical IES Committees and is Past Board of Directors and Past President of the IESNA, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America. Chip is also Past President of both, the IALD Education Trust and the Designer’s Lighting Forum.

Chip is committed to promoting excellence in lighting design through education. As a leading industry spokesman, he has presented technical papers and educational seminars in over eleven countries and lectured at over a dozen universities across the country.

Lighting Design Alliance has also been recognized by winning over 300 National and International design awards, including multiple awards for sustainable lighting design.

Jim Benya is a professional illuminating engineer, lighting designer, educator and consultant with 46 years of experience. He is a Registered Professional Electrical Engineer, Fellow of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (FIES), and Fellow of the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD). Benya established and led California’s first independent lighting design firm Luminæ Souter Lighting Design as Senior Principal and CEO before starting Benya Lighting Design in 1994 in Portland, Oregon. His design work has been published in every major lighting design and architectural journal, including Architecture, Architectural Record, Architectural Lighting, Progressive Architecture, LD&A, Lighting Dimensions, Interiors, Interior Design, Designers West, Northern California Home and Garden, Architectural Digest, and Building Design and Construction. He has won numerous lighting design awards, including the Edison Award, the Edison Award of Excellence (7 times), the Edison Award for Environmental Design (thrice), the International Illumination Design Award of Excellence (twice), and the Source Awards First Place Award. He is the author of Lighting Design Basics (Wiley) and Lighting Retrofits and Relighting (Wiley) and his work is featured in nine books, including the Best of Lighting Design. In addition to design work, Benya Burnett offers codes and standards development, forensic and expert services in lighting, environmental impact assessments and studies, technical research and reports, educational classes and related materials, and product design consulting and assistance to manufacturers. Benya is currently based in Davis, California as Principal of the Benya Burnett Consultancy with partner Deborah Burnett.

Alex is responsible for monitoring federal, state and local government agendas for matters impacting IES members and the lighting industry at large, maintaining relationships with relevant government offices and allied organizations and coalitions, and for developing the Society’s long term public policies and strategies.

Baker has worked for the past 10 years on domestic and international lighting standards and regulations. From 2007 to 2012, he managed the ENERGY STAR® lighting program at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. During his tenure, he redeveloped the program’s lighting product specifications, and, as directed by Congress, assisted in transitioning the program to third-party accreditation, testing and certification based on ISO/IEC standards. Since that time, as Director of Standards & Regulations at Lumileds, Alex has been an active member of many lighting standards development and trade organizations, including ALA, ANSI, ASABE, ASSIST, DLC, ENERGY STAR, IEC, IES, ISA, LightingEurope, NEMA, NGLIA, and the Zhaga Consortium. Prior to his new role, Alex has been a longstanding member of the IES Testing Procedures Committee, actively participating in the development and maintenance of methods of measurement and related technical memoranda for solid-state lighting products. Alex has also been a member of the IES Nomenclature Committee.