INDUSTRY, ACTIVISTS REACH DEAL ON CEILING FAN EFFICIENCY STANDARD

After a last-minute compromise reached between energy efficiency activists and manufacturers, the energy bill President Bush signed Aug. 8 includes a first-time standard for ceiling fans and their light fixtures that is expected to yield major efficiency gains. Activists say the measure is an important victory in a bill that otherwise scaled back significant energy savings provisions the Senate version had included. The 11th-hour compromise with fan makers, including the retailer Home Depot, requires that ceiling fan lights meet efficiency...