Although this year marks the 20th anniversary of the ENERGY STAR program, lighting was a bit late to the party. It wasn’t until 15 years ago that residential light fixtures got their first ENERGY STAR specification, and 13 years ago that compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) did.
ENERGY STAR lighting continues to evolve. Following are some updates.
Luminaires
The Luminaires Version 1.1 specification became effective April 1, 2012. It combines the scope of the Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Version 1.3 specification and the Residential Light Fixtures Version 4.2 specification.
Only those light fixture models that have been third-party certified as meeting the Luminaires V1.1 requirements now appear on the ENERGY STAR qualified product list. Fixtures qualified under the previous specifications will not be “grandfathered in” to this new specification.
There are nearly 500 qualified luminaires from more than 50 manufacturers, covering over 20 different product types.
Lamps
The new ENERGY STAR Lamps V1.0 specification is still being developed. This new specification will merge the scope of the Compact Fluorescent Lamps V4.3 and Integral LED Lamps V1.4 specifications into one technology-neutral specification.
For draft 1 of the Lamps specification, EPA received 175 pages of comments. These comments are being considered for draft 2, which is anticipated in the next several months.
Certification Bodies
Using the new third party certification (3PC) process, in 2011 Certification Bodies like MET Labs certified 191 CFLs, 357 LED lamps, 166 luminaires, and 1,462 light strings. In 2012, the number of lighting products certified is expected to be even higher.
According to EPA research, CB processing time ranges from 24 hours to two weeks, depending on a certification body’s work load and the completeness of a product submission.
Once a CB certifies a product meets an ENERGY STAR specification, it sends the data to EPA to be uploaded to the qualified products lists (QPLs). Lists are currently updated weekly for bulbs and twice a month for fixtures (around the first and the middle of the month). By the end of 2012, all product lists should be updated on a daily basis.
Upcoming Events
The next ENERGY STAR products partner meeting is October 22–24, 2012 in St. Paul, Minnesota. This is for lighting, as well as appliance and electronics partners and other stakeholders.
EPA Program Manager for ENERGY STAR Eamon Monahan will be speaking at MET Labs’ Annual Global Product Compliance Seminar & Crab Feast in September.
Find out how to get ENERGY STAR testing or certification body services.