DOE releases Energy Star draft criteria on integral LED lamps

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released the first draft of Energy Star criteria for integral LED lamps and has posted these potential criteria on its web site for review.

The draft criteria can be found at http://www.drintl.com/temp/ESIntegralLampsCriteria_Draft1.pdf.

DOE has also posted a letter that explains why integral LED lamps are being included in the Energy Star program at this point and gives an overview of the approach the agency took to decide on certain criteria. Also listed are several key issues that are up for debate and the expected timeline for revising and finalizing these criteria.

What is an integral lamp?
The basic definition of an integral LED lamp is a lamp with:

• LEDs,
• an integrated LED driver, and
• an ANSI standardized base designed to connect to the branch circuit via an ANSI standardized lamp holder/socket*.

DOE further specified that the criteria include:

• integral LED lamps intended to replace standard general service incandescent lamps of 25 W or greater,
• decorative (candelabra style) lamps and standard reflector lamps of 20 W or greater, and
• non-standard lamps.

However, these criteria are not applicable to LED lamps intended to replace linear fluorescent or high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps.

Rationale for including integral lamp criteria
The DOE believes that integral lamps are now emerging as technically and commercially viable products. However, since many LED lamps have been performing poorly, some energy efficiency program sponsors have repeatedly been asking for minimum performance guidelines. Thus, setting requirements now, at the early stages of the lamps’ market viability, provides targets that manufacturers can meet to please program sponsors and eventually the public.

Overall approach thinking
In formulating its criteria, the DOE kept these goals in mind:
1) Integral LED lamps should be very similar to the lamps they purport to replace; however, equivalency does not need to inhibit innovation and creativity using LED technology.
2) Integral LED lamps should provide significant energy savings compared to incandescent and halogen sources they replace.

DOE would like comments from stakeholders by Feb. 27th on any of the proposed criteria but are especially interested in comments on:
1. Dimming
2. Non-standard lamps
3. Low-voltage MR16s
4. Reliability testing
Please direct all comments to [email protected] and [email protected].

Expected timeline for criteria
Feb. 27th, 2009: 1st round stakeholder review and comments received
Apr. 2009: Second draft criteria published
May. 2009: 2nd round stakeholder comments received
July. 2009: Final criteria published

* ANSI/IESNA RP-16-05, Addendum “a”. Nomenclature and Definitions for Illuminating Engineering. IESNA. 2008.