Lighting Systems or Luminaires

This page describes activities including a Request for Information recently issued by DOE on lighting systems also known as luminaires. There are currently no DOE test procedures for widely used classes of lighting systems or luminaires, nor have any labeling requirements been developed. To date, DOE has focused lighting regulation on lighting system components (lamps and ballasts), but, with only minor exceptions (torchieres, ceiling fan light kits, exit signs, traffic signals, and metal halide lamp fixtures), has not regulated lighting fixtures or integrated lighting systems (luminaires) and lighting system controls. Even in the case of those exceptions, total luminaire efficiency and the potential for lighting system controls have not been addressed. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct 1992) gave DOE authority to evaluate a voluntary national testing and information program for luminaires.

Activities

Request for Information.
Comment Period Closes on Monday, September 19, 2011

RFI Docket Number: EERE–2011–BT–TP–0041 Stakeholder comments are compiled on the regulations.gov website. To navigate to the comments page, use the Docket Number in the 'Enter Keyword or ID:' search box.

Statutory Authority

EPAct 1992 (Pub. L. No. 102-486), Section 126, required DOE to support and monitor a national voluntary testing and information program for widely used luminaires that have significant energy savings potential, and to issue a determination as to whether the program developed was consistent with those objectives. If the DOE determined they did not exist, EPAct 1992 directed DOE to develop test procedures and labels for luminaires. (42 U.S.C. 6292 note) The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-58) and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) also established Federal efficiency standards for certain classes of luminaires but not labeling requirements.

Background

In April 1992, the National Lighting Collaborative (NLC or Collaborative) initiated development of a testing and information program as described under EPAct 1992. The Collaborative, administered by NEMA, comprised representatives from environmental organizations, State governments, the lighting industry, research entities, and utilities. In 1995, the NLC issued a report on the program to DOE that served as the basis of DOE's provisional determination on whether the program met the objectives set forth in EPAct 1992 (61 FR 10742, March 15, 1996). DOE issued a proposed determination that the program would be consistent with the objectives set forth in EPAct 1992 when it had been demonstrated to DOE that the program had been "fully implemented so that energy efficiency information about luminaires is widely available to luminaire purchasers". Although the NLC continued activities through 2001, DOE has not yet issued a final determination regarding the program. In the Request for Information posted above, DOE now seeks information about test procedures and labeling requirements for luminaires.

For Questions

Lucy deButts
Project Manager