What About Products with Special Features? Are They Included?

Aug 18, 2019

Following are four product features that can affect lumen maintenance, and LED Lighting Facts policies on these products:

Products with variable LED drive current to maintain light output over time: some products incorporate electronic controls that adjust the LED drive current during long-term operation to maintain light output near initial performance levels. This product design will affect the LED lumen maintenance. Manufacturers submitting products with variable drive current controls may claim LED lumen maintenance, but without a standard methodology for accurately projecting LED lumen maintenance as the drive current is adjusted over time, it must be clear that LED lumen maintenance claims are based on initial performance. Partners must indicate that the product incorporates variable drive current controls on the submission form by marking the appropriate checkbox. When this box is checked, a note will appear on the label that the product includes electronic controls to maintain light output over time, that LED lumen maintenance claims are based on initial performance, and that wattage may increase over time.

Products with variable LED drive current for other purposes: in addition to varying the drive current over time to maintain light output, some products may incorporate controls that affect other performance attributes, such as colour in products with multiple LED light sources. In such cases, the LED lumen maintenance may be affected by the electronic controls. Manufacturers submitting products with controls to vary the wattage for purposes other than maintaining light output may claim LED lumen maintenance, but without a standard methodology for accurately projecting LED lumen maintenance for such products over time, it must be clear that LED lumen maintenance claims are based on initial performance. Partners must indicate that the product incorporates variable wattage controls on the submission form by marking the appropriate checkbox. When this box is checked, a note will appear on the label that the label information is based on initial performance and the wattage may change over time.

Products with multiple LED light source types: some products incorporate two or more unique LED light sources to achieve desired light levels or colour that cannot be attained by a single type of light source alone. These multiple light sources will likely exhibit different lumen maintenance performance. Partners may still claim LED lumen maintenance, but must use a formula provided in the LED Lighting Facts Partner Participation Manual to obtain an accurate lumen maintenance claim for the combination of the LED light sources’ lumen maintenance. Partners must indicate the product incorporates multiple LED light sources by marking the appropriate checkbox in the product submission form and upload LM-80 data for each light source, ISTMT data with temperature measurements for each light source, and saved copy of completed ENERGY STAR TM-21 Calculator in a Microsoft Excel file format for each light source.

Products with remote phosphors: some products incorporate remote phosphors that tune the colour of the light emitted from the lamp or luminaire, but that are physically separated from the LED light source. Since they are not integrated into the LED light source, their effect on performance is not included in the new TM-21-based metric. Partners are thus not permitted to claim LED lumen maintenance for products employing remote phosphors.

Please note that some LED light source manufacturers may use similar features within the light source that may still be termed “remote phosphors.” Since performance effects of such products are captured by LM-80 and TM-21, luminaire and lamp manufacturers using such LED light sources are still permitted to claim an LED lumen maintenance value. Partners should direct any questions about allowable product designs to the LED Lighting Facts Team for clarification.

Source: https://www.lightingfacts.com/downloads/lumen_maintenance_faq.pdf

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