Approval of company's LED-based solution facilitates utility rebates for warehouse and industrial customers
Boston-based Digital Lumens recently announced that its Intelligent Lighting System is the first product to be approved by the DesignLights Consortium (DLC) in the newly created Highbay Aisle category. The product will be placed on the DLC's Qualified Products List (QPL), which is used as a reference guide by participating utilities when considering industrial and commercial customers' applications for utility rebates. The DLC's QPL addresses product categories not currently covered by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Starprogram.
A collaboration of utility and state energy-efficiency programs from across North America, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), the Lighting Research Center, and regional energy efficiency organizations, the DLC is focused on raising awareness of the benefits of energy-efficient lighting in commercial and industrial buildings. By providing a rigorous set of evaluation criteria for prospective vendors, the DLC ensures that high-quality, energy-efficient lighting becomes commonplace in all areas of the commercial lighting market.
"We applaud the DLC's efforts to establish industry standards for solid-state lighting, and are honored to be the first recipient of certification in this new category," says Brian Chemel, chief tchnology officer for Digital Lumens. "Intelligent lighting systems offer large facilities numerous sustainability and financial benefits, and the DLC's stringent requirements provide customers with a high level of confidence in the quality and efficiency of certified products, helping to accelerate widespread adoption."
"By expanding into the highbay lighting category, the DLC is more capable to address the needs of large commercial and industrial facilities managers considering a lighting retrofit, or designing a new building," says Jon Linn, commercial initiatives manager at NEEP. "It is essential to work with both energy efficiency programs and manufacturers including Digital Lumens to accelerate SSL technology in the market and provide a framework that ensures vendors deliver products that meet customers' expectations."
The DLC certification process requires lighting manufacturers to provide a wide variety of documentation, including the product's rated and measured data for various properties including photometric, electrical, and lumen depreciation. Required data comes from the LM-79, LM-80 test files, as well as full IES files and UL 1598 certification.
Designed for large warehouses and industrial facilities, the Digital Lumens Intelligent Lighting System integrates LEDs, sensors, networking and software into a single solution that leverages system-wide intelligence to reduce customers' energy costs. Introduced earlier this year and deployed in multiple sites, the system includes the Intelligent Light Engine (ILE), a high-performance, highbay LED-based fixture that has a broad range of control and dimming capabilities, and which was a recognized winner in the DOE's Next Generation Luminaire competition. The ILEs form a wireless mesh network and the system collects detailed energy consumption and occupancy details, enabling facilities managers and engineers to refine the lighting program and further reduce energy use.