Getting the Facts on LEDs

For the LED lighting market to reach its potential, stringent quality standards must be in place that ensure these fascinating light sources provide the type of light their manufacturers claim they do. The Department of Energy (DOE) is now developing standards to do exactly that. At the recent LightFair trade show, seminars on the new LED standards at the DOE booth were packed with attendees and exhibitors who wanted to learn more. An extension of these DOE efforts is the Lighting Facts label, (right) which will highlight the performance standards of LEDs from manufacturers who take the DOE SSL Quality Advocates pledge to include the Lighting Facts label on product packaging or in product literature. The label reports product performance in five areas from test data that measures photometric performance of LEDs: luminaire light output; efficacy (lumens per watt); measured power (watts); correlated color temperature; and Color Rendering Index (CRI). Learn more about the DOE’s efforts in developing standard for LEDs and other types of solid-state lighting.