A recent product group to join the expanding Internet of Things (IoT) family is internet-connected or "smart" LED light bulbs*. Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally recognized the future growth potential of smart lighting by adding requirements for "connected" product to its latest ENERGY STAR Lamp and Luminaire program draft specifications. But, do smart bulbs mean good news for efficiency? Maybe not.
Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began the process of revising the current ENERGY STAR Lamp program specifications. It’s anticipated that the new version 2 specification will be completed in June of this year.
The program’s product scope is limited to lamp types that are intended to replace incandescent bulbs. Lamps must have integrated ballasts and drivers with rated nominal operating voltages of 120, 240, and 270 VAC, or 12 or 24 VAC or VDC. They should also conform to ANSI standard base types E26, E26d, E17, E11, E12, GU24, GU5.3, and GX5.3.
The future could get brighter using less power for U.S. consumers if the Department of Energy (DOE) decides to pass tougher General Service Lamp (GSL) standards.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently published the first draft of its ENERGY STAR Luminaires specification, version 2. The specification focuses on residential lighting products such as accent, cove, outdoor, and desk task lights as well as downlights and undercabinet luminaires.
The primary goals for version 2 are:
During recent months, progress has been made in multiple areas of the European Commission’s (EC) Ecodesign Directive, including preparatory studies, current regulation revisions, and the 2015-2017 Working Plan development. Here’s a quick summary of some key activities.
September 29, 2014 - California is moving forward on developing an LED lighting energy efficiency standard.
September 8, 2014 - The Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment Initiative (SEAD) recently announced its fourth annual competition for highly-efficient products, this time recognizing and rewarding the most efficient lighting products. According to SEAD, approximately 15% of electricity consumption is used for lighting.
July 31, 2014 - The California Energy Commission (CEC) has begun conducting workshops to discuss proposed revisions to its Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Title 24). Title 24 covers a wide range of energy using products found in residential and non-residential buildings, including HVAC systems, elevators/escalators/moving walkways, indoor and outdoor lighting, fans, pool systems, and water heaters.
July 30, 2014 - Last April, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) for Test Procedures for LED Lamps. Since then, two supplemental notices (SNOPRs) have been published.
August 6, 2013 - It's been a while since I've talked about the L Prize – the prize awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for developing the first LED lamp that meets specific DOE efficiency criteria. The first prize was awarded in 2011 to Philips for developing a replacement for a 60 W incandescent (A19) bulb that used less than 10 watts and had a usable lifetime of >25,000 hours (see my blog from two years ago).
