Solid-State Lighting (using LEDs) presents both a risk and an opportunity for utility incentives programs. While LEDs are rapidly becoming a feasible technology for achieving maximum lighting efficiency, high costs and uncertain performance have hampered the adoption of LED measures into lighting incentives programs. The DesignLights Consortium is the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership’s national program that takes much of the guesswork out of identifying quality LED products by:
- Establishing rigorous performance specifications for a wide variety of lighting applications
- Qualifying commercially available products against these specifications through third-party lab testing
- Creating a Qualified Products List that more and more utilities are using as a qualifying criteria for LED lighting incentives
The webinar also includes a general update from the DOE Lighting Facts program, with special focus given to the Energy Efficiency Partner Resource.
In May, Lighting Facts launched the Energy Efficiency Partner Resource that will allow Energy Efficiency Partners to list LED lighting incentive programs in association with products from the Lighting Facts web site. An overview of the resource is provided along with an online demonstration. The Energy Efficiency Partner Resource helps utilities and efficiency program sponsors specify and promote their LED incentive programs. The Resource will allow Energy Efficiency Partners to:
- Apply specific program criteria based on verified performance data and identify products that meet the criteria
- Sort and search products that are qualified for current national programs (ENERGY STAR and DesignLights Consortium) or another program criteria
- Receive notification via email when new products that meet the program criteria are verified and listed with Lighting Facts
- Include information about LED incentive programs on the Lighting Facts.com Utility Programs list
Viewers also receive information on the Product Snapshot, which was developed to help energy efficiency partners navigate the rapidly changing lighting market, including upcoming standards and labeling requirements, and the impact of these changes on LED replacement lamps. The FTC Lighting Facts label will be mandatory starting January 1, 2012 and we will review the label requirements and explain how the FTC Lighting Facts label relates to the DOE Lighting Facts label.
