DOE Fluorescent Ballast Luminous Efficiency

Fluorescent ballast (ballast) manufacturers have been required to comply with the US Department of Energy (DOE) energy conservation standards since 1990. The standards encourage energy savings and carbon emission reduction by setting minimum ballast efficiencies. In November 2011, the DOE issued new rules regulating the efficiency of ballasts, which will come into effect on November 14, 2014. The new rules consist of energy efficiency standards, test procedures, and other requirements such as test laboratory accreditation. Lumentra is well positioned to assist ballast manufacturers in obtaining product certifications under the new regulations.

The current standard requires several types of ballasts for T12 lamps to have minimum efficacy factor (BEF) and power factor (PF). Along with ballast factor and system efficacy, BEF has been the traditional metric for energy standards in North America. The new rule, however, introduces a different efficiency metric, ballast luminous efficiency (BLE) for minimum energy efficiency requirements, and goes beyond T12 to also regulate T8 and T5 electronic ballast efficiencies.

Ballasts that do not comply with the new standards by November 2014 will be prohibited from domestic manufacture and importation. As a result, ballast manufacturers are urged to ensure their compliance with the new standards on both product performance and test lab accreditation.

For more information on understanding these new rules, please see our white paper on the subject, which you can find here.

If you are a ballast manufacturer needing to comply with these new regulations, please contact us at services@lumentra.com or 647-479-8820 and we can discuss further.

 

Attached Content:

New Ballast Rules-Lumentra Whitepaper