New LED Lighting Facts^® Services for Testing Laboratories

LED Lighting Facts is inviting testing laboratories to pledge as LED Lighting Facts partners and promote their testing services to manufacturers from the LED Lighting Facts Approved Testing Laboratories list. The option to be included in the LED Lighting Facts Approved Testing Laboratories list is only available to labs who have registered as Testing Laboratory Partners.

Partnership Requirements

Any testing laboratory, both independent and manufacturer owned, that has been appropriately accredited or recognized to conduct one or more of the following test procedures can register as an LED Lighting Facts Approved Testing Laboratory Partner:

• IES LM-79 for total flux and color (required label metrics; LM-79 sections 9 and 12)
• IES LM-79 for intensity distribution (optional metrics; LM-79 section 10)
• In-situ Temperature Measurement Test (ISTMT)
• IES LM-80

To pledge as a LED Lighting Facts Testing Laboratory Partner, please click here.

Approved Testing Laboratory Partner List

After June 1, 2012 LED Lighting Facts will only accept test reports from Testing Laboratory Partners on the Approved Testing Laboratories list. To be listed in the Approved Testing Laboratories list, partners must sign the pledge and provide proof of accreditation to info@lightingfacts.com. See below for more information.

Appropriate Accreditation or Recognition

LM-79
For Labs Accredited by NVLAP:
LED Lighting Facts accepts LM-79 reports from testing laboratories that meet the requirements described below. At this time, the NIST NVLAP LM-79 accreditation process is known to fulfill all of the specific requirements, including proficiency testing and handbooks describing lighting testing accreditation processes. Testing laboratories accredited to LM-79 through the complete NVLAP process need to submit the following documentation to become an LED Lighting Facts Testing Laboratory Partner:

• A document proving the laboratory’s accreditation, including the subsections of LM-79 testing covered by the accreditation and the effective and expiration dates of the accreditation.

For Labs Accredited by other Accreditation Bodies:
Testing laboratories accredited for LM-79 testing by accreditation bodies other than NVLAP must meet the following requirements:

1. The chosen accreditation body must be listed on the LED Lighting Facts testing laboratory web page (see the next section for details).
2. The testing laboratory must submit a document proving the laboratory’s accreditation, including the subsections of LM-79 testing covered by the accreditation and the effective and expiration dates of the accreditation.
3. The testing laboratory must submit proof that proficiency testing has been completed through the NIST LM-79 Measurement Assurance Program (M.A.P.) service (see below for details). Effective and expiration dates of proficiency testing must be detailed.

Because of the challenges involved with maintaining measurement traceability for a wide range of SSL products and the potential for measurement uncertainty in SSL testing in general, the accreditation must include or be accompanied by proof of proficiency testing (addressing challenges such as particular spectral distributions, remote phosphors, particular intensity distributions, and particular electrical characteristics of samples). Also, as defined in ISO/IEC Guide 43 on proficiency testing, the accreditation process for LM-79 must include periodic repetition and revalidation of proficiency testing (through a documented and regularly scheduled round-robin testing and verification process). LED Lighting Facts will recognize proficiency testing fulfilled through the LM-79 M.A.P. service available from NIST.

Recognition of other Accreditation Bodies
LED Lighting Facts will recognize LM-79 accreditation granted by bodies other than NVLAP, provided the accreditation bodies meet the following requirements:

1. The accreditation body must have a Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) in place with international oversight traceable to the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). Proof of this agreement must be submitted to LED Lighting Facts.
2. A document describing the LM-79 accreditation process must be published or provided by the accreditation body.
3. A document describing the experience and competence of the quality assessor teams for LM-79 accreditation with regard to absolute photometry and SSL testing must be provided. This includes competencies listed in section 2.2.3 of the ILAC Guidelines on Qualifications and Competence of Assessors and Technical Experts, articles 2.2.3.1 and 2.2.3.2 concerning estimation of measurement uncertainties and analysis of proficiency testing needs and results.

LED Lighting Facts will list additional recognized LM-79 accreditation bodies on its Testing Laboratories web page. Accreditation bodies wishing to be listed must submit documentation of the three items above to info@lightingfacts.com. The LED Lighting Facts team and DOE SSL program staff will review the documentation and make a determination before listing additional accreditation bodies.

ISTMT
In keeping with past DOE guidance for the ENERGY STAR solid-state lighting program, LED Lighting Facts will accept ISTMT test reports from laboratories that meet any of the following requirements:

• An Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL). For a list of laboratories, visit www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/.
• A laboratory recognized through UL’s Data Acceptance Program (DAP). For more information, visit www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/offerings/services/programs/dap/.

LM-80
IESNA LM-80 Approved Method for Measuring Lumen Maintenance of LED Light Sources defines the test procedure for obtaining lumen maintenance data for LED light sources. An LM-80 report must come from a laboratory accredited for LM-80 testing through NIST’s NVLAP program or a laboratory accredited for LM-80 testing through an accreditation body that is an International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) signatory. For more information about ILAC MRA signatories, visit www.ilac.org/ilacarrangement.html.

Upon signing the pledge, laboratories must submit a document proving accreditation or recognition to info@lightingfacts.com, including the effective and expiration dates, which will be reviewed by LED Lighting Facts. Testing Laboratory Partners are expected to submit renewed accreditations and certificates as they expire and will be prompted by LED Lighting Facts to do so. Failure to keep accreditations and certificates up to date will result in removal from the LED Lighting Facts Approved Testing Laboratories list.

LED Lighting Facts Testing Laboratory Partner Newsletter

LED Lighting Facts recently launched a newsletter specifically for Testing Laboratory Partners. Click here to sign up for this newsletter and other LED Lighting Facts updates.