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FAQs for Lamp and Luminaire Manufacturers

Q: Why Lighting FactsCM?
A: The rapid growth of solid-state lighting has resulted in an increasing number of new products on the market for various lighting applications. While many of these products showcase the energy-savings potential and performance attributes of LED lighting, under-performing products are also appearing in the market. Such products threaten consumer adoption and could significantly delay widespread acceptance of this new technology. This occurred in the early days of CFLs, slowing market acceptance of these products. To avoid this problem for solid-state lighting, DOE urges luminaire manufacturers to pledge to report accurate and consistent product performance results through the Lighting Facts program.

Others in the supply chain—retailers, distributors, lighting designers and specifiers, utilities, and energy efficiency organizations—may also take the pledge to use products from participating manufacturers.
Q: Why should a manufacturer take the pledge?
A: Taking the pledge to test products and register them for a Lighting Facts label establishes a manufacturer as an industry leader in support of high quality products for LED lighting. Accurate and consistent reporting of LED product performance will increase consumer satisfaction and accelerate market adoption.
Q: What is the Lighting FactsCM label?
A: Luminaire manufacturers who take the pledge agree to present the Lighting Facts label on product packaging or in product literature. All measurements must use results from product testing in accordance with IESNA standard LM-79-2008, Approved Method for the Electrical and Photometric Testing of Solid-State Lighting Devices. The label reports product performance results in five areas:
  1. Lumens
  2. Lumens per watt (lm/W)
  3. Watts at 120 VAC
  4. Correlated Color Temperature (CCT)
  5. Color Rendering Index (CRI)

Additional metrics related to reliability, product consistency, construction, and other characteristics may be considered in future editions of the label.
Q: Will the Lighting Facts label signal product quality to buyers?
A: While the label establishes a manufacturer’s commitment to disclosing product performance, the label itself is not a guarantee of quality. It provides the basis for buyer evaluation of product quality.
Q: Which products can be labeled?
A: The label may appear only on LED lighting, which includes self-contained replacement lamps and full luminaire products, not packaged LED devices.
Q: How is manufacturer-reported performance data verified?
A: So that DOE can verify the data on a Lighting Facts label, manufacturers are required to submit a copy of the IESNA LM-79 test report for each product. In addition, DOE monitors the accuracy of reported product performance, on a sampling basis, through third-party quality assurance testing.
Q: From which laboratories will Lighting Facts accept LM-79 test reports?
A: Ideally, Lighting Facts submissions will include an LM-79 report from a laboratory that has received NVLAP accreditation for LM-79 testing (see the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program home page) or from an independent testing lab recognized by the DOE CALiPER program. DOE established the CALiPER program to provide accurate and comparable data on LEDs by arranging for reliable independent testing and data reporting of commercially available products. The list of approved CALiPER recognized labs can be found at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/test_labs.html.

Some manufacturers have their own facilities capable of testing to LM-79 and would be able to save time and money by testing internally. However, to maintain the integrity of the program, unbiased verification is needed to ensure that testing is done appropriately. Accordingly, Lighting Facts will accept test reports from manufacturer-based labs that have initiated the NVLAP accreditation procedure for solid-state lighting. If a manufacturer submits to Lighting Facts sufficient documentation (including application materials, the submittal date, and the appropriate manufacturer and NIST contacts) to prove that its internal lab is in the process of becoming NVLAP accredited for solid-state lighting, Lighting Facts will conditionally accept LM-79 test reports from that lab.

If Lighting Facts accepts a test report from such a laboratory, we will follow up when the accreditation process is complete to ensure that the lab has passed. If the lab has not passed, or if accreditation is not completed for some other reason, the corresponding products will be immediately de-listed. This allowance is intended to give manufacturers some extra leeway during the testing process, while still maintaining the quality that comes from an independent, qualified laboratory. Any submitted product, regardless of the lab that tested it, will be a candidate for our own quality assurance testing and verification program.
Q: Do manufacturers that make LED lighting have to join Lighting Facts?
A: No. The program is voluntary. However, those that join send a signal to buyers that they are committed to accurate reporting of their products’ performance.
Q: Is there any cost to participate?
A: No. The program is free.
Q: There’s already an ENERGY STAR® specification. Why does the industry need Lighting Facts?
A: Lighting Facts and ENERGY STAR were both developed to make energy-efficient purchasing decisions easier and more transparent, but the programs support LED lighting in different ways:
  • ENERGY STAR sets a minimum performance level for qualifying products and is designed to help consumers differentiate among products based on efficiency. The ENERGY STAR label can be applied only to a limited group of general illumination LED lighting products.
  • Lighting Facts requires essential product information be disclosed to help manufacturers and others in the supply chain validate their product performance claims. The program’s Lighting Facts label may be applied to any participating general illumination LED product.
  • Both programs are voluntary, and any ENERGY STAR partner can also take the pledge.
Q: How do I create my labels?
A: Register on LightingFacts.com to establish an account. We’ll send a confirmation email, after which you may complete the online pledge form. Any time after you have completed the pledge, you may log on and submit products. Once your products have passed our verification process, you will be able to click the label icon next to any approved product to download a print-quality version of the label, complete with your product’s unique characteristics.
Q: What information do I need to collect?
A: For each product, you will need the measurements from your IESNA LM-79-2008 test report (see Sample Test Report (274 KB, PDF). Product testing must be done in accordance with the industry standardized test procedure (1MB, PDF).