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Previous Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | SubscribeqMqM | Next PageqqM qMMQmagsTHE WORLD’S NEWSSTAND ®conferences | STRATEGIES IN LIGHT EUROPEthey are important. The document furtherexplains the difference between lifetimeclaims based on lumen maintenance andluminaire lifetime claims that depend oncomponent reliability.LED Quality CharterWith the advent of the Eco-Design Directiveto remove inefficient lamps from theEuropean market, it was also deemed necessaryto establish an EU LED QualityCharter (EU-QC), which was discussed atSIL Europe by Casper Kofod of Energy Piano.The EU-QC is a voluntary set of criteria thatis intended to promote high-quality LEDbasedlamps, to raise consumer awarenessand confidence, and to support promotionand procurement campaigns. Organizationscan sign up to support the EU-QC, which isrestricted only to LED lamps (not modules orluminaires), and to the residential, not commercial,sector.Importantly, the EU-QC is not a qualitylabel, although individual EU member countriescan use the EU-QC to develop their ownenergy-efficiency labels, such as those introducedin the UK or in Kofod’s home countryof Denmark. The recommended criteria canby viewed by downloading the EU-QC documentfrom the Residential Lighting sectionof the JRC website (http://re.jrc.ec.europa._____________eu/energyefficiency/).Surprisingly, considering levels set byother similar programs, the EU-QC requirementfor power factor (PF) is a minimum of0.5. Kofod said that “the consumer has noadvantages of high PF requirement, but disadvantagesif an extra corrector-circuit isinstalled.” The disadvantages come in termsof additional size, consumption, cost andother factors. He also said that lighting iscurrently 15-17% of domestic consumption,but in the future, when LEDs predominate, itwill be only 2-4%. In this case, a high PF willonly provide a marginal advantage: “We’retalking about peanuts,” said Kofod.The Danish Energy Savings Trust (EST)has developed a quality label for lampsthat meet EU regulations and the requirementsof the EU-QC, explained Kofod. Thelamps are self-certified, but the EST mayperform random testing. Demark is at theforefront of green policy development, andrecently announced that renewable energysources would be required to cover all electricityand heat consumption by 2035, andall energy consumption by 2050. “There is agreat future for LEDs to help slash energyconsumption in Denmark,” said Kofod.However, not everyone agrees that EUmember states should use the EU-QC todevelop their own labels: one obvious potentialconsequence could be 27 different labelingschemes, one for each country. AfterKofod’s talk, Jürgen Sturm of the EuropeanLamp Companies Federation (ELC) saidthat the European lighting industry “favorsa Europe-wide approach, not fragmentationof labels on a country-wide basis.”Dekra performance markIn his presentation, Jacob Neusink ofDekra, a quality and safety service-provider,asked: “Is there a need for an LEDquality mark?” Not surprisingly, Neusink’sanswer was yes, giventhat Dekra has alreadyissued its own LED performancemark (Fig. 3) totwo Netherlands-basedmanufacturers, LemnisLighting and Ledned.In explaining why themark was introduced,Neusink quoted commentsfrom Dekra’s customers.He said thatinstallers ask: “How canI be sure that the claimsmy supplier makes aretrue and how do I knowthat the products I buywill perform?” Meanwhile,manufacturerssay: “I have a high-qualityproduct with good performance,and my customerdoes not believewhat I am saying.” Toaddress such comments,the Dekra mark sets performancelevels for LEDlamps, or modules, orluminaires.Neusink pointed outthat this is a “qualitymark,” where testingconfirms that the performancereaches or exceeds the requiredlevels set by Dekra, rather than a “truthmark,” which simply confirms that the figuresquoted by the manufacturer are accurate.It’s important to note that Dekra offersits mark on a commercial basis, as distinctfrom government-sponsored programssuch as the Danish EST label mentionedabove (www.dekra-certification.com/en/led-performance-mark).______________Global initiativesThe challenge of harmonizing SSL-relatedactivities on a global basis has been taken upby at least two new organizations. The mainaims of the International Energy Agency(IEA) Annex on SSL (http://ssl.iea-4e.org), asdescribed at SIL Europe by Marc Fontoynont(Fig. 4), are to develop SSL quality assurance,to harmonize SSL performance testing,and to promote standards and developFIG. 4. Marc Fontoynont of Aalborg University discussed theIEA Annex on SSL, which aims to increase confi dence in SSL,and to allow governments to prepare more ambitious policiesfor energy-effi cient lighting products, for example relating toregulation and labels.24 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 LEDsmagazine.comPrevious Page | Contents | Zoom in | Zoom out | Front Cover | Search Issue | SubscribeqMqM qMM MQmags| Next Page q qTHE WORLD’S NEWSSTAND ®