NEMA Publishes NEMA LSD 64-2014 Lighting Controls Terminology

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) published NEMA LSD 64-2014 Lighting Controls Terminology. This white paper, which was originally published in 2012, was updated to clarify terminology related to daylight responsive controls.

NEMA LSD 64 defines terminology related to controls for lighting systems for non-residential and residential applications. The goal of LSD 64 is for NEMA definitions to ultimately be used as the definitive reference for codes, standards, and legislation. This will eliminate the creation of new meanings for already defined terms, will minimize misapplication of controls terminology, and will eliminate the need for customized glossaries and terminology sections.

This document was developed by reviewing every known description for lighting control terminology, and represents ultimately agreeing upon best definitions. The working group reviewed definitions from documents such as American Society of Heating and Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers standards, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America Handbook, NEMA guides, and all energy codes in use at the time, including California Title 24.

NEMA LSD 64-2014 may be downloaded at no cost on the NEMA website.

NEMA is the association of electrical equipment and medical imaging manufacturers, founded in 1926 and headquartered in Rosslyn, Virginia. Its 400-plus member companies manufacture a diverse set of products including power transmission and distribution equipment, lighting systems, factory automation and control systems, and medical diagnostic imaging systems. Total U.S. shipments for electroindustry products exceed $100 billion annually.

 

NEMA Publishes Two Lighting Standards: ANSI C78.50-2014 and ANSI C78.79-2014

ROSSLYN, Va., September 3, 2014—The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) published ANSI C78.50-2014 American National Standard for Electric Lamps—Assigned LED Lamp Codes and ANSI C78.79-2014 American National Standard for Electric Lamps—Nomenclature for Envelope Shapes Intended for Use with Electric Lamps. Both standards are referenced in the updated version of the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR^® Lamps Program, which is due to be released this year.

A new standard, ANSI C78.50 defines the physical and electrical characteristics of the LED (light-emitting diode) lamps included in it. Specifically, the standard provides the lamp space drawings and electrical features of two highly anticipated LED lamp designations: the MRX16 and the PAR16. As the LED industry moves forward, this will become the standard to which it refers for LED lamp codes and descriptions.

ANSI C78.50-2014 may be purchased for $65 in electronic or hardcopy format on the NEMA website.

ANSI C78.79, a re-designation of ANSI C79.1, describes a system of nomenclature that provides designations for envelope shapes used for all electric lamps. This revision adds the solid state lighting category and includes, as a new envelope shape, the MRX. Inclusion of the MRX lamp standardizes this lamp shape to allow industry consistency and consumers’ ease of identification.

ANSI C78.79-2014 may be purchased for $125 in electronic or hardcopy format on the NEMA website.

NEMA is the association of electrical equipment and medical imaging manufacturers, founded in 1926 and headquartered in Rosslyn, Virginia. Its 400-plus member companies manufacture a diverse set of products including power transmission and distribution equipment, lighting systems, factory automation and control systems, and medical diagnostic imaging systems. Total U.S. shipments for electroindustry products exceed $100 billion annually.

Read the full story: National Electrical Manufacturers Association

 

Test standards ensure the safety of LED lighting products

Complying with the IEC62471 standard assures designers purchasing LED lighting components that they are safe to operate and can be sold worldwide.

LEDs have benefited from exponential performance improvements during the past 20 years due to their better efficiency and lower operating costs compared to incandescent and gas-discharge lamps. Because LED lights are made of a monolithic semiconductor material, they also are inherently more rugged than filament- or ballast-based lights. This has made LED lights extremely useful in industrial markets where uptime is a primary concern. Finally, LED lights can also be designed to generate almost any wavelength or color of light from the UV through the IR spectral band.

Most white LED lights manufactured today start as a blue LED with additional phosphor coating to create a broadband white light source. This has led to the development of brighter blue LEDs. Unfortunately, as the white LED becomes more prevalent, it also increases the danger of UV damage to human eyes. Above certain luminosities, UV, visible, and IR light can cause considerable photo-biological damage to eyes.

Read the full story: Vision Systems Design

 

 

GBI Forms Consensus Body to Revise ANSI/GBI 01-2010

The Planned Update of GBI’s Approved American National Standard will Commence with First Consensus Body Meeting Set for September 5 – Participation Available to the Public

 “We are extremely pleased with the high caliber and range of expertise our applicants will be bringing to the table as Consensus Body members,” stated GBI President Jerry Yudelson. Out of 52 applicants, thirty-two have been selected to date for voting seats on the Consensus Body. “As we progress through this process, we look forward to working with this Body to incorporate input from the public and ensure that our GBI standard and Green Globes rating system continue to reflect important lessons learned in green building design and operation over the past five years.”

For a full list of the Consensus Body please click here.

NEMA Launches New ANSI-accredited Lighting Systems Committee

The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) announces the launch of ASC 137 Lighting Systems Committee. This committee has received approval from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Executive Standards Council as an Accredited Standards Committee (ASC). This approval is the culmination of a multi-month process and will allow the committee to write American National Standards within its scope.

According to NEMA President and CEO Kevin Cosgriff, the launch of this committee puts NEMA at the forefront of efforts for development of codes and standards for lighting systems technologies. ASC 137 will develop and approve standards under its defined scope:

To develop standards and specifications for indoor and outdoor lighting systems installed in an application with consideration of human health and comfort, personal security, the physical environment, energy consumption and daylight integration. Such a system includes components (e.g., luminaires, sensors/controllers, and windows or skylights) and associated software designed to minimize energy use while maintaining lighting quality, and that may be interconnected to provide control, monitoring functions, and interface with related systems.

Read the full story: NEMA

NEMA Lighting Standard Recommended in Revised DOE Report

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) revised its October 2013 report, Dimming LEDs with Phase-Cut Dimmers: The Specifier’s Process for Maximizing Success, to include a recommendation of a National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) lighting standard, NEMA SSL 7A-2013 Phase Cut Dimming for Solid State Lighting: Basic Compatibility.

DOE’s report specifies that for wall-box installation, a NEMA SSL 7A-compliant dimmer be used with compliant LED (light-emitting diodes) sources. Pairing these products guarantees a level of compatibility and ensures the dimmer will not negate the dimming claims of the lamp or luminaire.

According to NEMA President and CEO Kevin J. Cosgriff, this is an example of proactive partnering between business and regulators.

“Our job, as an association representing manufacturers, is to ensure that their products are met with a positive regulatory environment. We are pleased that DOE recommends using SSL 7A,” he said. 

Read the full story: NEMA

IES Publishes New Standard on the Economic Analysis of Lighting

The IES has announced publication of IES RP-31-14, Recommended Practice for the of Lighting. RP-31-14 provides a framework for the lighting practitioner involved in making important economic decisions relative to lighting such as: selecting from a group of competing lighting designs, establishing when a system under consideration will “pay off,” making energy conservation decisions, and most importantly, gauging the profitability of a capital investment in a lighting system that can be objectively compared to other competing capital investments.

Read the full story: LightNow