Becoming an informed consumer will allow you to buy certified lighting items with confidence. Knowing what types of lighting certifications to look for when you’re buying light bulbs or fixtures can also help you feel more confident in your selections. Many certifications are related to safety, but others show energy efficiency or conformity with government laws. Here’s an explanation of the different lighting certifications you’ll commonly find on lighting products.
Who Performs Product Certifications?
Various certification organizations independently evaluate and validate all lighting goods. As a result, you can be confident that your certified lighting products meet industry requirements. The majority of testing is done by the certification agency or at a designated independent testing facility.
Manufacturers can also use their own testing data for several certifications. For example, makers of LED (light-emitting diode) devices can do their own LM-80 testing thanks to Energy Star. This approach has been certified for calculating the lifetime hours of qualified SSL (solid-state lighting) luminaries. This measurement depicts relative light output under various circumstances over time. In other words, it measures how quickly a component-level LED’s light output degrades.
Which Product Certifications Can Manufacturers Obtain?
Multiple certifications can apply to many products. The following is a list of certifications you may notice on standard lighting products:
Energy Star
Energy Star is a United States government–backed system for energy efficiency. Energy Star provides simple, unbiased, credible information on which customers can rely to make informed purchase decisions. You’ll see the Energy Star mark on select lighting products; the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ensures that each product that earns the logo was independently certified to deliver the quality, performance, and savings that consumers have come to expect.
Underwriters Laboratories
Underwriters Laboratories, or UL, is a nonprofit corporation that describes itself as a global, independent safety science firm. It has been around for almost a century and has no financial ties to the products it reviews. UL inspects and approves products for consumer safety and compliance with industry requirements. A “UL-Listed” product has been found to meet the relevant standards of the Underwriters Laboratories’ safety standards. That’s an impressive pedigree. Underwriters Laboratories offers a variety of markings that manufacturers can use to signify that a product is UL Listed.
Electrical Testing Laboratories
Thomas Edison founded ETL in 1896 under the name Lamp Testing Bureau to test the safety of light bulbs. ETL now conducts safety tests using published standards from organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Intertek ETL provides a certification mark to signify verification of product compliance with defined safety requirements in the United States, in Canada, and in other regions of the world.
DesignLight Consortium
Through open communication and collaboration, the DesignLight Consortium aims to define excellence, foster thought leadership, and provide tools and resources to the lighting sector. In addition, utilities around the country participate in DLC rebate programs for a limited number of goods. According to DLC LED lighting criteria, accredited laboratories test for compliance with performance standards in distribution, color, and longevity and stress.
The FCC
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oversees the regulation and enforcement of items that can generate radio frequency energy or other electromagnetic interference, which could harm the public as well as other telecommunications needs. Because of the possibility for interference with radio services, the FCC’s certification for radio frequency (RF) devices is the strictest. The FCC receives test results from an FCC-recognized and -accredited testing laboratory. Because LED bulbs and devices with remote, Bluetooth, or WiFi capabilities are considered radio frequency equipment, they must all have FCC approval.
CE Marking
A CE marking signifies that a product is allowed to sell in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Union (EU). This certifies that a product meets the essential requirements or performance levels as well as the Harmonized Standards to which products in Europe must adhere. The initials “CE” stand for “Conformité Européene,” which translates to “European Conformity” in English.
RoHS-Compliant
The majority of Eco LED Mart’s goods comply with the RoHS directive. The Restriction of Hazardous Substances, or RoHS, is also known as Directive 2002/95/EC. It’s a European Union directive that prohibits the use of certain hazardous compounds in electrical and electronic products. RoHS compliance is required for all eligible products sold in the EU.
The RoHS prohibits the use of the restricted materials listed below. They used to be common in traditional light bulbs, but they’re no longer found in any Eco LED Mart LED bulbs:
- Lead
- Mercury
- Cadmium
- Hexavalent chromium
- Four types of phthalates: DEHP, BBP, BBP, and DIBP
These banned materials are harmful to the environment, and they pollute landfills and pose a risk of occupational exposure during production and recycling. Therefore, switching from traditional light bulbs to RoHS-compliant LED illumination offers many benefits.
Where Can I Find the Product Certifications Listed?
You can find product certifications such as the ones listed above in a number of places, including:
Product Pages
Online product pages are some of the finest resources to look at in order to find out about a good’s certifications. In most cases, product sites will also provide information about the bulb’s wattage, its power requirements, and even the materials from which it’s made.
Manuals & Documentation Pages
Manuals and documentation pages contain technical specifications, installation manuals, and much more to help you understand your lighting product. Certification badges are included in the technical specifications, as is a list of the certifications that apply to that product.
Product Packaging
Most lighting manufacturing companies will also display certification logos on product packaging for your reassurance and quick reference.
We hope our explanation of the different lighting certifications has helped you understand the overall certifications that you can expect from premium lighting fixtures. If you’re looking to purchase a 2x4 panel light, be sure to reach out to Eco LED Mart! We are dedicated to providing a wide variety of lighting fixtures and systems to ensure we always have what you need!
