[3] Due to IT system constraints, low-bay luminaires and retrofit kits will continue appearing under the High-Bay General Application until V5.1 applications open on July 1, 2020. Until that time, the V5.0 efficacy levels will be implemented for the Primary Use Designation of "Low-Bay", within the High-Bay General Application.

Driver ISTMT and Specification Sheet

As part of the DLC Premium application process, manufacturers must provide the following:

1. Test report from a lab that meets the DLC’s Laboratory Requirements for ISTMTs. The report must include the measured temperature from the TMP_ps.
2. A picture of the TMP_ps location with an arrow indicating the thermocouple attachment point.
3. Documentation from the driver manufacturer that indicates the maximum case temperature for which the driver is designed to last ≥50,000 hours, as well as the TMP location it designates for thermal testing.
   1. Custom and integrated drivers must provide documentation equivalent to that required for drivers from third-party vendors. Manufacturers must supply documentation indicating the maximum acceptable temperature for the driver for 50,000-hour life, as well as the TMP to be used during thermal testing and evaluation.

The luminaire passes the driver ISTMT requirements if the measured temperature at the TMP_ps is less than or equal to the allowable operating temperature specified by the power supply manufacturer. Drivers shall be tested in-situ under steady-state operating conditions, with case temperature measured at the designated TMP.

One or more additional thermocouples are attached to the power supply/driver at the TMP_ps. For off-the-shelf remote power supplies, manufacturers typically provide a measurement location (case temperature designated by a “dot” adjacent to a (t_c) symbol) for warranty purposes. In situations where the TMP_ps is not designated by the manufacturer, or where power supplies are integrated with the LED package(s), array, or module(s), luminaire manufacturers should identify the TMP_ps to be used for warranty purposes.  Note that this includes situations where the driver/power supply is not purchased from an outside vendor, and where the driver/power supply is integrated into the luminaire or lamp. Please see this image for an example of the documentation to identify these types of power supplies.

The thermocouple tolerance shall conform to ASTM E230 Table 1 “Special Limits” (≤1.1⁰C or 0.4%, whichever is greater).

UL 1598 testing may be used for the ISTMT report if the lab that conducted the test meets the DLC’s laboratory requirements for ISTMT. 

Per the Premium Requirements, custom and integrated drivers must provide equivalent driver spec sheet documentation as drivers from third-party vendors. This also applies to private labeled drivers where the private labeler does not market the private labeled driver and therefore does not have a public-facing driver spec sheet for the driver. Equivalent driver spec sheet documentation must include information on the rated driver performance, including but not limited to: input and output characteristics, the maximum case temperature for which the driver is designed to last ≥50,000 hours, TMP location, as well as the specific driver model number. Reviewers may ask for additional driver information.

Lumen Maintenance

The DLC expects that manufacturers provide the most up-to-date LM-80 report available for the LED package/module/array used within the product. It is the submitting manufacturer’s responsibility to ensure they have received the most up-to-date LM-80 report from the LED manufacturer for each application. Additional data that improves the projection accuracy cannot be ignored simply because it shows worse performance. 

The Lumen Maintenance requirements for DLC Standard and DLC Premium are shown in Table 8:

Table 8: Lumen Maintenance requirements for DLC Standard and DLC Premium

The DLC has two options for demonstrating lumen maintenance compliance.

• Lumen Maintenance Option 1: Using component-level performance through the TM-21 protocols, which leverage the LM-80 performance and in-situ temperature of the LED device.
• Lumen Maintenance Option 2: Using luminaire-level performance through TM-28 protocols, which leverage the LM-84 test performance. More information is available in the Application Instructions. Due to the length of this type of testing, it is recommended that the submitter reach out to applications@deisgnlights.org to ensure the testing will align with DLC Testing and Reporting Requirements before beginning any testing using the LM-84 method.

LM-80 Applicability

The DLC refers to current ENERGY STAR Requirements for Use of LM-80 Data when determining applicability of LM-80 data for submitted products.
 

L₇₀ Evaluation

DLC relies on the results from the ENERGY STAR TM-21 Calculator for evaluating compliance with the lumen maintenance requirements. For products that have sufficient LM-80 data to project to 50,000 hours per the TM-21 limits of projection rules, the calculator must show a L₇₀ of 50,000 or more. In the current version of the ENERGY STAR calculator (dated 6-18-2018), this is shown in cell I42 when “70” is entered into cell I35.

For products where the DLC required lumen maintenance period is longer than the TM-21 projection method allows, DLC will evaluate the lumen maintenance percentage at the end point for the allowed projection period. The necessary lumen maintenance minimums, which result from solving an exponential decay function for 50,000 hours, are presented in Table 9 for common end-points <50,000 hours. Refer to Table 9 for TM-21 projection requirements based on LM-80 reports less than ~8,500 hours of testing for a sample size of ≥20, or LM-80 reports based on less than ~9,500 hours of testing for a sample size of ≤19. In the current version of the ENERGY STAR calculator, this means that cell I41 must show at least the value in the table below when cell I40 is set to the appropriate time interval, based on the allowable projection period for TM-21.

Table 9: Option 1 TM-21 Projected Lumen Maintenance Requirements

L₉₀ Evaluation for Premium Products

Products applying for DLC Premium must meet an additional lumen maintenance requirement of L90 ≥36,000 hours. DLC relies on the results from the ENERGY STAR TM-21 Calculator for evaluating compliance with the lumen maintenance requirements. The results in the ENERGY STAR TM-21 calculator must show a lumen maintenance value of no less than 36,000 in cell I42, when cell I35 is set to 90, to meet the Premium lumen maintenance requirement. There are no provisions for shorter projection periods for this L90 requirement; to qualify for Premium there must be sufficient LM-80 data to project to at least 36,000 hours per TM-21 rules.
 

LM-84 and TM-28

Option 2 is to conduct luminaire-level testing according to the LM-84-14 test standard and apply the TM-28-14 projection methodology. For Option 2, the DLC uses a pass/fail threshold for lumen maintenance compliance. The projection from TM-28 must project to at least 6,000 hours and the lumen maintenance projection at the projection end point must be consistent with an L₇₀ of 50,000 hours. If choosing Option 2 for lumen maintenance determination, please contact the DLC at info@designlights.org.
 

Tolerances

When applying the lumen maintenance in accordance with these protocols, the DLC applies a tolerance of 5% to drive currents tested under LM-80, and a 1.1°C to the temperature measured in ISTMT results.
 

Additional Guidance on LM-80 Data Limitations

In general, full LM-80 results are necessary for DLC qualification. However, manufacturers may submit products using an LED package/module/array where limited LM-80 data is available if the following conditions are met:

1. The LED package/module/array is a successor package/module/array to a previous generation package/module/array according to ENERGY STAR^® Requirements for the Use of LM-80 Data.
2. The manufacturer provides the complete (≥6,000 hours) LM-80 of the previous generation LED package/module/array.
3. The manufacturer provides at least 3,000 hours of LM-80 data of the successor LED package/module/array.
4. The successor package/module/array data demonstrates better performance at 3,000 hours than the previous generation LED package/module/array data at 3,000 hours.
5. The manufacturer provides the remaining 3,000 hour successor LED package/module/array data when available.
    

Additional Guidance on LM-80 Tc Locations

Consistent with guidance from ENERGY STAR^®, while there may be several acceptable locations to measure the temperature of the LED package/module/array (collectively referred to as the TMP_LED), the TMP in the ISTMT must match the TMP used during the LM-80. If the ISTMT TMP does not match the LM-80 TMP in the original submission material, DLC staff will look for the applicant to provide one of the following options:

1. Provide an LM-80 of the board or module, where the TMP is monitored/measured at the same TMP used in the ISTMT.
2. Provide an ISTMT measuring the TMP of the hottest LED in the product at the same TMP used in the LM-80.

If neither of the above is possible, and the LED TMP is not accessible, DLC staff will work with the manufacturer to obtain information that explicitly describes the relationship between the board TMP and LED TMP. However, this information will be reviewed on a case by case basis, and may not be sufficient to appropriately verify compliance with the lumen maintenance requirements for all applications.

Color Rendering and Color Appearance Requirements

The DLC has minimum CRI and maximum CCT requirements, which are the same for both DLC Standard and DLC Premium. Performance of a product family is verified at the minimum and maximum CCT within the family. LM-79 testing on the min and max CCT are required to validate performance and ensure the CCT is with the approved ANSI bin standard tolerances.

Table 10: Color Rendering and Color Appearance Requirements

TM-30

IES TM-30-18 is a document approved by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) that describes a method for evaluating light source color rendition. The method encompasses several individual measures and graphics that complement one another and provide a comprehensive characterization of how the light will affect the color appearance of objects. The three highest-level components of the system are the Fidelity Index (R_f), Gamut Index (R_g), and the Color Vector Graphic. Starting with the V4.0 Technical Requirements, the DLC will allow reporting of R_f and R_g for products on the QPL. At this time, these are optional metrics, and are not required for listing. To list these metrics for products on the QPL, using the official Excel version of the TM-30 calculation tool offered with the IES standard is required. Either basic or advanced versions of the Excel tool will be accepted.  For more information on IES TM-30-18, please go to http://energy.gov/eere/ssl/tm-30-frequently-asked-questions.

Multiple CCTs

If your product family includes variations in performance other than CCT (including wattage, light output, light distribution, etc.), you must submit in accordance with the family grouping policy.

If applying for multiple CCT variations, note that the testing must be conducted on the worst-case variation (likely the lowest CCT); colorimetry data for the highest CCT variation (LM-79 section 12 measurements) from an accredited lab must also be included.

Colorimetry data is required to verify that all additional CCT variations included in a Single Product Application meet the CCT requirement. If the manufacturer cannot provide the reviewer this information, the reviewer can qualify only the model number for which test data has been provided until test data is available for the additional CCT variations.

Products that use more than one CCT of a given LED are eligible. As with the general multiple-LED-types policy, LM-80 and ISTMT testing must be provided that covers both LEDs. If the LEDs are covered by the same LM-80, only the hottest LED overall will need to be tested. Please note, that DLC normally expects that, if other parameters are equal, lower CCT will be hotter than higher CCTs.

LEDs with more than one CCT that are dynamically controlled for purposes of color-tuning must meet the requirements of the Color Tuning Policy.

Allowances

Table 11 presents allowances to minimum efficacy requirements that apply to products with specific features, in specific categories. Additional information will be incorporated in this section as allowances are defined. To participate in the discussion around the development of these allowances, please contact info@designlights.org.

Table 11: Allowances to Efficacy Requirements

*Must also conduct TM-30 testing and report results; see below for TM-30 guidance

Please note that allowances are not cumulative. That is, products may not take multiple allowances, even if they exhibit more than one feature for which an allowance is available. For example, a 2700K, 90CRI product may utilize a maximum allowance of 5%, to be applied to the efficacy requirement for the Category and General Application to which it is applying. However, a product may take advantage of an efficacy allowance in conjunction with the luminaire efficacy tolerance, as stated in Table 5.

Tolerances

Table 12 presents tolerances that apply to all metrics listed in the above in the Technical Requirements Tables. These tolerances are referenced in the ENERGY STAR^® Manufacturer’s Guide. For zonal lumen tolerances specific to each Primary Use Designation, please refer to Table 5.  

Table 12: Tolerances

†ANSI C78.377-2015 also referred to for D_uv and (x, y) chromaticity coordinates tolerances for indoor categories.

For any performance metrics that are measured as a percentage, corresponding tolerances refer to percentage points. For example, a power factor requirement of ≥ 0.90 (i.e. ≥ 90%) with a -3% tolerance implies a functional requirement of ≥ 0.87 (i.e. ≥ 87%). For performance metrics that are not measured as a percentage, the tolerance is a percentage of the required value. For example, for a minimum efficacy requirement of 60 lm/W with a -3% tolerance, the functional requirement is 58.2 lm/W (i.e. 60 – 3% = 58.2).

Tolerances are intended to account for all testing variation, rounding, and significant digits. The requirement values and tolerances will be interpreted by DLC review staff as exact requirements. While test labs will be expected to follow the requirements of their accreditation and relevant test standards, DLC staff will not employ additional “rounding” to interpret values below the absolute thresholds as passing. For example, if a luminaire is required to have an efficacy of 110 lm/W, then with the efficacy tolerance of -3%, any value for efficacy less than 106.70000… will be interpreted as a failing value. It is an applicant’s responsibility to check all data presented in an application before submission to ensure compliance with the DLC requirements.
 
 
Measured temperature from the ISTMT 
According to ENERGY STAR Manufacturer’s Guide for Qualifying Solid State Lighting Luminaires – Version 2.1, the measured temperature from an ISTMT has a tolerance of ≤ 1.1°C or 0.4%, whichever is greater due to thermocouple tolerance. This may change the appropriate In-Situ case temperature (Tc,°C) to enter into the ENERGY STAR TM-21 calculator. For example, a measured In-Situ case temperature of 86.1°C may be entered as 85°C to comply with an 85°C case temperature data set from the LM-80 report.

Power Factor and Total Harmonic Distortion

In addition to the specific requirements above, all DLC-qualified luminaires must have a power factor of ≥0.9, and a total harmonic distortion of ≤20%. This applies to every category listed in the above Technical Requirements Tables. Qualified products must meet the requirements in their worst-case loading conditions.

In all cases, testing must be provided at the worst-case performance among a product’s different operating modes, as the Technical Requirements for each category are minimum performance requirements. Due to design complexities of SSL luminaires and the many variables that could affect each performance metric with a minimum requirement, it is difficult to prescribe what worst case will be for all situations. It is the manufacturer’s responsibility to identify the worst-case operating mode of the product for each performance metric requirement and provide the appropriate test data. The DLC always reserves the right to ask for details of how worst-case was determined, including supporting engineering analysis and test data supporting the selection, as deemed necessary.

Our understanding of the technology has led us to expect certain operating modes and design choices to be the worst cases. Power factor and THD are commonly seen to be worst case at 277V, while photometrics (specifically efficacy) are commonly worst case at 120V. This is not necessarily true for all luminaire designs, so a manufacturer may submit independent test data for a different operating mode if it is accompanied by a technical rationale and supporting data (independent or in-house) demonstrating that what was tested is in fact the worst case. If testing is not conducted according to the expectations described above, DLC reviewers will ask for the testing at the expected worst case operating modes, or a technical rationale with supporting data for an alternate worst case operating mode for both electricals (power factor and THD) and photometrics.

Alternately, if the voltage inputs for a product include 347V and/or 480V options, manufacturers will be expected to provide a rationale for how worst-case was determined, or test data at all voltages if a rationale cannot be provided for a particular operating mode.

When submitting applications for products using universal drivers, be sure to test at the appropriate operating mode for both photometric and electrical measurements. Please note that the DLC requires the current THD (“THDi” or “ATHD”) performance, not voltage THD.

The manufacturer may test only the light engine-electrical component system when conducting power factor and THD tests (for products with light engines that are separable from the housing).
 

Multiple LEDs

Products employing multiple types of LEDs are eligible under the following conditions: 1) the construction, types, and quantities of the LED packages/modules/arrays are known, and 2) the LEDs are not dynamically controlled, other than for dimming purposes. That is, products where variable numbers of LEDs are dynamically chosen and therefore the precise construction of any given product is not defined are not eligible. Policy development for appropriate evaluation of this type of product is under consideration.

For products using multiple LED types, including color-tunable products, an LM-80, ISTMT, and TM-21 projection will be needed for each type of LED present in the product. As per normal thermal testing rules, ISTMTs must be conducted on the hottest LED of each type.

See the Lumen Maintenance section for more details.

Warranty

The DLC requires a minimum warranty period of 5 years on all products listed on the QPL. The warranty must cover the complete luminaire or retrofit kit/replacement lamp when applicable. Note that the “luminaire” includes light source, housing, heat sink, power supplies and other electrical components, optics, and any other components of the luminaire. Warranty documentation must clearly explain the terms and conditions associated with the warranty.

Warranties that only cover certain components of the luminaire or retrofit kit/replacement lamp are not sufficient to meet the requirement. Warranty statements are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and the DLC reserves to right to seek additional clarification if necessary.

Warranty terms and conditions can vary widely from manufacturer to manufacturer. The DLC explicitly defines a warranty period of 5 years and does not have specific requirements for warranty claim terms other than those listed above. The DLC does not verify or validate a manufacturer’s terms, conditions or process for customer warranty claims.  The DLC does not monitor field failure rates of qualified products, or policy warranty redemption or history among manufacturers.  Industry stakeholders are urged to review warranty terms and conditions as part of the purchasing decision process.