SSL technology holds considerable promise to substantially increase energy efficiency across a range of lighting applications.  The rapid growth of SSL has resulted in an increasing number of new products on the Australian market. While there are some excellent SSL products available, the Australian market is also being subjected to underperforming product that does not live up to its supplier’s claims. Such poor performing product can undermine confidence among users and discourage early adopters of the technology. This underperforming product has the potential to delay or otherwise compromise the substantial energy savings potential of SSL.

For these reasons Lighting Council Australia has instituted a quality scheme for SSL based on a scheme introduced by the US Department of Energy in conjunction with the US lighting industry.

Scheme summary

The SSL Quality Scheme is a voluntary industry scheme that provides confidence to the market that a luminaire carrying the Scheme’s label matches certain performance claims made by the supplier.

A minimum set of critical parameters, described below, are reported by participating SSL luminaire suppliers to accurately reflect the performance of their products. Scheme participants provide test reports or other evidence to Lighting Council Australia verifying their claims. Lighting Council Australia registers the product in a database and authorises use of a label owned by Lighting Council indicating conformance to the parameters.

Critical parameters and their measurement

The five performance criteria are:

• Luminaire efficacy
• Light output of the luminaire
• Measured input power
• Correlated colour temperature
• Colour rendering index

Luminaire Efficacy (lumens per Watt) is a specific measure of the net useful light output from the luminaire for a given power input. Properly measured, luminaire efficacy combines both the light source system efficacy and luminaire efficiency, allowing for a true comparison of a luminaire regardless of the light source. Luminaire efficacy is the preferred metric for LEDs because it measures the net light output from the luminaire divided by power into the system, accounting for driver, optical and thermal losses. A photometric report is required from an accredited laboratory.

Light Output of luminaire is the total lumens output by a luminaire (as a whole). For SSL products, luminaire light output must be determined by measuring the output of the entire luminaire (including the LED device, thermal management, device driver losses, fixture, and optics) in an integrating sphere or goniophotometer using absolute photometry.

Measured Power is the total power consumed by a luminaire measured in Watts. In all cases, the luminaire power should be measured upstream of power supply/driver. For example, for a luminaire that includes a wall plug, the measured power is at the wall socket input. For a luminaire wired directly to 240V AC, the measured power is at the 240V AC input.

Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) for an SSL luminaire ideally should be determined through integrating sphere testing of the whole luminaire. If this test result is not available, the CCT value for the LED device used in the luminaire can be provided, but information provided should indicate that the CCT value was measured at the LED device level. The CCT of the luminaire may differ from the CCT of the device for any of several reasons:

• Operating currents and temperatures can affect the colour temperature of an LED device.
• Reflective surfaces or a translucent enclosure on the fixture can change the CCT.
• An array of LED sources may include multiple devices with different CCT values.

 

Ideally, both Colour Coordinates in the CIE 1931 x,y Chromaticity diagram and Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT in degrees Kelvin) should be reported using ANSI C-78-377-2008, Specifications for the Chromaticity of Solid-state Lighting Products, as there can be confusion about what CCT means, especially if the coordinates are well off the Planckian locus.

Colour Rendering Index (CRI) should be measured according to the standard Ra method used for conventional sources. As with other measurements, the CRI should be measured for the luminaire in normal steady-state operation to account for any effects of temperature or luminaire design on colour.

Label

When Scheme requirements have been met Lighting Council Australia will issue a label to Scheme Members for a specific luminaire or range of luminaires. The label may be used on the product and in product literature.

A miniaturised version of the label will also be made available for attaching to small products.

NOTE: The LED Performance Label is a registered trademark. Legal action will be taken against unauthorised use.

Eligibility for Scheme Participation

The Scheme is open to financial members of Lighting Council Australia and Lighting Council New Zealand.

All participants must be a registered entity under Australian or New Zealand corporations law. » To register

Overview of Process for Acquiring Label

• Supplier submits Application for SSL Quality Scheme ID Number
• After receiving SSL Scheme ID Number supplier submits:
  • Application to Register SSL Product together with supporting evidence
  • Supplier’s declaration agreeing to be bound by the conditions of the scheme and confirming that the product to be supplied is the same as that tested
  • Registration fee.
• Lighting Council’s Secretariat reviews documentation and if deemed to satisfy the Scheme’s requirements authorises use of the label with specified values for a period of three years.
• Lighting Council’s Secretariat adds details of the registered product to public area of Lighting Council’s website dedicated to the SSL Quality Scheme.

 

 

Appendix 1 - Conditions for Participation in SSL Quality Scheme

• The Applicant must sign a statement agreeing to abide by these conditions.
• The Applicant must be a financial member of Lighting Council Australia or Lighting Council New Zealand and must be an entity registered under Australian or New Zealand corporations law.
• Applicants must complete the SSL Quality Scheme’s Application to Register Product and submit it to Lighting Council Australia with supporting evidence and the appropriate fee.
• Information submitted in connection with the product registration process that is commercial-in-confidence must be clearly identified as such in the Application to Register Product. Lighting Council Australia will not divulge commercial-in-confidence information outside the Secretariat.
• A registration is valid for three years.
• If the application is rejected Lighting Council’s Secretariat will notify the supplier with the reason(s) for rejection. In such cases the supplier may elect to re-submit the application with amendments or may appeal to the SSL Quality Scheme Appeals Committee.
• A decision of the SSL Quality Scheme Appeals Committee with respect to product registration is final.
• Should the application for registration be rejected the registration fee will be refunded less an amount equal to 20% of the registration fee.
• Should evidence emerge at any time after product registration that the product fails to match any of the performance parameters on the label, Lighting Council Australia will issue a notice to the supplier to cease use of the SSL Quality Scheme Label. If such a notice is issued the supplier must immediately cease use of the label. This includes refraining from offering for sale any product that carries the label and refraining from distributing any product literature carrying the label.
• If Lighting Council Australia issues a notice to cease use of the label because of non-compliance the product will be marked as such on Lighting Council’s website.
• Lighting Council Australia may refuse to register a supplier’s product if the supplier at any time in the past has been issued with a notice to cease use of the label.
• Lighting Council Australia will take all steps necessary to protect the integrity of the SSL Quality Scheme, including legal action against improper use of the label.
• Lighting Council Australia reserves the right to amend these conditions from time to time.

 

 

Appendix 2 - Evidence to Satisfy Requirements that a Product or Family of Products Complies

The Applicant must provide:

A: US Department of Energy certification document  and product datasheet
OR

1. B: UK Energy Savings Trust certification document and product datasheet
   OR
   
2. C: LM79 photometric report from a NATA accredited laboratory with the following supporting documents:

• LED supplier data sheet and binning document (outlining bin range used)
• Driver supplier data sheet with certificate of compliance

Important note:    Only applications for luminaires that constitute a system will be accepted – that is, a fully integrated mains connected (230 V AC) luminaire OR luminaire plus power supply.

Product family approval

Supplier to advise details – extent and justification for any range approval.

 

 

Appendix 3 - Product Registration Costs

Single product registration

$500 + GST

Product family registration

2-10 products -	$700 + GST
11–20 products -	$1000 + GST
>20 products -	$1200 + GST

Note: All figures are in Australian dollars. GST does not apply to NZ companies.