ENERGY STAR® Program Requirements for Decorative Light Strings Eligibility Criteria Draft Version 1.1 Table of Contents Section 1. Definitions 2 Section 2. Reference Standards 2 Section 3. Qualifying Products 3 Section 4. Energy-Efficiency Specifications for Qualifying Products 3 Table 1. Product Characteristics and Specifications for Decorative Light Strings 3 Section 5. Product Approval 3 Section 6. Warranty 3 Section 7. Packaging 4 Section 8. Testing Criteria 4 Section 9. Effective Date 4 Section 10. Future Specification Revisions 4 References 4 ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Decorative Light Strings \ ------- ENERGY STAR ENERGY STAR® Program Requirements for Decorative Light Strings Eligibility Criteria Draft Version 1.1 Below is the product specification (Draft Version 1.1) for ENERGY STAR qualified decorative light strings. A product must meet all of the identified criteria if it is to be labelled as ENERGY STAR by its manufacturer. The intent of the ENERGY STAR initiative in Canada in this product category is to reduce seasonal peak electricity consumption by encouraging Canadian consumers to use energy- efficient decorative strings. 1) Definitions: A. Decorative Light String - String of lamps used for a decorative purpose. The lamps may be sealed or unsealed. B. Series Block - A number of lamps connected in series, or utilizing a series connection. Additional series blocks can be added to the circuit (or light string) utilizing parallel connections. For example, a 50-lamp light string could have two 25-lamp series blocks connected in parallel. C. Brightness - Luminous flux emitted from a surface per unit solid angle per unit of area, projected onto a plane normal to the direction of propagation (lv). Also known as luminous sterance. Intensity is specified in terms of millicandela (mcd). D. Maintained Brightness - The light output of a lamp as a percentage of its initial brightness after a 100-hour seasoning period. E. Useful Life - The length of time a light source takes, when operated at an ambient temperature of 35°C, to reach 50% (L50%) of its initial brightness after a 100-hour seasoning period. F. Viewing Angle - The spatial radiation pattern of the light emitted, indicating the degree of beam spread. G. Input Power - The total, or system, power used by the decorative string during operation, measured in watts (W), including transformers, adaptors, etc. H. Maximum Watts per Lamp - The input power divided by the number of lamps on the decorative light string. 2) Reference Standards: ENERGY STAR qualified decorative holiday strings shall comply with the applicable safety standards and relevant clauses from UL, CSA and other global standards organizations, unless the requirements of the ENERGY STAR specification are more restrictive. Relevant standards include, but are not limited to ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Decorative Light Strings 2 ------- Canadian Standards Association (CSA) CSA-22.2 No.37-M1989 (R2004) Christmas Tree and Other Decorative Lighting Outfits Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) UL 588-2004, Standard for Seasonal and Holiday Decorative Products Powertech Labs Inc. / BC Hydro Powertech Labs/BC Hydro Decorative Light String Test Protocol Draft Version 1.1. developed by Powertech Labs for BC Hydro. 3) Qualifying Products: In order to qualify for the ENERGY STAR label, any decorative light strings must meet the definition in Section 1 .A and the specification requirements provided in Section 4, below. 4) Energy-Efficiency Specifications for Qualifying Products: Only those products that comply with the requirements of Section 2 and meet the following criteria in Table 1 may qualify for ENERGY STAR. Energy Efficiency Characteristics Specification Maximum watts per lamp 0.1 watts Electrical Characteristics Nominal operating voltage 120 Volts Voltage sag / surge ± 10% Physical Characteristics Plug / plug-ins Polarized Double strings Two opposite polarity groups (balanced) Visibility Characteristics Lifetime claim 25,000 hours (or 'long-lasting') Brightness (depends on color) Minimum: TBD lv (mcd) Maximum: TBD lv (mcd) Minimum viewing angle, measured relative to mechanical centre 60° All performance measurements, except for lifetime, must be conducted according to the "Powertech Labs/BC Hydro Decorative Light String Test Protocol Draft Version 1.1", cited in Section 2. 5) Product Approval: In Canada, strings for exterior use as portable decorative lighting must be CSA or UL approved. 6) Warranty: All participating manufacturers must offer a minimum of a 3-year warranty against product defects. ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Decorative Light Strings ------- 7) Packaging: The packaging containing the product shall specify: product's suitability for use indoor and/or outdoor, number of LED lamps, LED lamp spacing, total light string length in appropriate metric and SAE units, and wattage of light string. The light string should be labelled with the following information: certification agency, rating for indoor or outdoor use, and maximum number of like strings that can be connected end to end. 8) Testing Criteria: In order to qualify their products for ENERGY STAR, manufacturers are required to certify their decorative light strings using test procedures referenced in this document (see Section 2). The criteria listed in Table 1 must be tested using "Powertech Labs/BC Hydro Decorative Light String Test Protocol Draft Version 1.1." These test results shall be conducted by a third-party laboratory approved by Natural Resources Canada. 9) Effective Date: The date that a manufacturer begins to qualify products as ENERGY STAR will be defined as the effective date of the agreement. 10) Future Specification Revisions: ENERGY STAR reserves the right to change the specification should technological and/or market changes affect its usefulness to consumers, industry, or the environment. In keeping with current policy, revisions to the specification will be arrived at through stakeholder discussion and consultation. References: ASSIST, 2005. Recommends...LED Life for General Lighting - Definition of Life. Vol. 1, No.1 February 2005. Alliance for Solid-State Illumination Systems and Technologies Program. Accessed on February 7th, 2006 at: http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/solidstate/assist/pdf/ASSIST- LEDLifeforGeneralLighting.pdf BC Hydro, 2004. Seasonal LED (Light Emitting Diode) Program Winter 2003 Program Prepared by Alicia Forrester. BC Hydro. March 2004. EPA & DOE, 2003. The ENERGY STAR® Label: A Summary of Product Labeling Objectives and Guiding Principles. Andrew Fanara. US EPA. May, 2003. Accessed on February 7, 2006 at: http://energystar.gov/ia/partners/prod_development/downloads/guiding_princip.doc E-Source, 2001. LEDs in Exterior Applications: An Emerging Market. Esource ER-01 -17 November 2001. NCI, 2005. Energy Savings Estimates of Light Emitting Diodes in Niche Lighting Applications, November 2003. Prepared by Navigant Consulting Inc. for the U.S. Department of Energy. NEEA & WSU, 2005. Energy Efficiency Fact Sheet. Holiday Lights: LED and Fiber Optics. Energy Ideas Clearinghouse. Washington State University with support from the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. October 2005. ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Decorative Light Strings ------- PowerTech Labs, 2005. Seasonal LED String Testing. Powertech Labs Inc. Sampson Research, 2003. Holiday Lighting Market Assessment Phase III Report Adjusted Baseline Estimates. Sampson Research. Prepared by Sampson Reserach for Power Smart Quality and Assurance, BC Hydro. August 15, 2003. USITC, 2003. USITC Interactive Tariff and Trade DataWeb. Data available online: http://dataweb.usitc.gov/scripts/user_set.asp ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Decorative Light Strings ------- |