At the DOE Solid-State Lighting Market Introduction Workshop in November, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized non-profit organization Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) with Special Recognition as an LED Lighting Facts^® program partner. They highlighted NEEP for its dedication to advance and promote the LED lighting industry through its project, the DesignLights Consortium^® (DLC). The DLC promotes quality, performance, and energy-efficiency in commercial-sector lighting solutions through collaboration among its stakeholders. These are federal, regional, state, utility, and energy efficiency program members throughout the United States and Canada, as well as luminaire manufacturers, lighting testing labs, lighting designers, and other industry advisors.

The Solid-State Lighting Qualified Products List (SSL QPL), a DLC-administered listing of LED luminaires that meet strict energy efficiency and performance criteria is DLC’s central resource. The DLC QPL is a tool for energy efficiency programs to distinguish quality commercial-sector SSL products from the rest. It also serves as a resource for information and technical requirements that set a bar for performance and efficacy for SSL manufacturers to meet.

The LED Lighting Facts program’s mission is to ensure that SSL products are represented accurately in the market. LED Lighting Facts partners commit to supporting the improvement of the quality of SSL products as well as pledge to use the LED Lighting Facts label. Much like a food’s nutrition label highlights the food’s nutrients, serving size, and calories, the LED Lighting Facts label documents the performance of lighting products that program partners, sell, distribute, or promote.

Since July 2012, DLC requires manufacturers to list their products with LED Lighting Facts as an initial step in the DLC QPL application process. Furthermore, DLC analyzes the program’s verified technical product data to determine whether a product meets the DLC QPL criteria. In the fast moving SSL market, the collaboration with LED Lighting Facts has resulted in a larger database of reliable product information for utilities and their customers.

“We are honored to be recognized by DOE for our partnership with the LED Lighting Facts program for a second time. Working together DLC and Lighting Facts save time and effort, but mainly this collaboration helps our customers save more energy, more reliably. The solid state lighting market and technology are expanding like nothing we’ve seen before, and there’s no sign of slowing down,” said NEEP’s Commercial Programs Manager Jon Linn.

“Customers, lighting designers, equipment manufacturers, utilities depend on resources like LED Lighting Facts and DLC to make the right choices and assure quality and efficiency in their lighting systems. We are aware of the responsibility we carry to keep a high standard of quality in the tools we provide to these market players and we are certain that a continued partnership with DOE allows us all to better serve our customers.”