The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has completed Series 14 of testing through the DOE Solid-State Lighting (SSL) CALiPER program. A summary of the results is now available for download on the DOE SSL website at www.ssl.energy.gov/reports.html.
Report 14 of testing focused on LED downlight retrofit units. Eleven units were tested in a 6-inch insulation contact (IC) rated downlight housing mounted in a 24-by-24-inch insulated enclosure.
The report provides an overview of photometric performance results and compares the results to similar products that use conventional light sources, results from earlier CALiPER testing, and manufacturer ratings.
The downlight retrofits were tested in a 6-in. insulation contact (IC) rated downlight housing mounted in a 24-by-24-in. enclosure. The products produced 527 to 803 lumens, roughly comparable to 60W to 100W incandescent downlights or 13W to 32W compact fluorescent downlights, and with efficacy matching or exceeding that for a typical CFL downlight. Wattages ranged from 10W to 15W, with 13W being the mean, indicating potential for good energy savings. Color quality was found to be good for the most part, with 10 of the 11 products satisfying ENERGY STAR criteria for color rendering index (80+ CRI) and color temperature (2700K to 3200K).
Beginning in 2012, each CALiPER summary report focuses on a single product type or application. Products are selected with the intent of capturing the current state of the market—a cross section ranging from expected low- to high-performing products—with the bulk characterizing the average of the range.
