Codes + Standards

  UL Solutions’ new vehicle-to-grid certification program gives manufacturers a formal pathway to validate bidirectional EV charging equipment for safe, reliable utility interaction—an important development as transportation electrification becomes part of the distributed-energy landscape. For the lighting and electrical industry, it signals that EV infrastructure will increasingly be evaluated not simply as a load, but [...]

  The ENERGY STAR program is entering a new chapter: primary federal leadership is moving from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the U.S. Department of Energy. Although ENERGY STAR eliminated its fixtures and bulbs/lamps programs, it still runs programs for downlights and ceiling fans. For lighting manufacturers, retailers, utilities and specification stakeholders, the immediate [...]

  The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) has re-affirmed 10 existing lighting standards: BSR/IES LM-88-18(R27) Approved Method: Optical and Electrical Measurements of AC-LED Packages and Arrays or Modules BSR/IES LM-35-20(R27) Approved Method: Photometric Testing of Floodlighting for HID or Incandescent Lamps BSR/IES LM-46-20(R27) Approved Method: Photometric Testing of Indoor Luminaires Using HID or Incandescent Filament Lamps BSR/IES LM-73-04(R27) Approved Method: [...]

  The Electric Vehicle Charging Accessibility Network (EVCAN) is a nonprofit-led, multi-stakeholder technical network focused on EV charging accessibility, interoperability, and deployment support. EVCAN is an emerging framework for addressing one of the EV industry’s most persistent barriers: equitable, reliable, and standards-based access to charging infrastructure. As EV adoption increases across North America, EVCAN represents [...]

  The DesignLights Consortium (DLC) has published its Networked Lighting Controls (NLC) V5.2 technical requirements, with the update taking effect Aug. 3, 2026. The revision strengthens interoperability, standardizes reporting, and expands the role of lighting controls in integrated building systems, including HVAC-related applications. The new version positions networked lighting controls as more than a lighting-only [...]

  The IES has approved five revised or reaffirmed lighting standards: ANSI/IES RP-27-26 Recommended Practice: Photobiological Safety for Lighting Systems Updates include new definition (angular subtense), removal of propagation of uncertainty for wavelength accuracy, improvements to measurement metrics, updates to the relative spectral weighting function for Assessing Actinic Radiation Hazard, and new equations for retinal blue [...]

  Design Lights Consortium (DLC) has released the Networked Lighting Controls (NLC) Requirements V5.2 Draft 1. DLC laid out four goals for Version 5.2: Highlighting emerging capabilities in networked lighting controls. Present new system capabilities, particularly integrations with thermostats to save energy and improve building performance. Strengthening the role of NLC in energy efficiency programs [...]

  The TALQ Consortium’s latest release, version 2.7.0 of the Smart City Protocol, isn’t about any flashy new features, but rather making smart outdoor lighting systems easier to integrate, certify, and scale across vendors. For the lighting industry, the big message is that interoperability is becoming more standardized and more demanding, which should favor manufacturers [...]

  As of March 3rd, 2026, the EPA is transferring the ENERGY STAR program to the Department of Energy (DOE) through a 10-year Memorandum of Agreement. This shift, driven by a desire to unify labeling with DOE’s efficiency standards, initiates a 90-day transition period for transferring partnerships, IT systems, and databases. Key Details of the [...]