Codes + Standards

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and 15 state attorneys general have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over new energy efficiency standards for certain single-family homes and multifamily housing programs. The lawsuit, filed on January 2, 2025, in the [...]

ANSI recently published ANSI C78.377-2024: Electric Lamps – Specifications for the Chromaticity of Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Products. It covers the range of chromaticities recommended for general solid-state lighting (SSL) products so that the white light chromaticities of the products can be communicated to both commercial and residential consumers. The color appearance of SSL sources is [...]

  The DesignLights Consortium (DLC) has released their Draft 1 Horticultural Technical Requirements V4.0. The draft proposes three updates:  Efficacy increase: Hort V4.0 proposes to increase the efficacy threshold to 2.5 μmol × J-1, which is an 8.7% increase over the Hort V3.0 threshold. This will set the DLC efficacy threshold for LED-based horticultural lighting at more [...]

  Here is a quick review of five CIE publications released in 2024: CIE 253:2024 Overview of Methods for Evaluating Colour Rendition of White-Light Sources beyond Colour Fidelity Technical Report CIE 253:2024 includes an overview of seven methods to characterize specific colour rendition characteristics of white-light sources beyond colour fidelity. Methods to characterize colour fidelity are described [...]

UL 153, the Standard for Portable Electric Luminaires, has undergone several revisions in its thirteenth edition, dated April 3, 2024. The key changes include: Power supply clarification for USB/POE connections: Updated sections 8.2, 8.2.1, and 199.1 to clarify power supply requirements for portable luminaires using USB or Power over Ethernet (POE) connections. Convenience receptacle requirements: [...]

  NEMA has introduced two new standards. One aimed at evaluating Build American Buy America (BABA) compliance, and the other to define how electric vehicles transfer power back to the grid through EV chargers. These standards impact the lighting and EV charger industries by addressing supply chain evaluation, and electric vehicle supply equipment. Make it [...]

  This standard defines the data model for sensors (focused on but not limited to outdoor lighting) to present to Network Lighting Controllers (NLC). The sensor applications and Item Types defined in this document are intended to leverage elements of existing data models such as Open Mobile Alliance, Digital Illumination Interface Alliance (DiiA), and TALQ. [...]

The NEMA/ANSI C78 Committee for Electric Lamp Standards has two working groups developing chromaticity standards addressing non-white light (NWL).  C78.377 working group This working group is revising the ANSI C78.377-2017 standard by adding 1800K and 2000K nominal and extended quadrangles. C78.378 working group  This working group is creating a new ANSI C78.378 standard defining long [...]

The DLC is planning updates to the SSL Technical Requirements. Originally planned for two-phased updates, feedback received has convinced DLC that a single update as V6.0 would be less disruptive and provide greater value. SSL V6.0 represents a major update with an efficacy increase and associated product delistings. It also includes proposed updates that support [...]