Codes + Standards

  You may have heard that the IEEE has released a new and important LiFi standard for light communications, 802.11bb. What you may not have heard is that the standard is based on a portion of the infrared spectrum, which effectively separates LiFi from visible light sources. Light fixtures will no longer hold any advantage [...]

  In previous LightNOW reporting, I’ve written about EPA’s sunsetting of the ENERGY STAR Lamps and Luminaires specifications, along with the plan to launch a new recessed downlights specification. EPA has now released a second draft of the ENERGY STAR Recessed Downlights Version 1.0 specification (Version 1.0) intended to replace the Luminaires Version 2.2 specification (the existing [...]

  While circular economy principles are getting started in the North American lighting industry, they are far more advanced in the European lighting industry. In England, the LIA (Lighting Industry Association) and CIBSE (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) have joined forces to introduce a new product verification program aimed at promoting circular economy practices [...]

Zhaga Book 7 defines linear and square LED modules for indoor lighting applications and has been published as IEC standard 63356-2. This is the first Zhaga industry specification to be transferred to the IEC. Zhaga books 10, 12, 14, 18 and 20 are in various stages of also being transferred to IEC. The IEC standard can be [...]

In December 2022, NEMA published NEMA LS 20009-2022 Controlled Emergency Lighting, a Technical Clarification Bulletin, which is a revised version of the bulletin previously titled NEMA LSD 81-2019, in order to reflect changes in the 2023 National Electrical Code® (NEC). There have been updates to the 2014, 2017, 2020, and 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC), [...]

  The TALQ Consortium, which developed the Smart City Protocol, a global OpenAPI interface standard for smart city device networks, has published version 2.5.0 of the protocol. Version 2.5.0 introduces a new Lighting Asset Management profile, which addresses a long-standing demand from cities to be able to manage and track their street lighting assets more effectively. [...]

  I wrote about ENERGY STAR’s plan to sunset the Luminaire and Lamp programs here, in late March. Part of that plan was to create a new ENERGY STAR recessed downlight specification because recent DOE general service lamp (GSL) regulations excluded recessed downlights and downlight retrofit kits. On March 23rd, ENERGY STAR released their first [...]

CORRECTION: NFPA published a Temporary Interim Amendment to the 2023 NEC that now allows some battery-only wall light switches IF they incorporate a positive means of notification of impending battery depletion. This Temporary Interim Amendment to the 2023 NEC can be found here. (updated May 15, 2024) The 2023 National Electric Code (NEC) has a [...]

On March 13th, U.S. EPA’s ENERGY STAR program issued a memo with final decisions about sunsetting of the ENERGY STAR lighting programs. Here are the major takeaways from the decision memo: EPA is finalizing the sunset of the ENERGY STAR specifications (programs) for lamps and luminaires, effective December 31, 2024. Recessed downlights and downlight retrofit [...]