On Europe the testing and certification of LED lighting products

With the general testing and certification of electrical and electronic products are differentiated, semiconductor products, lighting products in addition to the concern about the safety performance and electromagnetic compatibility, but also require special attention to their optical performance and lumen maintenance characteristics. Therefore, we first analyze the current LED lighting products exported to the EU and the U.S. what to do testing and certification, and the links of these tests need to pay attention to what the problem. Finally, the focus on LED lights for testing and certification is currently the most influential U.S. Energy Star certification, and to share some of our testing laboratory research experience.


First, the EU market testing and certification

Exports to EU countries LED lamps must pass CE certification, the certification requirements, product needs to LVD and EMC directives. LED lighting products certified European CE LVD directive is 2006/95/EEC, the main test standards EN 60598-1, EN 60598-2 series, EN 61347-1, EN 61347-2-13, EN 62031 and EN 62471.

Which, EN 60598-1 safety standards are common fixtures for specific types of lamps, the general need to EN 60598-1 and EN 60598-2 series on the special requirements of specific categories of lighting fixtures combine consideration of the security features. EN 61347-1 is the general safety requirements for light controller, and EN 61347-2-13 is for LED-driven security requirements. EN 62031 LED modules for general lighting is about safety regulations, a sign of the module, terminal, protective grounding, electric shock protection, the insulation resistance after the tidal state, electrical strength, fault status, structure, electrical creepage distance and clearance, heat , fire prevention and resistance to tracking, anti-corrosion, etc. of the relevant provisions. EN 62471 Light and lighting systems to evaluate the biological safety of the standard light, the light source which includes the LED, but does not include the laser, the standard according to the degree of optical radiation hazards will be exempted from continuous radiation light into categories, category 1 hazards (low hazard), Category 2 hazards (in the hazard) and hazard class 3 (high hazard) and other four categories.

Type test for the lamps in the test items are: symbol, structure, external lines and internal lines, protective grounding, protection against electric shock, dust-proof, waterproof and resistant to moisture, insulation resistance and electric strength, contact current, and electrical creepage distance clearance, durability and thermal testing, ball pressure, burning wire and needle flame test. A lot of testing in our laboratory found that the process is generally a high probability that there is no conformance test items are electrical creepage distance and clearance, ground resistance testing, the ball pressure, hot wire and the needle flame test, IP testing.

EU LED lighting products for the CE-EMC Directive 2004/108/EC. Applicable test standards EN 55015 and EN 61547, EN 55015 standards which take into account is the product launch (ie EMI) requirements, and EN 61547 are considered anti-interference ability (ie EMS) requirements. If the product can be connected to AC power or AC power supply, the need to increase the EN 61000-3-2 (harmonic current) and EN 61000-3-3 (Voltage Flicker) these two tests.

For lighting products, launched some of the requirements, EN 55015 standard, a total of three tests in this project: disturbance voltage test, 9kHz ~ 30MHz range of radiated electromagnetic disturbance and 30MHz ~ 300MHz electromagnetic radiation within the range of harassment. In particular, note that compared with the general categories of products, only the test electric field radiation testing to 300MHz, without measured 1GHz. At the same time and harassment of the voltage test test test these two items are usually easy lighting products failed the test project. Manufacturers to do authentication or diagnostic test, require special consideration.


Total electrostatic discharge immunity test, radiation immunity, fast transient burst, lightning, surge, conducted immunity, power frequency magnetic field and voltage drop / voltage interrupt the seven test items. With the general requirements of the different products is the lightning, surge this test project, EN 61547 test level specified in the will and power related products, less than equal to 25W will be lower than the level of product testing of products is greater than 25W, and the general products and the power of the test is irrelevant. At the same time, lightning, surge this test project is all the more harsh EMS project a pilot, a lot of lighting products are difficult to pass the test. If the product failed this test, the general varistor in the circuit can be added by the test.

LVD CE certification in addition to instruction and EMC Directive, the European Union there is an important instruction is ErP directive, which is the EU eco-design of energy-related products requires instructions on a variety of energy-related products, determine the minimum energy efficiency requirements. ErP LED lights on the current requirements of instruction is mainly reflected in the implementation of measures to 244/2009, the main home for non-directional LED lamps for energy efficiency requirements.


Second, the U.S. market testing and certification

U.S. market for LED lighting products are the safety requirements of UL, ETL, CSA, MET, cTUVus certification. The main certification test standards UL 8750, UL 1598, UL 153, UL 1993, UL 1574, UL 2108, UL 1310, UL 1012 and UL 60950-1 and so on.

Which, UL 8750 is a LED light source used in lighting products safety requirements, including the use of the environment, mechanical structure, electrical institutions requirements. In the test evaluation, UL 8750 the main test are: risk of electric shock associated with the testing and evaluation, risk associated with the thermal testing and evaluation, and mechanical and electrical structure of the relevant testing and evaluation, risk associated with the energy of the test, and fire-related materials evaluation, testing and application of environment-related assessment.

UL 1598 is for the safety of fixed lighting requirements, neither of these lamps with a power cord, including the steps of lamps, ceiling lamps, chandeliers, wall lamps, lights, column lights.

UL 153 is the safety requirements for portable lamps, these lamps are all with the power cord, including portable lamps, cabinet lights, table lamps, floor lamps and so on.

UL 1993 is for the self-ballasted lamps and lamp adapter security requirements, such lamp containing driver circuit, such as LED light bulbs, compact fluorescent lamps CFL and so on.

UL 1574 and UL 2108, respectively, for the tunnel lighting system and low voltage lighting system security requirements.

UL 1310 for Class 2 safety circuits with power supply, and UL 1012 for Class 2 safety circuits with no power power supply.

UL 60950-1 Safety of LPS can bring the power supply circuit for a provision.

LED lighting products for UL certification to do, UL 8750 is a necessary test items, the other based on product type and the type of power supply is different from the corresponding need to increase the lighting standards of class and power class of test items. LED lighting products for the safety testing and certification, CE certification and U.S. UL certification of the focus is different, CE certification focuses on product safety against electric shock, and UL certified products is more focused on anti-fire security.

U.S. market for LED lighting products for electromagnetic compatibility requirement is FCC certified. Certification testing standards FCCPART15B, authentication type for the VOC (which is the general pattern of self-validation of authentication). Compared with the EU's CE certification, FCC testing the biggest difference is that it only EMI requirements without EMS requirements. Test program a total of two: radiated emission and conducted emission testing program and the two limits of the test frequency range and the EU CE certification requirements are different.

Exports to the U.S. market for LED lighting, in addition to UL certification in the safety aspects of electromagnetic compatibility and FCC certification, there is one of the most important is the Energy Star certification (ENERGY STAR) certification. Energy Star lighting products is based on the product's UL certification and FCC certification, the main optical properties of the product life and lumen maintenance aspects of the certification test.

LED lighting products for Energy Star certification testing, the original mainly by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE, Department of Energy) is responsible; and traditional lighting products for Energy Star certification testing, mainly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, Environmental Protection Agency) responsible. With the Energy Star program in 2010 by the DOE to the EPA the gradual completion of the transition, the U.S. Energy Star program solely responsible for the EPA.

LED lighting products for Energy Star certification for two important standards developed by the DOE, respectively, solid state lighting (SSL, Solid State Lighting) lamps and integral LED lights (Integral LED lamps) the provisions of the performance parameters. Performance parameters for the two main test standards are IES LM-79-08 and IES LM-80-08, including IES LM-79-08 is the SSL products the approval of electrical and photometric methods, the main products of the SSL The optical properties of the test environmental conditions, equipment requirements, test methods were provided; and IES LM-80-08 is a LED light source lumens to maintain the approval of measuring method for measuring LED packaging, arrays and modules to maintain the rate of flux mainly on the test conditions and test methods were required.

IES LM-79-08 standard test items are in total flux, luminous efficiency, light distribution, chromaticity coordinates, correlated color temperature, color rendering index and color spatial inhomogeneity and so on. In our large number of LED lighting products on the test data and the U.S. DOE CALiPER sampling plan from the LED lighting market performance data shows that pre-production of LED lighting products, most manufacturers are committed to improving luminous efficiency of products, while ignoring The color characteristics of the product, allowing for higher luminous efficiency though, and the product is not a good color, cool tones, does not apply to indoor general lighting. With the LED technology to further improve the detection of some of our recent clients of LED lighting products, and DOE CALiPER rounds of testing data recently released found that most manufacturers are concerned about the current luminous efficiency of products, but also began to focus on product The color rendering index and correlated color temperature, the optical properties of the product design taking into account the compromise choice.

In addition, the LED has a strong direction, and the same type of consistency between the LED devices may be different, which led to the use of these devices produce LED lighting products in the space of brightness and color characteristics of different properties in this area need to measure the intensity distribution and the product non-uniform color space representation of the performance indicators. Meanwhile, the special nature of LED light sources, LED lighting products for the life of lumen maintenance, not the world can be accelerated life testing methods, the need for a longer period of testing to approximate assessment. IES LM-80-08 LED lamp lumen maintenance test requires a minimum duration of 6,000 hours, the recommended duration of 10,000 hours better.

October 2010 CALiPER sampling release of the first 11 reports on the 9 lumen LED lighting products for the attenuation of the test, LED replacement lamps of 15 lumens decay products were tested. According to Energy Star standards, hours of work in 6000, SSL product if the claimed 25,000 hours of life, light output necessary to maintain the initial value of 91.8% or more; if claimed 35,000 hours of life, the need to maintain in the initial light output 94.1% of initial value. According to this decision based on that LED lighting products to 24 test cases shown in Table 2. Seen from the test results, most of the LED replacement lamp lumen maintenance life of the product can not meet Energy Star standards. In addition, the lumen maintenance of the testing process, and needs to maintain the characteristic color of the product concerned.

Solely responsible for the EPA Energy Star plan, EPA Energy Star is committed to integrating the standards, EPA was February 16, 2011 issued a lamp (Luminaires) Energy Star standards V1.0 final version, to replace the development of the house with its original lighting equipment (RLF, Residential Light Fixtures) Energy Star standards and the development of the SSL DOE's Energy Star lighting criteria. Energy Star lighting, including light source categories are: fluorescent lamps, high intensity discharge lamps, halogen lamps, and LED lights. The standard LED lamps for a higher performance demands of LED lighting products if the manufacturers need to apply for Energy Star, where the need for special attention.

In the light of the Energy Star standards there are two corresponding need to pay attention, one is IES LM-82-11, it is an integral LED light LED light engines and electrical and optical performance test standards; another is the IES TM-21-11, it is the life of LED devices projected lumen maintenance methods can be used as IES LM-80-08 test results of a complementary treatment, is also seen from this standard, for the life of the proposed LED lumen maintenance combined forecast projected life of the product can only be approximate, so currently can not use the accelerated aging method to predict product life lumen maintenance. In addition, EPA has declared, will be released in the follow-up lamp (Lamps) Energy Star standards, developed to replace its original compact fluorescent lamps (CFL, Compact Fluorescent Lamps) Energy Star standards and DOE to develop the integral LED Energy Star lights.

Summary

This paper describes the LED lighting product testing and certification in Europe and America market situation, combined with our LED lighting products, laboratory safety, EMC and optical performance testing and research experience, analysis of the current process of product testing and the problems appropriate corrective methods. In addition, safety regulations and electrical and electronic products, EMC is the usual test items, in terms of vendors and testing organizations that have accumulated more experience in the detection and correction, and for LED lighting products, optical performance and lumen maintenance of life is its unique test items. LED lighting products for performance requirements and corresponding test methods, the U.S. Energy Star requirements and corresponding test standard were compared with specific provisions, which is the world's more comprehensive standard specification.