Amidst the bluster of LightFair International (LFI) and a return to mounting deadlines, I missed the press release from D+R International announcing that the environmentally-oriented consultancy would take over the Lighting Facts program and continue to operate it. Indeed, D+R will expand and improve the program that sought to ensure “truth-in-advertising” in the upstart LED-based general lighting sector, although the program will become a paid service.
The US Department of Energy (DOE) created Lighting Facts to make sure consumers could buy products that delivered on manufacturer specifications and to ensure that manufacturers included the data that residential and commercial consumers would need to choose solid-state lighting (SSL) products that met their needs. The program was critical in the early days of adoption for LED-based general lighting in terms of lamps and luminaires when performance claims often differed significantly from reality.
The DOE had removed replacement lamps from the Lighting Facts database at the end of 2016, citing changes in lamp testing requirements and market conditions. Then in March of this year it announced that it would no longer fund the luminaire portion of the program but said the program had accomplished most of its goals. Ironically, we mentioned the formal end of the program just a day before D+R announced plans to take over the program.
D+R has been a partner in the Lighting Facts program all along, consulting with the DOE and handling the actual implementation. For example, it was D+R that presented major changes to the Lighting Facts program at Strategies in Light 2013 — changes that eased the testing burden on manufacturers making families of similar products.
D+R has said it will bring lamps back into the program. The consultancy also plans to add QR code support and profiles on manufacturers and test labs.
Companies can continue to submit new products for free through the end of this month. Beginning in June, however, manufacturers will pay for listing services. There will be options for monthly and annual rates. Access to the database for buyers will remain free. Follow what’s happening at the new website.
Maury Wright | Editor in Chief
Maury Wright is an electronics engineer turned technology journalist, who has focused specifically on the LED & Lighting industry for the past decade. Wright first wrote for LEDs Magazine as a contractor in 2010, and took over as Editor-in-Chief in 2012. He has broad experience in technology areas ranging from microprocessors to digital media to wireless networks that he gained over 30 years in the trade press. Wright has experience running global editorial operations, such as during his tenure as worldwide editorial director of EDN Magazine, and has been instrumental in launching publication websites going back to the earliest days of the Internet. Wright has won numerous industry awards, including multiple ASBPE national awards for B2B journalism excellence, and has received finalist recognition for LEDs Magazine in the FOLIO Eddie Awards. He received a BS in electrical engineering from Auburn University.
