Mandatory European lamp labels
Mandatory European lamp labels
After years of discussions with the industry and other parties, the European Commission is now finalizing a procedure to implement a mandatory labeling scheme for "household lamps". Meanwhile, the European industry announced that they intend to start labeling their lamps on a voluntary basis 2nd half of 1997.
End of 1996, the European Union's General Directorate for Energy (DG XVII) submitted a final draft proposal on mandatory energy lamp labeling for so-called household lamps (i.e. lamps typically in use in residential applications). It has not been an easy task to get the propsal ready: It took years of discussions with various parties including European consumer organizations and the Federation of European Lighting Industries (ELC), as well as members of the European Union's Regulatory Committee.
It is unlikely that substantial changes of this proposal will be made during the Union's approval procedure. The proposal presents a mandatory labeling scheme for most of the inca≠descent lamps, including high-voltage halogen lamps, and for screw-base and most modular compact fluorescent lamps. The classification system consists of seven classes from A to G and is based on an energy efficiency index (Ei). This index is calculated as the input wattage of the lamp divided by a reference wattage, reached by using a formula taking the lumen package and ballast losses (if applicable) into account.
The classes A to G are not related to different technologies. However, starting from the present state of technology most standard GLS lamps will fit into class E and most of the compact fluorescent screw-base lamps will have a label with an A or B. The A category has been reserved for the most energy efficient lamps like tri-phosphor fluorescent lamps and electronic integral CFLs.
The information on the label, which has to be put on the package, can be restricted to the energy efficiency class if the other relevant product information like the wattage and the luminous flux are printed elsewhere on the package. The label looks similar to the European whitegoods label.
It is expected that the Directive will get legal status once CENELEC has established the corresponding EN measuring standard, which will take about 3 years.
Boudewijn Huenges Wajer
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