What does it mean for products that list DLC tags?

2019-08-25

Like most industries, the lighting industry has a number of key standards and regulations to help consumers make informed purchasing decisions.

When we explained the importance of ENERGY STAR-certified lighting products, we recently discussed this on this blog.

Another important certification: DLC.

Maybe you have seen this tag - "DLC List" or "DLC Approved".

What does this mean, how is this designation issued?

DLC stands for DesignLights Consortium, and if the lighting product is certified by the organization, it has a high level of energy efficiency.

An overview of DLC

According to its website, DLC "promotes quality, performance and energy efficiency through collaboration between its federal, regional, state, utility and energy efficiency program members, lighting manufacturers, lighting designers and other industry stakeholders in the United States. Departmental lighting solutions."

The program began in 1998 as a regional certification for the northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the country.It is designed to address the differences between energy efficient lighting products and high quality lighting products. To this day, it is still managed by the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership (NEEP).

Unlike ENERGY STAR, DLC is specifically targeted at the lighting industry. You will never see the dishwasher or air conditioner listed in the DLC.

Another important difference between the two is that you won't see DLC tags on any consumer product - only commercial products. ENERGY STAR claims to have consumer and commercial product labels.

DLC certified commercial LED luminaires, retrofit kits and linear replacement lamps. The organization then works with utilities across the country and Canadian companies to incorporate products listed in the DLC into lighting discounts and incentive programs. The key here is that DLC applies to fixtures and LED tubes, which are not covered by the Energy Star label. Most utility companies require fixed equipment for DLC ratings in order to qualify for discounts, which is often an important part of creating a financially significant retrofit plan. Therefore, at Adiding LED lighting, we are specify and purchase DLC luminaires at all items.

For lighting product manufacturers, to qualify for a DLC for a particular product, they must submit a paid application and participate in extensive third-party testing of the product to demonstrate compliance with the manufacturer's requirements. There are three main test products that can achieve DLC status: LM 79, LM 80 and in-situ temperature testing.