These are tests to help you figure out if you are making the right choice by going with an LED. The LM79 is designed to help consumers know what they are buying when they make the decision to go with an LED over other energy efficient options. LM79 measures total luminous flux, luminous intensity distribution, electrical power, efficacy (lumens per watt delivered), and color characteristics (chromaticity, CCT, and CRI).

LM80 is there to help ensure that when a person chooses to purchase an LED that they are getting the most out of their new bulb. One interesting thing about LEDs is that they do not “burn out” the way traditional incandescent light bulbs do because they do not have a filament to burn out. With LEDs the light quality just depreciates to the point where the bulb is no longer usable. LM80 is the approved method for measuring lumen depreciation of LEDs. Simply put, LM80 helps to validate that the bulb will have a usable amount of light for as long as it says it will.

Make sure when you decide to take the leap into LEDs to do your homework, most manufactures will have their LED LM79 and LM80 available for you to view.

This is great for the lighting industry! However, for the general consumer, these new laws and new technologies open up a new can of worms. Now consumers have to ask questions like: “What do I buy?” “How does this work?” “Will this look good in my house?” However, there is one very important question that consumers are not asking is, “Do I need to be able to use this bulb on a dimmer?”

All of these great new technologies are great for energy savings, however not all of these bulbs work in all applications. Consumers need to be aware that not all of the new technologies will work on the standard dimmer that is currently in their house. They need to look at the bulb packaging and verify that the new bulb that they are picking does in fact work on a dimmer.

After finding out if the CFL, LED or halogen bulb that has been picked is dimmable, the next step is to see if the bulb works on all standard dimmers and if the bulb is to performs like the incandescent bulbs that they have become accustomed to. Many CFL and LED bulbs on the market require a special type of dimmer. It is important that if you are just looking to replace your current bulb that you choose one that will work on a standard dimmer and will not require you to purchase a new dimmer for your room.

The next step is to look at dimming performance. Not all CFL and LED bulbs that state that they are dimmable perform like an incandescent bulb! Some dimmable bulbs flicker and flash and do not have a “smooth” dimming curve. Make sure that you pick something that is going to perform the way that you expect it to. The best dimming CFL on the market dims from 100% down to 2% with zero low end flicker. The best performing LED on dims exactly like an incandescent from 100% down to 0%.

So, when you are shopping for a new bulb or helping a customer pick a new energy saving technology make sure that you know what type of dimming you need in order to pick a great bulb.

Let’s first start with the definition of a watt. A watt is defined as the power needed to move a one kilogram object at the speed of one meter per-second against a force of one newton. More simply put a watt a measurement of how much electrical power a device consumes. When looking at lighting and watts, you are not looking at how much light a bulb puts out when looking at watts, but how much energy a bulb uses to put out that amount of light.

Now moving on to lumens, a lumen is a measurement of the amount of light that is contained in a certain area. The technical definition of a lumen is one candela multiplied by one steradian. A much simpler definition of a lumen would be that one lumen is equivalent to the amount of light put out by one birthday candle when you are standing one foot away from it. If a light bulb puts out 100 lumens, imagine standing one foot away from a cake with one hundred birthday candles on it.

Lumens are more accurate way of measuring the amount of light a particular bulb is putting out, because lumens are a direct measurement of light output. Wattage, even though it is what people have become accustomed to seeing on packaging and measuring how much light they are seeing, it is not really an accurate way to measure light output. Just because a light bulb uses a particular amount of energy to run, does not mean that it directly correlates with the amount of light that is put out. With a variety of energy efficient CFLs, LEDs and Halogen lamps coming onto the market on a regular basis that do not use nearly the same amount of energy as incandescent bulbs it makes sense for people to move away from thinking about wattage when they purchase a bulb and start thinking about lumens.

The law is not banning incandescent lighting, it is just creating a standard for lighting that traditional incandescent lamps do not meet. The government is creating this standard for lighting, because it is in the public’s best interest. These standards are ensuring the quality and safety of the public, just like they have on many products on the market today.

These new lighting standards are phasing out the blubs that you have come accustom to, but they are offering a lot more options that fit the energy efficient standards. Here are some options to keep in mind when shopping for light bulbs to meet the new requirements; the Compact Fluorescent Light bulb, the LED, and Halogen bulbs. There is no need to panic, all of these new lighting options are optimized for specific applications and will provide you with energy efficient lighting that will look great in you specific space.

Stay tuned for more lighting regulation information and how to set the mood with an energy efficient lighting option!

Today, October 1, marks the 4th annual ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day.  Since it’s inception, the Change-A-Light campaign is responsible for 1.9 million Americans having taken the pledge or for participating as one of the nearly 2,000 organizations that have driven pledges since 2006. Together we have collectively saved more than $220 million and prevented the release of more than 3 billion pounds of greenhouse gases with lighting alone.

TCP is proud to be one of the ENERGY STAR partners sponsoring Change a Light Day events and other activities. Click here for a more complete list of events on the ENERGY STAR web site.

To view a brief, but informative, video on CFLs featuring the n:vision brand visit HowStuffWorks.com.