EISA AND INCANDESCENTS AND
WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU!
It’s all in the efficacy!

Industry Update #9814

The Energy Independence Security Act of 2007 (EISA-2007) was enacted to make products more energy efficient and to “move the United States towards greater energy independence”.

One of the key areas of concentration of the Act was lighting. Lighting accounts for 22% of the total US electricity, and the expected savings under EISA would be $18 billion per year, or the equivalent of the output of 80 coal plants.

In summary, the Act is setting efficacy standards for incandescent light bulbs. These new standards will effectively phase out incandescent light bulbs between 40 and 205 watts and especially target incandescent reflectors which have low efficacy numbers.

This concentration on incandescent reflectors opens up many opportunities for reflectors with high efficacy. Reflectors like compact fluorescent lamps.

The new specifications for reflectors ranging from 40-205 watts:

- R20 lamps must be 45 watts or less.
- BR40 lamps must be 65 watts or less.
- OPAR lamps may not be sold except for those providing special colors of light such
as amber, blue, green, red and yellow.
- ER30 lamps must be 50 watts or less.
- BR40 and ER40 lamps can be 65 watts, or less than or equal to 50 watts.

Effective Date: The law is Federal and will apply to all states, but 9 states have already become early adopters of the standards.

Sources:
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca - October, 2008 (Natural Resources Canada)
http://www.iesphl.org -  August, 2008 (”Incandescing Sources: Their regulation and their Future”)
http://www.americanlightingassoc.com - Sept, 07 (American Lighting Association, FD HB6 “Lighting Energy Efficiency”)
http://cltc.ucdavis.edu (California Lighting Technology Center)
http://www.neema.org (National Electrical Manufacturers Association)
“Incandescent Reflector Lamps; Study of Proposed Energy Efficiency Standards for New York State” June, 2007 (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority)

About MaxLite: MaxLite is a New Jersey based global manufacturer and marketer of energy efficient lighting products. The company is a leading innovator in the development of LEDs for general lighting and holds a variety of patents in the competitive field of fluorescent technology. MaxLite is one of the leading brands in the U.S. MaxLite is an active ENERGY STAR Partner and was selected as ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year, 2009.