Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships
NEEP DLC Regional SSL Qualified Products List By Jon Linn, Commercial Programs Manager jlinn@neep.org Last fall when Efficiency Vermont’s Planning and Development Manager, Gabe Arnold found himself struggling to keep up with requests from customers and manufacturers for rebates on Solid State Lighting (SSL) projects, he presented the problem to NEEP. “Everyone is under the same pressure. We need an SSL qualified products list for everyone to use this is a regional opportunity,” said Arnold. NEEP’s Jon Linn and the Commercial Lighting working group took the ball and ran. Linn and the others had been following closely along with the DOE Energy Star for SSL process. So they were familiar with the major players on that scene. They floated the idea of a regional qualified products list to lighting manufacturers, to the DOE team and to program managers across the continent. All gave valuable feedback and all positive. Six months later the Qualified Products List (QPL) is nearly ready to fly. The team working on the QPL revived the mission and took on the identity of the DesignLights™ Consortium (DLC). It is wide and deep, ranging from the Department of Energy and Energy Star to electric and efficiency utilities. The Lighting Research Center (LRC) is hired-on to manage the list. Three regional energy efficiency organizations in addition to NEEP are involved and utilities from as far as California have joined in. Major selling points to the lighting industry are first: the number of sponsors. The programs that are sponsoring the QPL cover half of the population of the country and most of its energy efficiency programs. This is a market that gets their attention. Second is that the DLC is working hand in hand with DOE’s Energy Star for SSL team. The resulting process brings industry closer to, not farther from their eventual Energy Star certification. Everyone has voiced their support. The DLC team expects the QPL process to launch in early August. At that time they will be demanding industry standard test data from manufacturers on their products. LRC will examine submissions and pass or fail them based on strict criteria, and add winners to the QPL. Finally, the list will be available to all DLC members to use as they see fit in their lighting efficiency programs. Here is a quick snapshot of what the QPL list is and where it stands today. 1. What is the NEEP Design Lights Consortium (DLC) Regional Solid State Lighting (SSL) Qualified Products List (QPL) The qualified products list is a resource for program administrators, to help them decide which solid state lighting products to include in their energy efficiency promotions. Their primary reference tool for SSLs is Energy Star, however the regional list fills in gaps in categories which Energy Star does not include. DOE’s Energy Star team is working in cooperation with DLC in developing the QPL list and procedures. The sponsors hope that products from their QPL will eventually be incorporated into the Energy Star list once corresponding categories are added. 2. Who are Sponsors of the SSL List? Sponsors of the list are the DLC. They are a collection of utilities and state and regional organizations who operate or support energy efficiency programs. These are sponsors of NEEP’s C&I Buildings and Technologies Initiative plus three regional energy efficiency organizations and five electric utilities in California. For the sake of the SSL list project the sponsors are considered members of the DesignLights™ Consortium (DLC). Find more information on the DLC web site: www.designlights.org DLC Members include:
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc. 5 Militia Drive, Lexington, Massachusetts 02421 781-860-9177 www.neep.org
NEEP DLC SSL Qualified Products List NEEP Sponsors: Connecticut Massachusetts Maine New Hampshire New Jersey New York Rhode Island Vermont Other Sponsors: California
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1. 3. 5. 7. 8. 9. 11. 12. 13. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.
CT Light and Power Cape Light Compact National Grid Unitil FG&E Efficiency Maine Public Service of NH NH Electric Co-op NJ Clean Energy Program NYSERDA NGRID Efficiency Vermont
2. United Illuminating Co 4. NSTAR 6. Western Mass Electric Co. 10. NGRID 14. Long Island Power Authority
Midwest Northwest Wisconsin * Pending
Los Angeles Dept of Water and Power* Pacific Gas & Electric Co. Sacramento Municipal Utilities District* San Diego Gas & Electric* Southern California Electric* Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Wisconsin Focus on Energy
3. Who is the contractor for managing the List? The DLC has engaged the Lighting Research Center (LRC) to manage its SSL qualified products list. LRC’s managers and technicians are developing materials and procedures for manufacturers to apply to have their products included in the list. They analyze and approve submissions and they post and maintain the list. LRC works under NEEP and the steering committee. 4. What is current status of the Phase I Pilot? Phase I is development and testing of the application process for manufacturers to have their products listed with on the QPL. LRC began Phase I at the kick-off on May 13. They began by soliciting applications from three SSL manufacturers in early June, expecting to conclude analysis of their products by the first of July. The test manufacturers have found it challenging to gather the required reports and data. Both sides are learning in this process. LRC and the steering committee have met twice since the kick-off to discuss issues including steering governance, submission form development, designation of fixture families, and added product categories. NEEP has been developing tools and resources on the DLC web site for the QPL project. Their goal is to have the DLC site ready to start accepting applications by the first of August. The plan is to have an online application. The on-line application will include browse boxes for applicants to upload the completed application, test reports and required files, and a credit-card payment for the application fee. (The application fee for each family or group of fixtures is $400.) 5. What is status of Phase II of the project? Phase II is the ongoing processing and management of the qualified products list. Phase II will begin after the Phase I pilot concludes. This is scheduled to take place by August 1, 2009.
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc. 5 Militia Drive, Lexington, Massachusetts 02421
781-860-9177 www.neep.org
NEEP DLC SSL Qualified Products List 6. How will manufacturers apply for their products to be on the list?
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On the DLC web site’s public home page there will be an area dedicated to the SSL Regional Qualified Products List, displaying information and instructions for applicants (SSL manufacturers). Prospective applicants will download the submission form, complete with instructions, and they will be directed to the application. The SSL list application will ask for contact information and it will ask for manufacturers to use browse boxes to upload completed submission forms, reports and files. It will ask them to submit credit card authorization for the $400 submission fee. Once the application is complete the manufacturer will hit ‘send’. The QPL application requirements are nearly identical to those of Energy Star. These include submission of IES LM-79 test reports, LM-80 reports, UL 1598 reports, full IES files and product lifetime claim evidence. These would be onerous for each utility to analyze individually; the central list will relieve a lot of pressure on program people. 7. How will applications be processed? Completed applications will arrive on-line at LRC for processing. LRC will first check applications for completeness. They will point out any missing data and give applicants one attempt to complete their submittal. Once they have a completed application in hand LRC will examine it for compliance with category requirements. When and if the product passes, LRC will add it to the regional qualified products list. If the product fails to meet requirements it will be logged in a failed applications area. 8. How will sponsors use the list for their programs? Each sponsor has protected access to the private side of the DLC site. A sponsor will be free to use the list in design of their incentive program in any way they see fit. Initially some programs will use only some of the products on the list, depending on individual cost effectiveness calculation methods. With experience we may eventually see all programs accept all products. Access to the list is protected in order to avoid misconceptions by suppliers or customers who may jump to conclusions about what is eligible for incentives under any individual program. Depending on individual program design, a program administrator may use the QPL as a look-up reference along with the Energy Star list to see whether a customer’s project uses qualifying products. Or, a program administrator may use components of the list as a statement to program participants of which products the program supports. Use of the list will be up to individual program administrators. 9. How do program administrators respond to SSL project incentive requests now? Programs throughout the region are increasingly asked by customers and suppliers for incentives for SSL projects. However without Energy Star certification program people need to conduct their own examinations to assure product quality. This can be a tough and time-consuming effort. The challenge of these examinations points out the need for the QPL. One program, Efficiency Vermont offers prescriptive incentives for specific categories of SSL fixtures from their own approved products list. This list resembles the Energy Star labeled list. See the application and information on EVT’s web site: . Efficiency Vermont SSL Other programs are processing SSL incentive requests through their custom commercial programs. All experiences in this area have been complex and unique to a particular product. In addition to the questions and data demanded by a custom commercial program, managers have asked or required more of SSL applicants such as:
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc. 5 Militia Drive, Lexington, Massachusetts 02421 781-860-9177 www.neep.org
NEEP DLC SSL Qualified Products List
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• Show full LM-79 test results for the fixture by an certified independent lab • Show LM-80 test results for the LED fixture or LED module package. LM-80 was just approved in Sept, 2008 so results may not yet be available. • Substantiate your claims of fixture lifetime • Manufacturer must provide the customer an unconditional five-year warrantee for all project fixtures • Fixtures must calculate-out as cost effective at a lifetime no longer than the length of the manufacturer’s warranty. • Customer must be satisfied with the lighting quality of the final finished project, and agree to keep it in place for the duration of the warranty period. The final challenge for the program administrators is how to make sense of the photometric and lifetime submittals. Some have lighting technical resource people on staff; others need to seek services of outside experts for project evaluations. There are only a handful of existing SSL projects in the region, yet traffic of inquiries and proposals is picking up. The DLC hopes that the regional QPL will be up and running before all these project evaluations fry our brains.
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc. 5 Militia Drive, Lexington, Massachusetts 02421
781-860-9177 www.neep.org