Why Do LED Testing Standards Matter?

As LED technology continues to advance, standardized testing methods like LM-79 and LM-80 have become indispensable in the lighting industry. These standards offer consistent guidelines for evaluating the performance, efficiency, and durability of LED lighting products, and they play an essential role in meeting regulatory requirements and industry expectations. Testing standards help manufacturers benchmark their products against market expectations, and for consumers, they instill confidence that the LED lighting products they purchase will meet performance claims and energy efficiency goals.

Moreover, these standards serve a dual purpose by supporting both regulatory compliance and industry quality control. Government and regulatory agencies often base energy-efficiency certifications, such as Energy Star, on compliance with LM-79 and LM-80, making these standards a gateway to certification and qualification for rebates and incentives. These testing methods are also vital for designers and specifiers who select LED products for projects with specific performance criteria, as the data from LM-79 and LM-80 enables reliable comparisons and helps them select products that meet exacting requirements.

Without such standards, it would be difficult for consumers and professionals alike to distinguish between high-quality and low-quality products in the market. The importance of standardized testing is even more pronounced given the rapid evolution of LED technology, which requires updated testing methodologies that can keep up with new performance benchmarks.

What is LM-79?

The LM-79 standard, formally titled "Electrical and Photometric Measurements of Solid-State Lighting Products," was developed by the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) to establish procedures for evaluating the performance of LED luminaires and lamps. It provides a standardized approach to measure LEDs’ electrical and photometric properties, enabling reliable comparisons of performance metrics across different products and manufacturers. This standard is particularly critical because LED products are more complex than traditional lighting, requiring unique methods to accurately assess aspects such as color consistency, brightness, and overall efficiency.

LM-79 testing involves a controlled lab environment with specific parameters for evaluating light output, luminous efficacy (lumens per watt), power consumption, chromaticity, and correlated color temperature (CCT). The standard also addresses the need to assess color rendering index (CRI), which measures a light source's ability to accurately reveal the colors of objects. These measurements are performed using specialized equipment such as integrating spheres and goniophotometers, which help determine the total luminous flux and light distribution patterns.