Time for a step beyond Energy Star

All electric/electronic devices should be required to have their energy usage listed on the packaging

It is time to make a change. While Energy Star labeling has made a big difference in consumer awareness of available energy-saving devices, the labeling on electronic consumer items has got to go a step or two further and there is just no reason not to do it.

First, all lamps should be labeled with their lumens as the main specification not wattage. Lumens must be shown on the packaging in larger text size than wattage. The same philosophy holds for other electric devices such at vacuum cleaners that are now purchased based on how many amps they take, the more the better. A federal requirement should be put in place for a measure of suction or dirt pick-up ability to be featured on their packaging and advertising instead of amps.

All electric/electronic devices should be required to have their energy usage listed on packaging and advertising TV sets, audio amplifiers, computers, monitors, printers, anything that plugs into the wall socket. The listing should show normal and standby power.

The compact-fluorescent lighting industry made a big blunder when these lamps were first gaining popularity. When I bought one and replaced an incandescent lamp with the same lumen rating it was not nearly as bright even after it warmed up. This was very off-putting to consumers, and the entire industry suffered. It is time to have a standards group that will certify a lamp product and only then can that product carry its symbol.

The packaging for CFLs should also show the time required to get to 90% of the brightness. Though the current electronic ballasts have pretty much solved that problem, I bought a CFL spotlight this past weekend that took a couple of minutes to get to full brightness. No way to tell that from the package information.

Popular Mechanics magazine did an excellent story on CFLs in May 2007 (www.popularmechanics.com). The editors tested seven brands of CFLs and a single incandescent and all the CFLs had lower output than their incandescent counterpart. The Phillips CFL was typical, with a brightness stated of 1,250 lumens with a measured 865 lux (lux = one lumen/sq. meter). The Sylvania incandescent lamp gave 975 lux for its stated 1,055 lumens under the same test conditions much better than the CFLs.

On a similar topic, there is some misinformation around about LED lamps. Many EEs think that LED lamps are much more efficient than fluorescents – not true. Fluorescent lamps reach about 100 lumens/W for an electronic ballast T8 tube. The CFL type are around 50 to 70 lumens/W. LEDs in the lab are getting to 100 or even 150 lumens/W, but most of those on the store shelf are 30 to 50. The good news is LEDs are still progressing and may commonly reach 150 or 200 lumens/W in a few years. An incandescent lamp gets about 10 to 20 lumens/W.

Jim Harrison