Lighting

Jun 11, 2023

Labelling of lighting is now mandatory in over 60 countries, covering half of the world’s lighting electricity consumption. Extending labelling to new countries and lighting products will provide consumers with information to guide their purchases, as well as allow mechanisms for governments to introduce other measures (such as targeted subsidies).

Further harmonisation of labelling is crucial to help suppliers realise economies of scale, which would raise both product affordability and the amount of capital available for investment in innovation. In addition, labelling schemes must be based on robust standards against which products can be scaled, and there should also be related policy mechanisms to ensure that the same rules apply to all market participants.

Furthermore, design regulations for lighting applications and services should be revisited. In many countries, energy performance standards for buildings (e.g., lighting energy use per square metre) have not been updated enough to reflect the rapidly changing lighting market.

These standards should recognise that LED lamps are now twice as efficient as fluorescent and are much more amenable to lighting controls (i.e., adjustment of light output and even colour using fixture sensors). Improved metrics for quality control and more appropriate testing procedures are also critical to ensure LED energy performance and quality.