The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published  LE 6-2008 Procedure for Determining Target Efficacy Ratings for Commercial, Industrial, and Residential Luminaires, which was developed by the Luminaire Section, in close cooperation with the Lamp and Ballast Sections of the NEMA Lighting Systems Division.

According toCheryl English, a member ofthe Luminaire Section, this standards publication provides a procedure for the determination of the target efficacy rating (TER) for luminaires under laboratory test conditions and describes categories or types of products used in common indoor and outdoor lighting applications. It does not apply to luminaires for specialized applications, such as products intended to be aimed, accent luminaires, rough or hazardous-use luminaires, or emergency lighting. It is recommended to be used only as a guide to help in the selection of luminaires since TER does not address application characteristics such as color, uniformity, glare, or other important considerations.

“This standard addresses the concern of balance between energy efficiency and lighting effectiveness in measurable terms,” English said. “Because the most efficient luminaire may not distribute the light in the most useful direction for the task, the new TER metric defined in NEMA LE-6 includes criteria related to the optical control.”

By establishing a rating for lumens delivered to a task (or target), TER allows planners and designers to compare solutions in terms of their overall energy and lighting effectiveness. TER is intended to be a metric, among many other considerations, to evaluate the energy effectiveness of a lighting installation. TER and LE-6 allow for the first time a method to evaluate the effectiveness of light delivered to common visual task locations.

“Using TER provides more useful information about the lumens delivered to a visual task for each watt consumed. The inclusion of optical control is a significant step forward in terms of evaluating the energy effectiveness of lighting equipment,” English said.

NEMA LE 6-2008 supersedes the NEMA LE5, LE5A and LE5B standards for Luminaire Efficacy Ratings (LER).

An electronic copy of LE6-2008 may be downloaded at no charge or a hard copy may be purchased for $53 by visiting NEMA’s Web site at www.nema.org/stds/le6.cfm , or by contacting IHS at 800-854-7179 (within the U.S.), 303-397-7956 (international), 303-397-2740 (fax), or on the Web at www.global.ihs.com.

NEMA is the trade association of choice for the electrical manufacturing industry. Founded in 1926 and headquartered near Washington, D.C., its approximately 450 member companies manufacture products used in the generation, transmission and distribution, control, and end-use of electricity. These products are used in utility, medical imaging, industrial, commercial, institutional, and residential applications. Domestic production of electrical products sold worldwide exceeds $120 billion. In addition to its headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia, NEMA also has offices in Beijing, São Paulo, and Mexico City.