New EU Regulation for Eco-Design of Lamps

A new Regulation with regard to eco-design requirements for lamps has come into force in the European Union on January 3, 2013. Regulation EU No 1194/2012 within the framework of the Eco-Design Directive 2009/125/EC refers to:

• Directional lamps
• Light-emitting diode (LED) lamps
• Equipment designed for installation between the mains and the lamps, including lamps control gear, control devices and luminaires (with some exemptions)

This is also valid when they are integrated into other products. LED modules shall be exempted from the requirements of this Regulation if they are marketed as part of luminaires that are placed on the market in less than 200 units per year.

Besides energy efficiency and functionality requirements (for example minimum requirements concerning the lamp survival factor or the number of switching cycles before failure), Annex 3 defines product information requirements. Some of them have to be displayed on the lamps itself. Other information which is of interest for the consumer has to be displayed on free access website or on the product packaging.

The requirements of EU Regulation No 1194/2012 shall apply in accordance with the following stages: Stage 1 will come into effect on September 1, 2013; stage 2 one year and stage 3 three years later.