Energy Policy Act of 2005 Sets New Ballast Efficiency Standards

By Craig DiLouie, Lighting Controls Association

Published November 2005

While new fluorescent ballast efficiency rules went into effect earlier this year, another batch of rules have just been passed that will affect lighting systems starting in 2009. This time, the efficacy standards have been set high enough that the vast majority of magnetic ballasts—including ballasts operating energy-saving T12 lamps—will no longer comply.

In September 2000, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published the Fluorescent Lamp Ballast Energy Conservation Standards (10 CFR, Part 430), which established new minimum ballast efficacy factor (BEF) standards that would go into effect starting in 2005. Ballasts that did not pass the standards would be phased out of production and sale in the United States.

Prior to 2005, many believed that this would spell the end of magnetic ballasts. However, it was determined that while magnetic ballasts that operated F40T12, F96T12 and F96T12HO lamps failed the new BEF standards, ballasts designed to operate energy-saving versions of these lamps were not covered by the regulation.

With support from the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), the government revisited ballast efficiency in the Energy Policy of Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), which President Bush signed into law on August 8, 2005. Provisions in EPAct 2005 extend the coverage of BEF standards, which will result in the phased elimination and sale of most magnetic ballasts in new fixtures, including those designed to operate 34W T12 lamps, starting in 2009, and replacement ballasts in 2010.

“There has been some market confusion following the 2000 DOE Ballast Rule as to whether ballasts for energy-saving T12 lamps were subject to the federal minimum efficiency requirements,” says Kyle Pitsor, Vice President Government Relations for NEMA. “In response, NEMA championed the effort to seek clarity on the coverage of the ballasts for energy-saving lamps in the drafting and passage of HR 6, EPAct 2005. This change now explicitly covers them, will provide market certainty and will improve energy efficiency.”

Below are the current ballast efficacy requirements for ballasts operating F40T12, F96T12 and F96T12HO lamps, which went into effect April 1, 2005:

Below are the new ballast efficacy requirements for ballasts operating F34T12, F96T12/ES and F96T12HO/ES lamps, which will go into effect July 1, 2009:

In review, BEF is calculated: (Ballast Factor * 100) / System Watts). The higher the number, the more efficient the ballast must be to meet or exceed it.

Below are the two timetables governing the phased withdrawal of ballasts that do not meet the new BEF standards:

Both ballast rules exempt ballasts that:

• Are designed for dimming to 50 percent or less of their maximum light output
• Are designed for use with two F96T12HO lamps at ambient temperatures of -20 ° F and for use in outdoor signs
• Have a power factor of less than 0.90 and are designed and labeled for use only in residential applications.

Replacement ballasts will continue to be manufactured and sold until July 1, 2010 . These ballasts will feature output leads shorter than the length of the lamp they operate, may be shipped in packages limited to 10 or fewer units, and will be marked, for replacement only.

While this legislation is significant, the market has rapidly adopted electronic ballasts for new fixtures in the last decade. According to the U.S. Economic Census, electronic fluorescent ballasts represented 47 percent of U.S. sales at the time the regulation was published in 2000; in 2002, they represented 57 percent of all ballasts shipped in the U.S. One ballast manufacturer, using preliminary Census Bureau data, estimates that they exceeded 60 percent in 2003. At the current rate, by 2010, magnetic ballasts in new fixtures may become much of a dinosaur anyway due to commercial market preference for electronic ballasts.

A significant element of both the original 2000 ballast rule and the new rule included in EPAct 2005, however, is the gradual elimination of the manufacture and sale of replacement magnetic ballasts for full-wattage and energy-saving F40T12, F96T12 and F96T12HO lamps. Building owners will have to retrofit or gradually replace their magnetic ballasts with higher-efficiency ballasts as they fail.

“EPAct 2005 contains a number of provisions of interest to the lighting community,” says Pitsor. “These include new lighting products subject to federal efficiency standards, new tax deduction provision that benefits lighting energy-efficient commercial buildings, establishment of a solid state lighting program at the DOE, and promotion of ASHRAE and IECC standards.”

For more information about the new energy law, visit NEMA at www.nema.org.

RETURN TO KEY ISSUES