Electric.ie Jan/Feb 2021

ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • 11 Lighting News Changes to Lighting ecodesign and energy labelling regulations voted by EU Member States ‒ Recently, national authorities voted on changes to various requirements in the ecodesign and energy labelling regulations for light sources. LightingEurope has actively contributed to this revision process and is now evaluating the results with a members’ expert group. The official publication of the updated regulations is expected in late Spring 2021. L ightingEurope has received preliminary information on the adopted amendments. They mainly relate to technical criteria for light sources, the phase-out or exemptions of some products and the definition of ‘containing products’. In more detail, they affect the stroboscopic effect requirements (SVM) for LED mains lamps, stage lighting lamps, infrared heating lamps and rules applicable to luminaires. The ecodesign and energy labelling regulations were published in December 2019 and new requirements have become applicable at different points in time. The discontinuation of the energy label for luminaires already applies since December 2019. Most of the ecodesign and the energy labelling rules start to apply on 1st September 2021. LightingEurope has published guidelines to help companies understand and apply the new complex rules to their products and to help market surveillance authorities enforce them. A first version was made available on the same day the laws were published in December 2019, and a revised updated version was made available in October 2020. What are the next steps? After the official amendment document is published on a European Commission website, a scrutiny period starts for the EU Parliament and EU Council. If no objections are raised by either of these institutions, the publication of the updated regulations in the EU Official Journal is currently expected for late Spring 2021. Most requirements become applicable as of 1st September 2021. Who are LightingEurope? LightingEurope is the voice of the lighting industry, based in Brussels and representing 33 companies and national associations. Together these members account for over 1,000 European companies, a majority of which are small or medium-sized. They represent a total European workforce of over 100,000 people and an annual turnover exceeding 20 billion euro. LightingEurope is committed to promoting efficient lighting that benefits human comfort, safety and well-being, and the environment. LightingEurope advocates a positive business and regulatory environment to foster fair competition and growth for the European lighting industry. More information is available at www.lightingeurope.org . The Lighting Association Ireland are members of Lighting Europe. The Irish representatives are Gearoid Mc Kenna and Gay Byrne.