The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, VA, has released a white paper that explains the Fluorescent Ballast Rule and the associated measurement methods, NEMA LSD 66-2017 Understanding the Fluorescent Ballast Rule, EPCA 10 CFR 430.
“This white paper updates a 2012 ballast ruling, which became effective in 2014, and offers historical context for the current use of the ballast luminous efficiency metric,” said Ed Thomas, chair of the NEMA Ballast & Driver Section Technical Committee. This revision of LSD 66 contains updated language.
The white paper covers a revision to the way ballast efficiency factor (BEF) is calculated. The original rule, dating to 2012 and released in 2014, only covered ballasts for T12 fluorescent lamps. The revised rule covers almost all linear fluorescent ballast types. Many utilities and other rebate incentive programs are based on the BEF metric so those parameters will need to be revised to reflect the more accurate ballast performance metrics.
NEMA LSD 66-2017 is available as an electronic download at no cost on the NEMA website.
