Assessing real world performance of LED fixtures is becoming a crucial step in the rapidly changing LED market.  Manufacturer’s claims are not always what they seem, especially regarding fixture life and lumen depreciation.  Recently we developed a testing protocol for three LED demonstration sites for a large electric utility that evaluates photometry and energy savings. Each demonstration site includes multiple products from different vendors in order to do a side by side comparison of products.

The testing protocol is similar to the Department of Energy’s Gateway Program, and includes performing onsite evaluations shortly after installation and at the 6,000 hour mark. Why is the 6,000 hour mark important? Currently most LEDs performance changes after running for 1,000 hours. Many times the light output increases, but some LED products actually perform worse after they have reached this level of burn time.  By evaluating the products for such a long period of time, any lumen depreciation can be accounted for and the electric utility can determine whether any products would be eligible to pay an incentive on.

Initial baseline testing and research was completed by MWE2 during Q4 of 2009 and installation of the new fixtures is currently underway.  LEDs are increasing in popularity, but in many applications they are still unproven, which makes evaluating real world performance a crucial step before deciding to jump on the bandwagon.