In late 2020, UL’s Orange County (OC) performance laboratory in Brea, California, combined with UL’s nearby safety laboratory, doubling the laboratory space to over 38,000 square feet. Combining the laboratories allowed for increased testing efficiencies and deeper collaboration between UL’s safety and performance teams for the benefit of customers.
Building on our core lighting performance offerings, such as Energy Star®, DesignLights Consortium® (DLC), Department of Energy and California Energy Commission (CEC) Title 20 and Title 24/JA8, UL’s laboratory in Orange County now offers an expansive portfolio of performance testing services.
UL’s technical experts are committed to providing photometric and photobiologic testing services that meet the high expectations of the lighting industry. Our team is available to help guide you through our services and testing capabilities.
Performance laboratory testing capabilities
In addition to safety testing, the laboratory has a wide range of performance capabilities.
Horticultural lighting testing
Utilizing integrating spheres, mobile spectroradiometers and goniophotometers, we can provide a suite of reports specific for horticultural applications including traditional photometry with horticulture metrics as well as near field measurements to represent intensity at the plant canopy.
Energy Star specialty testing
Common performance criteria for the Energy Star program include testing for:
- Audible noise
- Start time
- Elevated temperature light output ratio
- Operating frequency
- Dimming level
- Transient protection
- Angular uniformity of color
- Flicker
Optical flicker testing
UL’s photometric laboratories are familiar with standard methods of flicker testing and are actively involved in the development of lighting measurement test methods to meet Energy Star and CEC requirements. UL developed a testing method with a UL Verification Mark that demonstrates that the product has been tested and evaluated for flicker performance with particular reference to the percentage of optical flicker present in the product.
Photobiological hazard testing
Exposure to optical radiation, distributed on a wide spectrum range, both in the visible and invisible fields, may damage skin and eyes. The photobiological safety standards measure and identify the risk factors of optical radiation emitted by lighting devices, such as UV-C germicidal devices.
UL’s laboratory is equipped with the necessary instrumentation for the performance of radiometric detection in accordance with the European and American standards, namely IEC/EN 62471 and ANSI/IESNA RP-27, for the definition of the optical radiation values in the spectrum comprised between 200 nm and 3000 nm, i.e., the level of UV, IR and blue light radiations. UL also has the necessary instrumentation to perform other measurements, so contact us to discuss your project needs.
