ARNHEM, STUTTGART and SHANGHAI, April 6, 2012/PRNewswire-Asia/ -- DEKRA, a regular member of the international industry-wide association Zhaga, has been officially appointed as one of the two first Zhaga Test Centres for LED light engines.
Zhaga was established to develop standard specifications for LED light engines. Zhaga standardisation will improve market acceptance of LED lighting, as customers will be able to replace light engines in future without being tied to the original manufacturer.
This development benefits the environment (lower energy consumption), professional users and consumers (no need to worry about the availability of replacement products) and manufacturers as the market expands and becomes more transparent. Luminaire manufacturers can now freely choose suppliers without having to redesign their products to fit alternative LED modules, providing they meet the required safety standards.
DEKRA has extensive experience of testing LED lighting (with its LED Performance Mark) and Zhaga’s development of standardised light engine interfaces puts the company in an excellent position to provide comprehensive testing and certification services to LED lighting manufacturers. These can now get their products certified to carry the Zhaga logo, the DEKRA LED Performance Mark and a safety mark (e.g. ENEC, KEMA KEUR) from a single knowledgeable LED testing provider.
The Zhaga concept is designed in such a way that LED light engine manufacturers can innovate where it matters (engine performance and features) and standardise where it benefits all (engine interfaces). As a result, equivalent light engines from different manufacturers will be interchangeable. Zhaga intends to develop a family of industry standards (referring to existing standards where relevant), which may later be proposed for standardisation through the IEC.
The standards only govern the interfaces of the light engines, not their internal operation. For example, the control interface can specify the required light output or colour, but how this is provided is entirely up to the manufacturer of the light engine. Initially, Zhaga will develop standards that are applicable to professional applications worldwide. Standards for the consumer market will be developed later.
Our Shanghai LED Technology Assessment Centre, located at Shibei High Tech Park, Shanghai, operates state-of-the-art mirror-goniometer and photo-biological test equipment and is full equipped to perform testing against Zhaga requirement. Our Shanghai laboratory is NVLAP accredited (Lab Code: 200964-0) and CBTL for all lighting products including Zhaga.
For more information on Zhaga, go to www.zhagastandard.org
About DEKRA
DEKRA SE is one of the world’s leading expert organisations. The company currently runs activities in more than 50 countries. Around 28,000 employees are committed to ensuring long-term safety, quality and environmental protection. The DEKRA Business Units “Automotive”, “Industrial” and “Personnel” provide professional and innovative services in the fields of vehicle inspections, expert appraisals, international claims management, consulting, industrial testing, product testing, certification, environmental protection, qualification, temporary work as well as out- and new placement. In 2011 DEKRA generated sales totalling around 2 billion euros.
