Seinergy - DLC Compliance
Recommendation Letter
Prepared for: Agnetix
Prepared by: Bob Gunn, CEM, CEO of Seinergy LLC May 20, 2020
Introduction
Agnetix produces high efficiency liquid-cooled LED lighting for controlled environment agriculture applications. Agnetix fixtures meet the safety, performance and longevity specifications of leading industry standards, are supported with thorough testing and have passed CA Utilities standards through testing performed at UC Davis California Lighting Technology Center. However, due to a lack of testing methods and standards for a liquid- cooled light, Design Lights Consortium (DLC) is not able to test or list Agnetix on their published Qualified Product List (QPL).
Design Lights Consortium
The Design Lights Consortium is a nonprofit company that maintains a Qualified Products List for high efficiency fixtures that meet specific safety, longevity and efficiency thresholds for which they have reviewed and confirmed the source material. Utilities often refer to the DLC specification or the QPL to make decisions for incentive eligibility. The public can generally trust that products that are on the QPL are of high quality. The DLC has two QPLs: the solid state lighting (SSL) QPL with over 560,000 listed products, and the Horticulture QPL with 95 fixtures (as of May 15, 2020).
The DLC’s Horticulture QPL does not include all fixture types; liquid-cooled fixtures are absent. According to the DLC, the reason for this is not a judgement of performance, but rather a lack of standardized testing requirements. In their own words: “existing standards rely on assumptions that do not apply to these externally- cooled products (e.g., that a single self-contained fixture with only an external electrical power connection can be evaluated in a closed test environment).1” DLC also notes “until standards bodies have published a reference test standard for actively-cooled, externally-supplied products (activity for which is currently underway), the DLC cannot qualify products using these methods for its prescriptive QPL2”.
The DLC does not assert skepticism over liquid-cooled technology, but rather supports the lighting method by saying that liquid-cooled LEDs “hold great promise for increased efficacy and lifetime, as well as the ability to more efficiently move and use waste heat in an enclosed facility3”.
The DLC’s horticulture specification outlines testing and reporting thresholds for: (1) product longevity, (2) safety, and (3) performance efficiency. (1) Longevity tests are measured based on the testing results of the fixture component parts, specifically the LEDs and the power drivers. (2) Safety is based on whole fixture testing results from third party labs that certify compliance with electrical safety standards outlined by Underwriters Laboratory. (3) And performance standards measure the photometric output of the entire fixture relative to the power draw of the entire fixture.
