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The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) of 1975, Pub. L. 94-163, (42 U.S.C. 6291-6309) established an energy conservation program for major household appliances. Additional amendments to EPCA have given DOE the authority to regulate the energy efficiency of many products, including certain fluorescent lamp ballasts. Amendments to EPCA in the National Appliance Energy Conservation Amendments of 1988, P.L. 100-357, established energy conservation standards for certain fluorescent lamp ballasts. (42 U.S.C. 6295(g)(5)) These same amendments also directed DOE to 1) conduct two rulemaking cycles to determine whether to amend these standards and 2) for each rulemaking cycle, determine whether the standards in effect for fluorescent lamp ballasts should be amended so that they would be applicable to additional fluorescent lamp ballasts. (42 U.S.C. 6295(g)(7)(A)-(B))
On September 19, 2000, DOE published a final rule which completed the first of the two rulemaking cycles to evaluate and amend the energy conservation standards for fluorescent lamp ballasts. 65 FR 56740. Supplementary energy conservation standards for fluorescent lamp ballasts that operate certain additional types of fluorescent lamps (i.e., 'energy saver' versions of full-wattage ballasts, such as the F34T12 ballast) were established under Section 135(c)(2) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 2005), Pub. L. 109-58. (42 U.S.C. 6295(g)(8)(A))
On December 19, 2007, the President signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) (Pub. L. 110-140) which makes numerous amendments to EPCA and directs DOE to undertake several new rulemakings for appliance energy efficiency standards. EISA 2007 did not amend standards for fluorescent lamp ballasts, but instead directs DOE to consider standby mode and off mode energy use for these ballasts. More specifically, DOE is directed to amend its test procedure for fluorescent lamp ballasts to incorporate a measure of standby mode and off mode energy consumption by March 31, 2009. (42 U.S.C. 6295(gg)(2)(B)(ii)) In addition, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 6295(o), DOE is directed to incorporate standby mode and off mode energy use in any amended (or new) standard adopted after July 1, 2010.
DOE is now initiating the second rulemaking to review and amend the energy conservation standards in effect for fluorescent lamp ballasts under section 325(g)(7)(B) of EPCA. Information on that rulemaking can be found below, under "Current Energy Conservation Standard Rulemaking." Other documentation and materials associated with the prior rulemaking can also be found below.
Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Acrobat Reader.
Current Energy Conservation Standard Rulemaking
Previous Rulemakings
Legislative Language and Standards
- United States Code, incorporating language from the National Appliance Energy Conservation Amendments of 1988 and the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (PDF 134 KB)
- Energy Conservation Standards for Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts Code of Federal Regulations, Section 430.32(m), (current as of January 1, 2008) (PDF 111 KB)
- Test Procedures for Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts, Code of Federal Regulations, Appendix Q to Subpart B of Part 430 - Uniform Test Method for Measuring the Energy Consumption of Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts (current as of January 1, 2008) (PDF 115 KB)
- Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (PDF 88 KB)
Contact Information
Linda Graves
Project Manager for Lighting Products
(202)586-1851
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