Gamma Scientific Awarded IES LM-80 Accreditation for LED Life Testing

San Diego, CA, November 23, 2013 --(PR.com)-- The Gamma Scientific Laboratory (NVLAP Lab Code 200823-0) has been awarded accreditation by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program for IES LM-80: 2008.

IES LM-80 is an approved method for measuring lumen depreciation and maintenance of Solid State Lighting (LED) light sources, arrays and modules.

The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) developed the standard to provide an objective method to evaluate and compare LED components from different manufacturers.

LED Lifetime and Lumen Maintenance

Lumen maintenance is the percentage of initial lumens that a light source maintains over a defined period of time. LM-80 measures the depreciation of lumens over a specific timeframe to determine the useful life of LED components.

Life tests for other more traditional light sources measure rated lamp life, which is typically set at a 50% failure rate since these sources burn out. However, since LEDs do not have a filament to burn out, the light output for an LED will degrade over time until it is no longer useful. LM-80 tests measure this depreciation.

LM-79 Accreditation

The Gamma Scientific Laboratory is also accredited by NVLAP to perform LM-79 tests for Solid State Lighting (LED) Luminaires. IES LM-79 is an approved method for testing electrical and photometric measurements of solid-state lighting products. This covers complete LED luminaires and integrated LED sources.