9 Things You Need to Know about DLC Listed LED Grow Lights

what is DLC listed as horticulture lighting?

• DLC (Design Lights Consortium)  is a non-profit organization with a mission of advancing the adoption of energy-efficient lighting. As LED grow lights technology developed and matured, It is time to include LED grow lights in this certification system. So recently DLC started accepting submissions of led grow lights for qualification testing and inclusion in its horticulture lighting QPL (Qualified Product List).
• Products designed and intended to operate with standard North American nominal AC line voltages are eligible for DLC qualification. In the United States and Canada, national standards specify that the nominal voltage at the source is 120 V and allow a range of 114 V to 126 V (RMS) (−5% to +5%). this standard also applies to LED grow lights 
• Fixtures that incorporate light sources other than LED, whether sole-source or LED-hybrid fixtures are not eligible. it is quite clear that, for now, this certification is for grow lights with only LED light sources.
• Fixtures that employ externally supplied active cooling systems, including circulating liquid and ducted forced air, are not eligible. Those that incorporate internal active cooling systems that can be measured via standardized fixture test procedures, such as on-board fans, are eligible. 

Some of DLC Technical Requirements for LED-based Horticultural Lighting

1. Photosynthetic Photon Efficacy : ≥1.9 µmol/J, with -5% tolerance within 400-700nm range
2. Photon Flux Maintenance, Photosynthetic: Q₉₀ ≥36,000 hours within 400-700nm range (this means The average photosynthetic photon flux maintenance rate of led grow lights is not less than 90% after at least 36000h of use within the PPF range 400-700nm)
3. Warranty: 5 years is one of the important legal warranty terms and conditions
4. Power Factor : ≥0.9 conforms to the electrical test  ANSI/IES LM-79
5. Safety Certification: Appropriate Horticultural Lighting designation by OSHA NRTL or SCC-recognized body 
6. The DLC does not currently require reporting on UV  performance for fixture qualification but is monitoring the technical readiness and scaleup of testing procedures to entire fixtures that are underway within the industry. When consensus is reached on the broad utility of UV wavelengths in horticultural lighting products and the testing capabilities are available to report on performance reliably, DLC will consider testing and reporting on the UV performance of horticulture lighting.
7. neither IES files nor PPFD plots are treated as judge standards. DLC is participating in standards development work to seek and define uniform and repeatable ways of measuring and reporting related values.
8. When filling in the application form, it needs to enter a “yes” or “no” answer to report if the product can dim its output via any control method. This is not the area in which spectral tuning characteristics are reported. An LED grow light with 0-10V dimming solution is different from a non-dimming led grow light in the certification test.
9. led grow lights meeting rigorous performance, safety, and reliability standards, is a positive signal for growers, which means they can have peace of mind in use.