CEC Title 20 Update
In an effort to keep you more informed on CEC Title 20 Compliant Emergency Drivers, you will find below a link to our Compliance Plan by product, along with some frequently asked questions and T20 options currently stocked in LA. We will post updates to the Compliance Plan in the coming weeks. Please contact Technical Support for questions regarding specific products shipping into California.
https://app.box.com/s/pmf3tb4lp4d0s8k4om4wogizxquaat8b
FAQ – A Focus on Life Safety Products
Q: What is the CEC?
A: The CEC or California Energy Commission is the state of California’s primary energy policy and planning agency. It is focused on reducing energy costs and the environmental impacts of energy use – such as greenhouse gas emissions – while ensuring a safe, resilient, and reliable supply of energy. While the CEC has regulatory authority only for products sold or offered for sale in the state of California, its policies impact products produced for other regions as well. It is not uncommon for other states eventually to adopt similar measures to what is implemented in California.
Q: What is Title 20?
A: Title 20 is a part of the CEC’s Appliance Efficiency Regulations, from the California Code of Regulations, that requires the manufacturer of various product categories certify that the devices meet minimum standards—among them certain energy efficiency thresholds. Included in the list of regulated devices are certain “Emergency Lighting” products. The new requirements for these are covered in the July 2015 update under Small Battery Chargers – Section 1605.3(W)(4) for battery back-up and uninterruptible power supplies.
Q: Which Life Safety Luminaires are subject to the new Title 20 Regulations?
A: Included in the list of regulated “Emergency Lighting” products are emergency Lighting luminaires, emergency ballasts and drivers, and AC inverters which contain battery charging systems. Exit signs were covered under previous regulation, and all Acuity UL924 signs are compliant and listed on the CEC database. Combination Exit and Emergency Lighting products are excluded from the requirements.
Q: When did the regulation go into effect and how do I know if a particular luminaire is complaint?
A: The regulations took effect on January 1, 2017 and apply to products manufactured on or after that date. That means that a manufacturer who made a product prior to that date, could still offer that product for sale after that date and until his stocks are depleted. Products manufactured on or after January 1, 2017, must meet the efficiency standard as outlined in the regulations if it is offered for sale in the state of California.
Q: How do I determine when a product was manufactured?
A: The regulations requires that each product be permanently, legibly and conspicuously marked with the manufacturer’s or brand’s name, model number, and date of manufacture.
Q: Does anyone maintain a list of CEC Title 20 products?
A: Manufacturers self-certify products that have been tested by a CEC certified lab and meet the Title 20 requirements. The certification includes a declaration that the information is Page accurate for each submitted product. Products meeting the certification provisions are listed in the Appliance Efficiency Database on the CEC Appliance Efficiency Database. A link to that database follows: http://www.energy.ca.gov/appliances/database/
Q: Which Life Safety luminaire types of products do I need to check for CEC compliance.
A: In general, all Emergency Lighting luminaires, emergency ballasts and drivers, and AC inverters, regardless of energy efficiency, are permitted for sale in the state of California if their dates of manufacture predate January 1, 2017. Signage (exit signs and the like) are covered by previous regulations under lighting/emergency lighting. Combination Exits and emergency lighting are not currently covered by Title 20 requirements. If any product in question was manufactured on or after January 1, 2017, then Acuity recommends that you verify that it is compliant with the regulations prior to selling or offering it for sale in the State of California. Acuity will not knowingly ship a non-compliant product into the State of California.
Q: If I have inventories of emergency ballasts and drivers which were manufactured after the effective date of the regulation, can they be converted to become compliant to the regulation?
A: Yes, Power Sentry is introducing a PSBC charging module which attaches to certain legacy emergency ballast or driver to make it compliant with the regulation. (This PSBC module is compatible with legacy PS1400QD, PS1030 and PS1050 models only)
Q: How will the emergency driver offering be simplified in the future?
A: Power Sentry is already introducing emergency drivers which are inherently CEC complaint and that do not require a separate PSBC module in order to achieve CEC Title 20 compliance. We will be continuing to expand those product lines and will make announcements as these products are launched.
Q: Which Acuity luminaires or devices are CEC Title 20 complaint?
A: In late 2017, Acuity plans to launch a new set of Quantum Emergency Lighting systems that are CEC complaint. In addition, our recently launched Power Sentry “Constant Power” line of emergency drivers is also CEC compliant, with an expanded offering launching in late 2017. Typically, CEC complaint products are marked indicating “CEC Compliance” on their spec sheets. Other luminaires may be “grandfathered in” due to their dates of manufacture, if those dates predate January 1, 2017.
Q: Who do I call if I have further questions about T20
A: If you have questions related to Acuity luminaires that have Emergency Drivers built-in from the factory, then your best path would be to contact Tech Support for that particular luminaire line. If you have questions about offering Emergency Drivers for sale as components for field installation or if you have questions about Emergency Lighting units, then you should contact Tech Support for Life Safety products.
