Helping LED Luminaire manufacturers develop products and gain market access is the intent behind UL’s new Type TL Program, which offers a set of certification guidelines designed to create a more efficient path for manufacturers in developing these products.

LED drivers, which regulate power to an LED or string of LEDs, are often designed with varying constructions and are tested in a variety of ways. This helps ensure LED drivers are interchangeable in most cases without the need for additional testing. UL’s Type TL Program creates a set of evaluation and testing guidelines to allow for more standardized LED driver constructions and ratings. This offers two key benefits: LED luminaire manufacturers may 

• select LED drivers for new designs that have the desired parameters and limit the level of evaluation of the LED driver during evaluation of the LED luminaire

• identify a substitute LED driver, while maintaining an equivalent level of safety, with limited or no evaluation of the LED luminaire.

“Our goal is to help manufacturers by providing a more efficient path to market access,” says Michael Ritto, UL’s business development manager for lighting components. “With this program in place, LED luminaire manufacturers will be able to more easily source alternate LED drivers.”