SGS Announced The Expansion of Its SSL Testing Services in North America

SGS Consumer Testing Services has partnered with Gamma Scientific to add LM-79 photometric testing to its existing EMC, safety, performance and Energy Star testing services. SGS Consumer Testing Services, a global provider of verification, testing and certification services based in Atlanta, GA, has announced the expansion of its solid-state lighting (SSL) testing services in North America. Through a partnership with Gamma Scientific, a manufacturer of precision light measurement equipment and LED testing services, SGS will provide photometric measurements. This will allow complete lighting service testing - including safety, EMC, performance, Energy Star and photometric evaluations – from one source. According to SGS, the safety, EMC and performance testing will be performed by the SGS E&E lab in Atlanta, along with optional Energy Star energy-efficiency testing. Photometric testing will be performed at Gamma Scientific's NVLAP-accredited laboratory (lab code 200823-0) in San Diego, CA which has LM-79 accreditation for measuring total flux (luminous efficacy) and luminous intensity of SSL luminaires. "The rapid growth of solid-state lighting has created a need to streamline the testing process to help luminaire manufacturers save time, reduce administrative overhead, and bring their products to market faster," said Ozgur Ozturk, manager of operations, SGS Atlanta. "Our partnership with Gamma Scientific accomplishes those objectives by allowing manufacturers to use SGS as a central point of contact for all testing services." Gamma Scientific uses its own state-of-the-art equipment to perform photometry testing on LED and LED retrofit lighting products ranging from LED lamps to high-bay fixtures and street lights. It has the capability to test luminaires up to 30x30-in. in size for luminous intensity distribution using a newly developed goniometer that accommodates lamp tubes up to 4-ft in length. "We have been developing instruments to perform LED testing and measurement since 1979, including high-performance spectroradiometers, spectrometers, integrating spheres and turnkey LED test systems. As a result, we now have testing solutions for any LED application as well as an in-house NVLAP-accredited laboratory using our own equipment," said Richard Austin, president of Gamma Scientific. For global manufacturers of luminaires and lamps, SGS also offers photometry testing at its own labs in Finland and Taiwan and provides other lighting testing services at offices around the world with CB Scheme Certification as well as local country approvals including CCC Certification for China, BSMI Certification for Taiwan, ENEC for the European Union and others. In the US, SGS has been an OSHA Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) since 1998. Source: LEDs Magazine