The U.S. Department of Energy has defined the criteria a CFL must meet to earn the ENERGYSTAR®. These criteria include very specific requirements for efficacy (LPW), CRI, CCT, product packaging, and warranty provisions (U.S. Department of Energy, 2008a). Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy added new criteria for the CFL ENERGY STAR® (U.S. Department of Energy, 2008b) effective December 2, 2008. Some highlights of the recent updates are:

• First-time introduction of requirement for maximum mercury content (less than 5 milligrams)
• Addition of third-party testing requirement (effective November 2008)
• More stringent CRI requirements
• Addition of high-heat testing requirements for CFLs with reflectors
• Expansion of the criteria to CFLs with candelabra (a smaller size screw-in base)

Source: UF/IFAS Energy Efficient Homes: Fluorescent Lighting, Hyun-Jeong Lee, Kathleen C. Ruppert, and Wendell A. Porter, FCS3270, 2008

Additional Resources

UF IFAS Energy Efficient Homes: Fluorescent Lighting - http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FY1031  

Consortium for Energy Efficiency. (2007).  Residential lighting. Retrieved April, 18, 2008, from http://www.cee1.org/resrc/facts/rs-lt-fx.pdf  

ENERGY STAR®. (2008, April) Frequently asked questions: Information on compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and Mercury, April 2008. Retrieved May 5, 2008, from http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf

ENERGY STAR®. (n.d.a). Compact fluorescent light bulbs. Retrieved April 16, 2008, from http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls