Update IEC Standard/IEC 60598-2-4 for Portable General Lighting

The International Electrotechnical Commission has officially issued IEC 60598-2-4:2017, replacing IEC 60598-2-4:1997.

Compared with the previous versions, the new includes major technical changes as following:

· Coordinate with IEC 60598-1:2014;

· Modification of the scope, classification and requirements of the standard to cover portable luminaires for indoor and outdoor applications by introducing the requirements already listed in IEC 60598-2-7;

In this version of IEC 60598-2-4, all the requirements listed in IEC 60598-2-7 have been added. Therefore, IEC 60598-2-7 will be revoked after the publication of this standard.

· Modify the scope of application to cover all electric light sources (previously limited to tungsten wire, tubular fluorescent lamps and other discharge lamps);

· Introduce symbols for ‘non-ordinary luminaires for indoor use only’ 

· Modify the details of the test and make sure that the light source should be equipped with a stability test;

· The dustproof and moisture-proof grade of portable luminaires for outdoor use has been changed from the lowest IPX3 to IPX4;

· Modify the requirements related to plugs and sockets;

· All luminaires with protection against electric shock are required to perform IP testing at the most unfavourable position after dumping (form 7.13.1 of IEC 60598-2-7 is only for Class II luminaires).

Lighting industry promulgated new energy label regulations

The European lighting department recently issued the ‘EU 2017/1369 Regulations’, which stipulated new energy labeling lists and abolished the ‘EU Directive 2010/30’.

The biggest change in the new energy labeling regulations was the elimination of the original A+/A++ and A+++ classification criteria, which were instead defined by the more rigorous A to G classification criteria.