U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION DIRECTORATE FOR ENGINEERING SCIENCES EVALUATION OF ELECTRIC LIGHTING PRODUCTS December 2007 Anna Luo Electrical Engineer Division of Electrical Engineering Directorate for Engineering Sciences This report has not been reviewed or approved by, and may not necessarily reflect the views of, the Commission. Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................... 1 II. PROJECT OUTLINE................................................................................................................ 1 III. VOLUNTARY STANDARDS................................................................................................ 1 IV. TERMINOLOGY.................................................................................................................... 2 V. PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS........................................................................................... 3 VI. TASK 1 – Review of Incident Data......................................................................................... 4 A. Portable Lighting Incidents ............................................................................................ 4 B. Installed Lighting Incidents............................................................................................ 5 C. Incidents Associated with Other Factors........................................................................ 6 VII. TASK 2 - Inspection of Collected Samples ........................................................................... 7 A. Portable Lighting Samples ............................................................................................. 7 1. Clip-on lamps.............................................................................................................................................7 2. Floor lamps................................................................................................................................................7 3. Lava/novelty lamps ....................................................................................................................................8 4. Nightlights..................................................................................................................................................9 5. Rechargeable light...................................................................................................................................10 6. Rope lights ...............................................................................................................................................10 7. Table lamps..............................................................................................................................................10 8. Work lights...............................................................................................................................................11 B. Installed Lighting Samples........................................................................................... 11 1. Ceiling-hanging lights .............................................................................................................................12 2. Ceiling-surface-mounted lighting fixtures ...............................................................................................12 3. Wall-mounted lighting fixtures.................................................................................................................13 4. Furniture/cabinet-mounted lighting fixtures............................................................................................14 VIII. DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................................... 14 A. Ceiling-Surface-Mounted Fixtures............................................................................... 14 • Analysis of Incident Sample from IDI 060426CCC3467 (This incident occurred after the collection period of October 1, 2002, to September 30, 2004, so it was not included in the total number of incidents.).................................................................................................................................................16 • Analysis of Incident Sample from IDI 050712CCN0745 (This incident occurred in 2005 after the collection period of October 1, 2002, to September 30, 2004, so it was not included in the total number of incidents.).............................................................................................................................................19 • Analysis of Incident Sample from IDI 040206HNE1315 .........................................................................22 B. Power Supply Cords for Portable Lighting Products........................................................... 26 • CPSC Field Investigator’s Report IDI 031125HCC2141........................................................................26 • CPSC Field Investigator’s Report IDI 040504HCC1655........................................................................26 • CPSC Field Investigator’s Report IDI 030414HEP9002 ........................................................................27 IX. CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................... 27 i List of Figures Figure 1. Incidents Involving Portable Lighting Products.............................................................. 5 Figure 2. Incidents Involving Installed Lighting Products ............................................................. 6 Figure 3. Insulation-Piercing Terminals for Lampholders ........................................................... 15 Figure 4. Typical Configuration for Ceiling-Surface-Mounted Lighting fixture ......................... 15 Figure 5. Lampholders in Incident Sample................................................................................... 17 Figure 6. Damaged Fourth Socket of Incident Sample................................................................. 17 Figure 7. Close-up of Wiring to the Fourth Socket ...................................................................... 18 Figure 8. Four Sockets Removed from Fixture with Socket Nos. 2 and 4 Disassembled............ 19 Figure 9. Incident Sample “Old Design” ...................................................................................... 21 Figure 10. The Exemplar “New Design”...................................................................................... 21 Figure 11. Lighting fixture Exposed Surface................................................................................ 24 Figure 12. Lighting fixture Top (Ceiling-Side) Surface ............................................................... 24 Figure 13. Overheated Socket....................................................................................................... 25 Figure 14. Electrical Wiring in Socket ......................................................................................... 25 List of Tables Table 1. Maximum Temperatures Using Various Wattage Bulbs................................................ 22 ii I. INTRODUCTION For the time period 1999-2003, there was an annual average estimated 6,080 residential structure fires associated with all lighting products. These fires resulted in an average estimated 28 deaths, 178 injuries, and $102 million in property loss annually1. For the same time period, there was an annual average ten electrocutions associated with lighting products2. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff initiated an evaluation of electric lighting product incidents to identify potential hazard scenarios and product features that may contribute to fire or potential fire incidents, as well as electric shock incidents. This report presents the results of the staff’s evaluation. Information from this evaluation will be used to develop recommendations to the relevant voluntary standards, as appropriate. II. PROJECT OUTLINE The staff evaluation was divided into two major tasks. First, data was collected for the period October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2004. Once an incident was identified, it was assigned to a CPSC field investigator for follow-up by conducting an investigation and documenting it in an In-Depth Investigation (IDI) report. IDI reports may contain interviews with victims, witnesses, and the emergency personnel responding to an incident. The data collection effort covered all types of lighting products (except seasonal lights and displays) that were involved in incidents relating to fire or shock. Incident data were categorized by several characteristics, including product type, type of injury involved, and consumer use environment3 (see Appendix A). CPSC investigators also attempted to collect incident samples while conducting in-depth investigations. This was expected to be challenging because incident samples are often destroyed by fire or discarded by consumers before investigators are able to contact them. CPSC investigators also attempted to collect exemplars that were of the same or similar make and model to incident samples. If the field investigators were able to collect incident and/or exemplar samples during their investigations, the samples were sent to CPSC engineering staff for analysis. Second, CPSC engineering staff examined the samples collected to determine possible product-related causes