When I talked with some of my new customers, I was often asked what ANSI is. It’s worth writing an article to tell you what I know about ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009.
What is the ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009 standard?
ANSI is short for ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009 standard. It’s a flashlight’s basic performance standard. Who created the ANSI standard? The National Electrical Manufacturers Association’s Primary Identification Standards Committee developed the stand. The American National Standards Institute approved the measure on Aug 18th, 2009. So the name is ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009.
You can see it’s an American flashlight performance standard. And It is not a mandatory law. But it’s the most popular worldwide flashlight standard until now.
Why Created ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009 standard?
Why do we need the ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009?
A flashlight is an electronic product. It has various specifications, such as light output, runtime, beam distance, waterproof rate, impact rate, and more. So it’s hard for end users to choose a good flashlight by looking and touching.
Furthermore, the flashlight is a DC power supply. The battery capacity is limited. For limited capacity, the light output and runtime are always in opposition. It means the higher current, the higher lumens you get, but the shorter the runtime. Or the lower current, the lower lumens, but the longer runtime you get. So, comparing the two flashlights, you must consider output and runtime if a seller printed a high lumen of his flashlight marketing materials without mentioning the runtime. It is misleading to consumers.
More complicating matters is that each manufacturer uses different test methods. There were so many standards for testing light output and runtime. Without a criterion, you will find that 100 lumens mean the same different brightness in different flashlights.
All these reasons make it hard for consumers to choose the lights they need.
So, ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009 was published under the circumstances. They created the standard to help end users compare flashlight performance. And make the decision easier when buying a flashlight. With the ANSI Standard, ambiguous marketing statements are a thing of the past.
Scope of ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009 standard.
The ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009 covers the primary performance of hand-held / portable light. Such as flashlights, headlamps, and more DC power lights.
Contents of ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009 standard.
As I know, the standard includes six parts as below:
- Light Output (Unit: lumen)
Light output is a measurement of luminous flux using an integrating sphere. The unit of luminous flux is the lumen. It is a measurement of energy. According to the standard, the light output should be the data at the 30th second after the flashlight starts work. To get the correct output, we usually use a brand-new battery to power the tested flashlight.
- Peak Beam Intensity (Unit: candela)
Peak beam intensity is a measurement of luminous intensity in the middle of the beam. I am not going to talk too much about it. Because people cannot see any difference between 1000 and 2000 candelas. Furthermore, the beam intensity is another way to measure bead distance.
- Runtime ( Unit: hour)
Runtime is defined as the amount of time. It’s a time that starts from turning on the flashlight until the lumen drops to 10% of its peak data. For example, if the output of a flashlight is 1000 lumens, the runtime is the time from 1000 lumens to 100 lumens. The time is rounded to the nearest quarter hour.
- Beam Distance (Unit: meter)
Beam distance is defined as the distance between the flashlight and the beam where illuminance is equivalent to a full moon on a clear night. It’s the distance at which the light out a light intensity of 0.25 lux. Beam distance is not able to be measured. It’s calculated by taking the peak beam intensity, dividing it by 0.25 lux, and taking the square root of the result.
- Water Resistance (IPX Rating)
Water resistance is stated using the IP rating system, and it includes three ratings:
IPX4 – water-resistant, or water splashed on flashlight from all directions.
IPX7 – waterproof or temporary submersion of a flashlight at 1 meter for 30 minutes.
IPX8 – submersible, or continuous submersion, a flashlight at some specified depth, usually at a depth of 1 meter for 4 hours.
- Impact Resistance (Meter)
Impact resistance is to test a flashlight with drops onto a concrete surface at the specified height, usually at 1 meter at least, with all intended accessories, including batteries, installed. The light surface needs to be free from cracks. And the flashlight needs to be able to work after six times drop tests using drop orientations that approximate each side of a cube.
Limitations of the standard ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009.
Though the ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009 standard is helpful, it could be more precise. There are some limitations.
- Runtime
The biggest limitation is runtime. We can get different runtimes for the same flashlight by choosing different outputs. You can see what I mean in below image:
Comparing runtimes for flashlights from different suppliers doesn’t mean a longer time is better. It would help if you considered how long the high output lasts.
- Impact resistance
Another limitation is impact resistance. Even if a flashlight can pass the ANSI test, you know the electronic circuitry part is not durable enough to stand too many drops. Repeated drops can cause circuit damage. And it will result in unstable operation or failure. We recommend that you treat flashlights like other electronic devices.
- Output and peak beam intensity
A higher output corresponds to a higher intensity. But a flashlight with more output is only sometimes brighter. The reason is
The flashlight output is conditional on the total amount of light coming out of the front of the flashlight. And it’s related to the efficiency of LEDs and the power used.
Peak beam intensity means brightness as perceived by our eye and is related to how the beam is focused by the optical system (such as a reflector, lens, or optic).
Furthermore, as mentioned above, it’s hard to find the difference between 1000 and 4000 candelas. in daily life. Although the 4000 candelas look brighter than the 1000 candelas, they will appear less than four times as bright. It’s just about twice brighter.
- Beam distance
It’s very rough data. Please don’t rely on it. It’s just data for reference.
Refrain from trusting too many specifications from different brands!
ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009 is the most popular standard for flashlights. But it’s not a law. Until now, there are still so many manufacturers that haven’t used it.
For example, they choose the max output in the first second when the flashlight is turned on.
And the runtime is calculated from the first second until there are zero lumens.
Please do not simply compare the specifications of different suppliers’ flashlights, as it’s unfair if they use different test standards.
Should ANSI / NEMA FL1-2009 standard be used for my flashlights?
If you sell flashlights to the American market, test your light according to ANSI.
If you find your competitors are using ANSI.
You should proceed with the ANSI standard as your market needs it.
If your competitors don’t use ANSI, then you can not use ANSI, as it’s a strict method of testing flashlights. If you prefer to use ANSI in this situation, you must highlight the ANSI mark to make customers aware. Otherwise, your light specifications could be more competitive.
New Version ANSI / PLATO FL 1 2019 Standard.
At last, I noticed a new standard, ANSI / PLATO FL 1 2019 Standard. PLATO revised the ANSI/NEMA FL1 Standard to ANSI/PLATO FL 1 Standard, which was released in October 2016. I can only see a slight difference between them. If you are interested in the new standard, please read this on Plato’s website. But as I know, most of the flashlight brands still use ANSI/NEMA FL1.
At last, hope this article is helpful. Welcome to leave your comments.
