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New standards shine clarity on flashlight features

1/11/2010

ST. LOUIS —Energizer announced Dec. 8, 2009, that the Flashlight Standards Committee developed a set of flashlight features and benefits standards.

Before, there was no consistency in how flashlight features and benefits were presented, which for the average consumer led to confusion and an inability to compare one product with another.

“Consumers and the trade have been left in the dark to figure out the difference between candlepower, candela and lumens, among other inconsistent flashlight claims, which left everyone guessing about how to compare one light to another,” said Peter Nario-Redmond, technical marketing manager for Energizer and chairman of the Flashlight Standards Committee.

The Flashlight Standards Committee published an American National Standards Institute standard. The ANSI/NEMA FL1 2009 flashlight basic performance standard establishes consistent processes and definitions for reporting the following flashlight performance measurement, as well as simple icons to be printed clearly on packaging:

Light output–the light projected from a flashlight will be expressed in units of lumens

Runtime–duration the light will operate continuously until projected light is dim

Beam distance–distance the light projects onto a surface

Peak beam intensity–intensity of the projected light that does not vary with distance and expressed in units of candela

Water penetration rating–clear definitions outlined about the difference between water-resistant, waterproof and submersible

Impact resistance–after six drop tests, the flashlight must maintain all previous established measures.

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