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The following excerpt is from the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and has been passed into law in the Federal Register 9-19-2000. The link takes you to the entire document.

RULES

Consumer products; energy conservation program: Fluorescent lamp ballasts; energy conservation standards, 56739-56749 [00-24004] [TEXT]

When today's standards go into effect, they will essentially require fluorescent lamp ballasts for F40 and F96 lamps to be the electronic type. The standards will segment the market into new applications and replacement applications and extend the implementation dates to mitigate the burdens to acceptable levels. The standards provide a phase-in period of approximately five years, until April 1, 2005 for new applications. In addition, today's rule provides an additional phase in, until June 30, 2010 for ballasts intended for the replacement market. Replacement ballasts must be labeled for replacement use, have output leads which, when fully extended, are less than the length of the lamp it is intended to operate and be shipped in packages of ten or less. This new Federal Ballast Rule covers only the following lamp types...

• 2ft U Tubes
• 4ft Rapid Start
• 8ft Rapid Start
• 8ft High Output

No other linear lamps, CFL's or HID lamps are covered by this rule. Magnetic ballasts will continue to be available for these lamp types. Luminaires sold on or ofter April 1, 2006 that utilize the covered lamps must incorporate electronic ballasts with the exception of ballasts designed for residential applications, ballasts capable of being dimmed to 50 percent or less of its maximum output, and ballasts for use with two F96T12HO lamps at an ambient temperature of-20 deg. F used with outdoor signs.

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