LED bulbs
41 - 53 of 53 Posts
Joined
·
3,381 Posts
BINGO!!!
I like my LED lighting, especially the flat panel surface mount fixtures., The bulb type never last what they say they will. I get about two to three years out of them in certain lamps, but others cook in less than a year. In theory, the bulbs (LED) should last a long long long time but they are not well made. I believe the issue is heat. In spite of them using a fraction of juice compared to incandescent, they still get very hot.
LEDs are semiconductors, and anyone who has had a CPU fan or video card processor fan go out on a PC knows what heat does to a semiconductor. Fried dead.
LED edison type bulbs need better heat dissipation. Fix that problem and bulb life will get better. The flat panel lights I put in three years ago are still going strong.
I'm going on 4 years in my shop, only one that has gone out thus far is a hanging light over back bench in first bay, that remains on at all times. Got 3 years of non-stop light out of those two. The ones I put in mom's laundry room both burnt out in about 2 years however, and they're not left on all the time.
Ones we put in at work, dual element tubes, 1/2 of one of those is out.
Out of the first 60 tubes I ordered, 1 was not functional out of the box.
Replaced the bulbs in 3 fixtures over mom's dining room table with Edison style bulbs. NO comparison!! 1 of those is brighter than all 3 incandescent bulbs were. Gets seriously bright with all 3 fixtures on.
Joined
·
10,584 Posts
3 major reasons that they do not last as long as claimed by the manufacturers:
1) Made in China and some not UL or Edison Labs tested.
2) Most of the heat is generated by the voltage step down circuitry converting 120AC down to some low DC voltage. Key semi conductors not heat sinked properly.
3) The lifespan is based on being on all the time----when you turn it off and on there is a turn on surge every time you flip it on. It is this turn on surge that kills it over time.
Joined
·
2,535 Posts
They're brighter and possibly bad for your eyes. It's an eventuality LEDs will be legislated into requirement.
Joined
·
12,535 Posts
1 - UL and Edison are just standards to keep you from getting killed screwing it in. Nothing to do with lifespan. They cannot be sold without some form of certification.
2 - LEDs are what need to be heat sinked and due to #1 (China) sometimes they skimp on that and the LEDs run hotter than is healthy. The power regulating circuitry does produce heat as well and it being in a closed space tends to raise the internal temp.
3 - Surges are a holdover from incandescent bulbs which do suffer a reduced lifespan from being turned on and off since the initial resistance of teh filament is pretty close to a short.
the current rush can cause the filament to flex and the mechanical stresses are what ultimately cause them to fail.
. LEDs are instant on and so not have an input current rush.
Joined
·
12,535 Posts
They've already mandated incandescent has to go - they did that years ago.
They exempted certain classes of bulbs like appliance bulbs because of the operating environment.
I really hate the fluorescents - their light is greenish and they're just as bad for being short lived.
Joined
·
3,381 Posts
Generally speaking, I agree that CFL had a bad track record, but I had this one CFL I put outside in a fixture under a soffit that defied the laws of physics and preplanned lifespan. That crazy little bulb lasted at least five years, turned on every night dusk to dawn, in all weather. Even though it still worked, I replaced it with a fancy pants LED flood/spot hybrid. Why? Just because. I literally have a light for 99% of every task in the world that requires light. Visible spectrum, UV, IR. Anyhoo, that 30ish dollar LED par lasted less than a year. It was really nice while it lasted though.
Here's the thing. As long as we keep throwing away receipts and don't return dead bulbs, nothing will be done to improve bad manufacturing. Americans are in the habit of tossing bad bulbs and reaching for a new one NQA. It's a habit we acquired in the days of cheap incandescent bulbs. Nobody thought twice about chucking a 50 cent bulb, and we became used to doing so. If I was to bet on it, I'd say that less than 5% of bad LED bulbs get returned, because nobody holds a printed receipt for more than five minutes and who has time to look through e-mail for a three year old e-receipt.
They deliberately made returns a hassle to discourage refunds.
Joined
·
10,584 Posts
As soon as you see "Made in China" on that box Brand name and quality is out the window. The most scary thing I've been seeing is "Made in China", "Made In India", "Made in Mexico", "Made in Vietnam" on internal engine parts and brake calipers. The list I gave is from small block chevy rods, pistons, water pump and brake calipers respectively. I might add that the Names on the boxes were Eagle, Speed Pro, TRW and Raybestos. That is really sad my friends !
Joined
·
2,535 Posts
But did they legislate LED must be the replacement? LEDs are not good for your eyes.
Joined
·
857 Posts
The Restore here is selling LED's. Box of 4 MaxLite brand $1 That includes all watt equivilernts of 40w=(6w), 60w=(9w), 75w=(10w) 100w=(15w) bulbs and 65w=(8w) equiv. spotlights in either 5000k or 2700k. These bulbs are being donated by our power company for Restore resale.
So the prices are coming down.
Since all the boxes of LED bulbs have what wattage incandescent bulb it replaces, I've been marking that wattage and the date of installation on the base with a sharpie. That way if anyone else has to replace one, they'll know what to use and just how long it's lasted. I also spray a little WD40 on a paper towel and wipe the threaded base. No more squeaking hard to replace bulbs.
I don't know how many light fixtures you guys have, but this house has over 112 bulbs/spots.
So the prices are coming down.
Since all the boxes of LED bulbs have what wattage incandescent bulb it replaces, I've been marking that wattage and the date of installation on the base with a sharpie. That way if anyone else has to replace one, they'll know what to use and just how long it's lasted. I also spray a little WD40 on a paper towel and wipe the threaded base. No more squeaking hard to replace bulbs.
I don't know how many light fixtures you guys have, but this house has over 112 bulbs/spots.
Joined
·
49 Posts
My biggest energy-conservation achievement came the day I sent my last child off to college -- energy consumption dropped 65% and never went back up...
Joined
·
10,584 Posts
Yes---they like to leave the lights on and anything else they use is left on.
41 - 53 of 53 Posts
Join the discussion
