How come LED Light Bulbs only last for about 2-3 Years?

I’ve bought and replaced a lot of light bulbs, and I noticed that all of them said “up to 20,000 hours” which would be about 5 years given 12 hours of daily use (which we definitely don’t).

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    They never last that long, as they easily get away with it.

    In one of the gulf states, though (Dubai?), they actually have only longer lasting LED lights for sale, as the minister responsible for regulation is something like an EE and forced the LED bulb providers to make a special version of those bulbs that basically last for ever. Those are only sold in that country, and hard to come by elsewhere.

  • FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.orgEnglish
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    4 days ago

    Since people are just giving snarky douchebag replies, I’ll actually attempt to answer the question since that’s what this community is for?

    The estimate given on the packages of these bulbs are absolute best case scenario, using an optimal temperature range and pattern of use that won’t really match up with the average household because:

    1. You may go on vacation and let your house get cold or hot. This could affect the life of thr bulb

    2. The manufacturer is likely leaving the bulbs on 24/7 when measuring. Most people turn lights on and off multiple times throughout the day. This can decrease the life of thr bulb, just like with any other electronic device.

    3. Humidity in the house can change dramatically year round. Manufacturing tests probably keep a constant humidity level.

    4. If you’re buying cheap random LED bulbs off Amazon from dogshit brands (i do thid too so not knocking you), the manufacturer estimates might just straight up be a lie.

    I’m sure there are other reasons but that’s a good start.

    • trolololol@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      LEDs can take quite a beating. The only thing that degrades then is being on, and being hot. For all purposes unless it’s inside a restaurant kitchen or they’re on, they’re not hot.

      Other packaged electronic components follow the same rules. Except wires and solder that can oxidize without being used.

      So no, I think that’s a grift if you can’t reach 5 years. When domestic LED lighting was in infancy we’d hear all power LEDs, like for cars, should last 10 years.

      • FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.orgEnglish
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        3 days ago

        It wouldn’t degrade from being shut off and on a bunch of times? I know like HDDs can degrade faster if they’re constantly powered off and on.

        Appreciate the feedback. I just tried to answer the question the best I could since at the time most of the replies were unhelpful and rude

        • trolololol@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          Mechanical things suffer a lot of stress from turning on/off. But even spinning disk storage turns off automatically if desktop is idle for a certain time, it’s a balance between switch vs continuous operation, they have overlapping kinds of wear and tear.

          Top of mind, you can expect 10k cycles from typical buttons and it’s hard to be less complex than a button. Because metal parts are subject to fatigue.

          Flash based drives would certainly fail faster or slower depending on the number of write bytes over its life.

          Then there’s erosion caused by electrons, which is my biggest suspect for the problems of last generation of Intel CPUs. You have to royally screw up to start selling something that overlooked this.

  • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
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    4 days ago

    Maybe stop buying the seizure-brand ones from Amazon?

    I think I’ve had to replace one bulb in my entire house in the last 6 years or so.

  • hperrin@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Smart bulbs like this:

    Have PCBs with small LEDs surface mounted to them. This means that the on-off cycle of the bulb causes heat deformation cycles of the PCB. This stresses the foils in the PCB and can eventually cause them to lose connection. That’s why they’ll often start flickering or lose the ability to be cool white, warm white, or specific colors (the different kinds of LEDs in them).

    But bulbs like this (often called smart edison bulbs):

    Use longer/larger LEDs that aren’t mounted to the PCBs, and will probably last much longer. They are better at not overheating their own electronics.

    If you want the first kind to last longer, don’t run them above ~60% brightness.

    • greyfox@lemmy.worldEnglish
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      4 days ago

      I’ve got several full color Hue bulbs that are the most used lights in my house. I haven’t had a single failure in a decade.

      I was more than a little annoyed when they decided to stop supporting my original controller for them though.

    • FuzzyRedPanda@lemm.eeEnglish
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      4 days ago

      +1 for philips.

      The problem is most of what the big box hardware stores in the US are selling are junk brands. And they won’t even offer basics like a philips 75-watt-equivalent soft-white led in their stores.

      The junk brand bulbs will fail in my kitchen light fixture after a year (they start flickering). The philips bulbs have never failed for me.

      A properly designed and produced led bulb should last like 20 years.

    • Maalus@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Osram literally means “I’ll shit on it” in polish, they are the definition of a shit brand

        • Maalus@lemmy.world
          0·
          4 days ago

          It’s a joke in Poland - what shines and actively threatens you? A lightbulb made by Osram

  • Cornflake@lemmy.wtfEnglish
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    5 days ago

    I’m no scientist, but I think it has something to do with actually turning the light off and on that’s actually stressful to most light bulbs. I mean check out the Centennial Light (wiki link). I know it’s an entirely different type of lightbulb, but they have run that light almost continuously since 1901, and it’s largely believed that continuous operation has kept it going for so long (though it has dimmed quite significantly).

    I suspect that 20,000 hours operation is likely expected under continuous illumination, not ever turning the light off.

  • Thebeardedsinglemalt@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    What lasted forever for me…CFLs. downside is they just don’t seem to put out as much light. But I had some in my house 10+ years old. They lasted so long that when one finally burned out and I didn’t have a replacement of the intensity…I was pissed to learn they don’t even make them anymore. I’m not a fan of LEDs because some of the cheaper ones are like mini strobe lights and really big my eyes. I had to go through like $60 work of LEDs to find a set I actually liked

    • Blaster M@lemmy.worldEnglish
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      4 days ago

      I’ve had the best experience with the Philips LED lights, and secondly, the GE lights. I’ve seen some here say IKEA as well are good. Others just are too cheaply made and fail quickly.

  • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    I replaced my mom’s can lights with LEDs and I was an early adopter. I believe it was ~2012-15 ish. Not a single one has died. The only reason any of them fail now is poor quality and / or planned obsolescence. The tech itself is solid AF. I had some bulbs I got from IKEA for $1. Those have failed countless times.

  • tfw_no_toiletpaper@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Mine work for I think over 10 years now. Some of the actual LEDs inside died but you don’t really notice 1-2 of 200 inside the bulb being dark.

    • ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.orgEnglish
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      5 days ago

      I have been dumpster-diving for LED bulbs for 5 years. None of them had 200 chips, they usually have about 5-30 packages with 1-6 diodes each for a total of around 30-60 so that they total some 90-180 V in series (I live in a 230V mains region, and the 330V rectified mains can be efficiently transformed to that voltage by an SMPS). Because they are in series, if one in the series chain fails open circuit (the most common way), the entire chain goes out. Yes, fixtures (not bulbs) with 100+ LED chips exist and if they are designed to operate at a low voltage with all chips in parallel, the failure of one will not affect the others.

      • hydroxycotton@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        This sounds like an interesting hobby? Care to share more about how/why you are into dumpster diving for lightbulbs?

        • ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.orgEnglish
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          5 days ago

          I saw Big Clive and DiodeGoneWild take some apart, and we had been using halogen or fluorescent ones at home because LED bulbs were over $10 back then. I thought I would learn something about electronics but not really, the failure modes are always the same: about 50% of the time, an LED burns out. 25% of the time, it’s the smoothing inductor gone open circuit. 10% of the time, a bad contact somewhere (usually solder joints on linearly-regulated ones). 5 % work out of the box for some reason. I remain adamant about not paying for LEDs even though dumpster diving is objectively not worth the trouble anymore.