LEDs, do they last as long as they should?
Discussion
I have poor opinion of LED’s they do not seem to last the forecast amount of time before some segments stop working then they do not give out enough light.
Inside or outside lights does not seem to make a difference they just do not last thereby negating the alleged savings of electricity.
Anybody in the lighting industry on here to give an opinion? Or is it another con from our illustrious leaders
Inside or outside lights does not seem to make a difference they just do not last thereby negating the alleged savings of electricity.
Anybody in the lighting industry on here to give an opinion? Or is it another con from our illustrious leaders
James6112 said:
Had LEDs for years & rarely have a problem.
What is ‘alleged’ about the energy savings?!
10 LEDs in my kitchen use the equivalent of 1 old halogen bulb,,
75 watts in six ceiling recessed panels replacing the previous owner's 720 watts of PAR38s Pretty good saving in my book. My only criticism is the FM radio interference.What is ‘alleged’ about the energy savings?!
10 LEDs in my kitchen use the equivalent of 1 old halogen bulb,,
LED are in my experience a mixed bag.
They should come with 2yr warranty from retailer then it’d put pressure on retailers and then buyers, to not sell rubbish (looking at you Amazon!)
No doubt on energy saving but if they’re in the bin a week later that’s not saving the planet.
You could argue that in winter their power savings aren’t all there as you just need more heating.
Finally the flickering circuitry/dimmer features/stuff can make them annoying on the eyes, or buzzy/audible etc.
They should come with 2yr warranty from retailer then it’d put pressure on retailers and then buyers, to not sell rubbish (looking at you Amazon!)
No doubt on energy saving but if they’re in the bin a week later that’s not saving the planet.
You could argue that in winter their power savings aren’t all there as you just need more heating.
Finally the flickering circuitry/dimmer features/stuff can make them annoying on the eyes, or buzzy/audible etc.
Mercdriver said:
I have poor opinion of LED’s they do not seem to last the forecast amount of time before some segments stop working then they do not give out enough light.
Inside or outside lights does not seem to make a difference they just do not last thereby negating the alleged savings of electricity.
Anybody in the lighting industry on here to give an opinion? Or is it another con from our illustrious leaders
In a nutshell they have a driver that allows them to be dimmed (which we like) & they are overdriven so that they don't last too long. It doesn't have to be this way & here is a video explaining how the ruler of Dubai forced manufacturers to make a better LED bulb. You'll have to ask yourself why they aren't available here.Inside or outside lights does not seem to make a difference they just do not last thereby negating the alleged savings of electricity.
Anybody in the lighting industry on here to give an opinion? Or is it another con from our illustrious leaders
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klaJqofCsu4
Here's an investigation of a better designed lamp available in the UK , but you'll get ripped off £12 for one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMc6mjE9Y1s
I was interested in the reality of this, so I write the installation date of LED "bulbs" on the base when I fit them. They're generally advertised as having approximately (using the weasel words "up to") 50,000 hrs of run time.
As a very rough generalisation, this is not true. IME most of them last somewhere between 25% and 50% of that. Obviously, there are exceptions at both ends; I've known cheap no-name Chinese ones only last a few hundred hours, and I have some that are still going strong after at least 6 years (when we moved in here and I started using them).
I suspect they are (again, a huge generalisation) made to last long enough that you can't recall when you bought them and have long since lost the receipt.
I have stopped buying the Tesco branded ones, because they all failed well short of 50k hours. Tesco replaced them without dispute.
I have had several Philips dimmable GU10s fail very early & I have stopped using them, too, and gone back to halogens.
Bear in mind this is all hand-waving, "wet finger in the air" impressions based on the installation date and guesswork as to how many hours a day they are run.
As a very rough generalisation, this is not true. IME most of them last somewhere between 25% and 50% of that. Obviously, there are exceptions at both ends; I've known cheap no-name Chinese ones only last a few hundred hours, and I have some that are still going strong after at least 6 years (when we moved in here and I started using them).
I suspect they are (again, a huge generalisation) made to last long enough that you can't recall when you bought them and have long since lost the receipt.
I have stopped buying the Tesco branded ones, because they all failed well short of 50k hours. Tesco replaced them without dispute.
I have had several Philips dimmable GU10s fail very early & I have stopped using them, too, and gone back to halogens.
Bear in mind this is all hand-waving, "wet finger in the air" impressions based on the installation date and guesswork as to how many hours a day they are run.
Edited by Zumbruk on Tuesday 7th June 17:53
I started buying led bulbs 10 years ago when we moved into this house. They weren't cheap then and have got a lot cheaper since. My whole house is led now and I have had no failures at all. The normal bulbs I have are generally from wilkos. 2 are smart bulbs from tplink. And a couple are fancy vintage filament things made by shelly.
I’ve changed more led gu10’s in my kitchen than I did halogens.
I’m an electrician and thought a lot of my work would be gone with led’s but they still keep us working. The led’s are usually ok it’s mostly the drivers. But the cost of replacing them outweighs what would be spent on old style bulbs
I’m an electrician and thought a lot of my work would be gone with led’s but they still keep us working. The led’s are usually ok it’s mostly the drivers. But the cost of replacing them outweighs what would be spent on old style bulbs
Geffg said:
I’ve changed more led gu10’s in my kitchen than I did halogens.
I’m an electrician and thought a lot of my work would be gone with led’s but they still keep us working. The led’s are usually ok it’s mostly the drivers. But the cost of replacing them outweighs what would be spent on old style bulbs
It is just a big scam, so much for saving the planet.I’m an electrician and thought a lot of my work would be gone with led’s but they still keep us working. The led’s are usually ok it’s mostly the drivers. But the cost of replacing them outweighs what would be spent on old style bulbs
Even old incandescent bulbs were nerfed to allow margins for resellers.
Good old capitalism and government cronies who couldn’t regulate a piss up in a brewery.
Moved into our current house in March 2018. Immediately changed all light bulbs to Phillips or Osram LED bulbs. None have failed.
Kitchen, utility, 2 bathrooms & dressing room had a total of 30 cheap recessed ceiling LEDs. So far over 3/4 have failed. Replaced with Philips & none of those have failed.
Kitchen, utility, 2 bathrooms & dressing room had a total of 30 cheap recessed ceiling LEDs. So far over 3/4 have failed. Replaced with Philips & none of those have failed.
Edited by Glosphil on Tuesday 7th June 19:02
Mercdriver said:
Savings are negated if they do not last very long, more expensive to buy than filament bulb, hence my question of what other people think.
Maybe I am buying cheap from china rather than Philips etc but they are sold with many hours before failure which is not my experience
Our whole house has used Philips Hue LED lights for probably near on 10 years now I recon. Never had 1 fail yet. Maybe I am buying cheap from china rather than Philips etc but they are sold with many hours before failure which is not my experience
Yes they are expensive (Philips don’t half know how to charge for hue stuff), but they just work. Interoperable with multiple systems Alexa/Siri/IFTTT.
I've had multiple failures, across a mixture of brands. Recently I had a bathroom light go, which meant getting rid of the entire fixture.
So, I'm also of the opinion that they're questionable in terms of the ecological impact.
I do wonder if it's related to quality of power supply. We have a solar array which might have some impact on house voltages.
So, I'm also of the opinion that they're questionable in terms of the ecological impact.
I do wonder if it's related to quality of power supply. We have a solar array which might have some impact on house voltages.
LordHaveMurci said:
Had all sorts of LED’s for years, all decent brands, never had one fail.
Same, I’ve never had an led fail and have loads of them all over my house and have had them for years. The halogen and filament bulbs they replaced used to fail though. I suppose I’ve had most for a good 10 years or so. I think if people are having LED failures it’s likely the power supply or some other electrical gremlins.
My LEDs are all Philips or ikea ones I think. I might have some cheap ones in the kitchen but none are off brand Ali express type ones.
I have a mix of lamps - some from LED lighting specialist websites, some eBay, some screwfix.
All installed in 3 different houses over the last 10 years at various times.
I bunged all lighting receipts in a drawer, together with a few empty boxes - can’t even remember when the last failure occurred but I just fished a receipt out the drawer and took it back to Screwfix for free replacement. No idea if the lamp and receipt were related.
This will no longer work though as I just checked and all receipts are now out of warranty period.
I always go for 240v lamps - no drivers - as they tend to fail and run very hot - at least the commercial ones that I am familiar with do.
All installed in 3 different houses over the last 10 years at various times.
I bunged all lighting receipts in a drawer, together with a few empty boxes - can’t even remember when the last failure occurred but I just fished a receipt out the drawer and took it back to Screwfix for free replacement. No idea if the lamp and receipt were related.
This will no longer work though as I just checked and all receipts are now out of warranty period.
I always go for 240v lamps - no drivers - as they tend to fail and run very hot - at least the commercial ones that I am familiar with do.
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