Filament LED Failure Conundrum

RE: Filament LED Failure Conundrum

dougw — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 07:15:32 GMT

I have also had far more issues with LED illumination than I expected. I haven't had any problems with Christmas lights, but any lights that are used for illumination can have early failure. As mentioned it is most likely due to overheating. Basically, adequate heatsinks are expensive to produce. I would like to see re-usable heatsinks where you could buy decent heatsinks and just replace the LEDs. Why chuck the heatsink just because the LED failed? I also think light fixtures can and should be designed to provide better cooling for the bulbs.

RE: Filament LED Failure Conundrum

kmikemoo — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 00:39:49 GMT

[mention:dc11ece8204f479e8dce2a47a33b20d3:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05] I have also been greatly disappointed with my LED light bulbs. The regular lamp bulbs don't last any longer than the incandescent ones they replaced. I have had two flame out in the base. My foray into LED Christmas lights was an abysmal disaster. At least one of the three strings dies each year. They aren't any better or any different than the normal string lights - except that they cost a lot more. I only used them 3 years. I've gone back to the old school C9's.

I bought 6 COB LED panels. Oh, my! They heat up as efficiently as a stove element - except that I don't want to cook anything with them. I'm still thinking about a heat recovery system and I'll turn them into a micro-cogeneration plant.

RE: Filament LED Failure Conundrum

Gough Lui — Sun, 21 Nov 2021 21:55:29 GMT

The problem may just be bad quality with newer products, but could also be thermally-induced. Enclosed fixtures and high temperatures may cause certain drivers to "fold-back" resulting in dimmer output after the globe has been running for a while, but is reversible. Permanent dimming can occur if the LEDs have been overdriven and overheated, although sometimes you might encounter issues with heat destroying the electrolytic capacitor in the driver causing it to "dim" through increased flickering.

It is quite perplexing, but we do know that manufacturers sometimes are overzealous with the number of lifetime hours. An estimate of 15,000 is usually reasonable but not all globes will get there for a number of reasons ...

- Gough

RE: Filament LED Failure Conundrum

scottiebabe — Fri, 19 Nov 2021 16:17:27 GMT

I can sympathize with your LED woes. It is that time of year again for decorative string lights! The LEDs last a lifetime, but the cheap plated steel lead frames corrode out in a few weeks.

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Hurray for LEDs!