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They last a lot longer than incandescent bulbs, though. In fact, I've been using LED lights for about 15 years now, and I'm not sure I've ever replaced one. Even the cheap ones. By comparison, incandescent bulbs had to be replaced all the time in my experience. My parents had a supply of them ready. Phosphorescent bulbs were a bit in between. They don't break, but they get dimmer and need more time to get to full brightness as they age.

Though perhaps I do recall a particular LED light that would overheat in a particular fixture. It's possible not all fixtures are equally suitable.




> incandescent bulbs had to be replaced all the time in my experience

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel


I've used LEDs for much fewer years, both cheap and brand names, and have had multiple failures (from both camps).

I once complained to one of the brand companies and they said the same thing about overheating in poorly ventilated fixtures. One of this fixture was not closed, but somewhat narrow (open glass cone). If that actually was the problem for that bulb - ie. such an fixture is prone to overheating it's no wonder people are complaining about LED longevity.


You are lucky. I’ve personally had a lot of failures. I like that they don’t make heat and are brighter. (And I also like how they can be packed more densely on dedicated lighting circuits than traditional fixtures), but they are definitely prone to early failures.


There are a lot of cheap, poorly designed LED bulbs that put heat stress on critical components.

Technology Connections : A troubling trend in lighting? - https://youtu.be/fsIFxyOLJXM (It goes into how a number of LED bulb failures are because the lamp wasn't able to dissipate heat from the electronic components. It also shows how some higher quality LED bulbs are made so that they dissipate heat better - they don't make as much heat as an incandescent bulb, but there is still some and that is the cause of a lot of failures.)

The lamps you're not allowed to have. Exploring the Dubai lamps - https://youtu.be/klaJqofCsu4 is also interesting. They have a different design and it gets into the electronics.


>You are lucky. I’ve personally had a lot of failures.

Or perhaps you're unlucky. LEDs on the whole have longer lives than incandescent bulbs do.


Under lab conditions they do.




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