Why LED Bulbs Burn Out

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Why LED bulbs burn out

According to the manufacturers, each LED light bulb is designed for a period of uninterrupted operation within 30 thousand hours or 3.5 years (the declared number of hours may vary depending on the manufacturer). But, as practice shows, the service life of products is often much shorter for a number of reasons.

LED bulbs: reasons for their burnout

Despite the external similarity, the principle of operation of LED bulbs is fundamentally different from ordinary incandescent bulbs. In the first case, a stream of light appears at the point of contact of two semiconductors as a result of passing an electric current through them.

The design of the LED light bulb is:

• base (usually standard);
• body;
• radiator;
• power and control board;
• board with LEDs (the number of elements depends on the required lighting effect);
• diffuser in the form of a transparent cover.

The design and principle of operation of an LED light bulb are fundamentally different from those of incandescent lamps.

The first and most common cause of premature burnout of LED bulbs lies in the power and control board. The purpose of this board is voltage reduction and current rectification. In order to reduce the cost of production, some manufacturers do not install a stabilizing device. This provides a high brightness of the light bulb, but significantly reduces its service life.

The second common cause of burnout is LED board failure. A single LED emits insufficient light, therefore, to achieve the required lighting effect, several LED elements are grouped on the board. All elements are connected in series to the circuit, which ensures an even distribution of the mains voltage between them. If, for any reason, one of the elements fails, the circuit breaks and the light bulb fails.

The absence of a radiator in the design of the bulb, which ensures the removal of the heat released during operation of the product, also contributes to its rapid burnout.

Often the reason for the burnout of LED bulbs is poor assembly: poor soldering of contacts, use of defective or poor quality parts in the manufacture, making mistakes in assembling boards, etc. This, as a rule, is typical of little-known unscrupulous manufacturers, whose products are relatively cheap.

Less often, premature burnout occurs due to wiring faults.

Is it possible to extend the lifespan of an LED bulb

Theoretically it is possible. By identifying, refining and replacing low-quality structural elements. But this will require a colossal investment of time and effort, as well as the availability of certain knowledge and skills. Therefore, it is more expedient to learn how to choose the right LED bulbs: this minimizes the risk of premature burnout of the product, and also saves time and money. When choosing a product, it is important to remember:

• the weight of a standard product made of quality materials is about 100–120 g;
• the design of the product must be equipped with a radiator to remove heat;
• the diffuser must be made of glass, not plastic;
• A high-quality product cannot be cheap: the average price for an LED light bulb ranges from 500 to 2000 rubles (depends on the manufacturer and other parameters).

LED bulbs provide bright illumination with minimal power consumption. These qualities are extremely relevant today. But choosing the right bulbs is essential to obtain the expected financial benefits. And this can be done only knowing their structure, operating principle and weak points.