LED lights are in trend nowadays as they brighten your room and give your place an elegant and fancy look.
LEDs are present in all beautiful colors, shapes, and sizes for brightening and decorating your house and offices. They are energy efficient and produce less heat than the incandescent light bulbs. Incandescent bulbs produce light using heat, while LEDs use a small amount of current.
However, LED bulbs are more expensive than incandescent bulbs but significantly reduce the total cost of your electricity bills. But they have a lifespan from 5 to 10 years, calculated in hours. Despite being tough, they can become out of order. This article discusses “Why do LED lights burn out so quickly?”
Why Do LED Lights Burn Out So Quickly? Here Is Why
LEDs mostly burn out due to overheating and voltage fluctuations. If you are facing high voltage, then overall, your LED bulb will face overheating. Compared to regular incandescent lights, LED lights are known to last longer. But, just like any other electronic component, they can burn out early.
Overheating is one of the main reasons why LED lights burn out early. LEDs are sensitive to temperature, and too much heat can make them last much less. LED bulbs need ways to remove heat so the parts inside don’t get too hot. If the heat doesn’t get rid of itself quickly enough, it can cause thermal stress, damaging the LED and making it break.
Changes in voltage are another reason why LED lights often burn out quickly. LEDs are made to work in a certain range of voltage, and voltage spikes or drops outside of this range can damage them.
The quality of LED lights made by different companies is very different. Lower-quality LEDs may have parts and materials that aren’t as good, which makes them more likely to break down early. Going with well-known brands and sellers is important when buying LED lighting goods. Here are a few essential tips for avoiding the issue of LED lights burning out quickly.
Keep Surroundings Cool
Direct heat sources like fires, stoves, and radiators can make temperatures too high for LED lights to work well. When you put LED lights too close to these heat sources, they can burn out early. Rapid temperature changes, like being exposed to high heat and then quickly cooling off, can stress the LED’s parts and cause thermal fatigue, which shortens its life even more.
Ensure that LED lights are not too close to direct heat sources. Sometimes, you can keep LED lights from getting too hot by using heat shields or insulating materials. These covers can send the heat away from the LED, keeping it working longer.
Use Compatible Dimmer
Dimmer switches are important parts that let you change your LED lights’ brightness. They work by controlling how much electricity flows to the LEDs.LEDs are sensitive to changes in power, and not all dimmer switches are made to work with them. Dimmers that don’t work well with LED lights can cause them to flicker, shortening their life and making the lighting situation less pleasant.
Choose dimmer switches that are made to work with LED lights. These dimmers are made with technology that lets them dim lights smoothly and without flickering. Before buying a dimmer, check the manufacturer’s details about its features and how it works with other products. Make sure that it can be used with LEDs.
There are different kinds of dimmers, such as leading and trailing. Choose the one that fits the needs of your LED lighting setup. Buy dimmer switches from a company with a good reputation for making good electrical parts.
Use Voltage Regulator
Voltage regulators, sometimes called voltage stabilizers or surge breakers, keep the voltage level constant within a certain range. Voltage regulators keep an eye on the voltage coming in and change it to stay within a safe range for your LED lights. It keeps the voltage from being too high or too low.
Many voltage regulators have built-in surge safety that keeps your LEDs from getting damaged by voltage spikes caused by lightning or other electrical problems. Using voltage regulators can make your LED lights last a lot longer by protecting them from the damage caused by changes in voltage.
Test Before Buying
The quality of the components used to create LEDs might vary greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer. Low-quality materials, particularly for components such as the LED chip or the driver circuitry, might contribute to the inability to function optimally.
LEDs not subjected to rigorous testing before being shipped out of the manufacturer run the risk of undetected faults that will cause them to break more quickly once they are in use.
LEDs should only be purchased by customers from reputable sellers, who should also check the products’ authenticity before selling them. It helps customers avoid purchasing fake goods.
Repair Seprate Brnout LED
If you have an LED fixture with individual LEDs that have burned out, you may be able to repair or replace those LEDs without replacing the entire fixture.
After turning off the power to the bulb, visually inspect it to determine which LEDs have failed and replace them as necessary. Compared to the LEDs functioning properly, they will often appear dim or not light up.
You will require a soldering iron, soldering wire, a desoldering pump or wick, replacement LEDs (with specs identical to those of the original LEDs), and safety equipment (safety glasses, gloves).
Make use of the soldering iron to remove the faulty LEDs from the circuit board in a careful manner. Be careful not to scratch the circuit board or any of the components that are close by.
Make sure that the positive and negative leads of the replacement LEDs have the same polarity as the leads of the original LEDs, and then trim the leads of the replacement LEDs to the proper length.
You must carefully solder the replacement LEDs onto the circuit board, ensuring they are always attached firmly and in the correct orientation.
After you have soldered all the replacement LEDs, you should switch the power back on and test the fixture to check that the fixed LEDs are operating properly. After checking that the LEDs are functioning properly, you should reassemble the fixture and fasten any covers or lenses.
Buy a New High-Quality LED
Seek out reputable companies with a track record of manufacturing high-quality LED items. To guarantee longer-lasting bulbs, these manufacturers frequently improve their designs and components.
Choose LED lights with certifications accepted in the industry, like UL or ENERGY STAR. These certificates attest to the bulbs’ performance and safety criteria compliance. Read consumer reviews and testimonies to learn more about the durability and real-world performance of the LED bulbs you are considering before purchasing.
Are LED Lights Weak?
LED lights are stronger than the incandescent bulbs. It is because bulbs have filaments that emit a certain amount of light as soon as they reach a certain temperature due to the current flow. In case of any vibrations, the hot filaments break down, burning out your light.
On the other hand, LED lights have LEDs. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode, an electronic component in the solid-state components category. It means such components do not easily become out of order when falling. That is why LEDs in an LED light do not become out of order on vibrations. However, overheating can burn them out.
How Long Do LED Lights Last?
The best quality LED lights have a lifespan of more than 10 years. The life expectancy of an LED light depends on its quality. The quality of light is maintained using the best material, as the LEDs with poor quality material have a significantly longer life. A medium-quality light lasts up to 5 years.
The lifespan of an LED light is mentioned in hours, such as 50000 hours. You can use it for the mentioned hours. The lights in the darker rooms quickly complete their hours and burn out as we keep them on even in the daytime. You cannot use an LED light once its hours are completed.
On the other hand, the light in the rooms, having sunlight in the daytime, only switches on in the evening and turns off in the morning. Hence, such lights last longer. The outdoor LED lights burn out because they have to bear the weather conditions, such as heat and rain.
What Are The Main Reasons LED Lights Burn Out So Quickly?
Excessive overheating, expired lifespan, burnt-out LEDs connected in series, out-of-order electronic components, and faulty on/off switches or wiring can be the reasons behind this problem. Good quality LED lights from well-known companies can easily work for years as they have a long lifespan.
Faulty dimming components can easily make you feel that your LED lights have burnt out. However, too high or too low can make your LED lights dysfunctional. You may have accidentally bought and installed an untested LED light that should have failed the test and never been sold.
Power surges can easily roast your LED lights if you do not have surge protectors installed. The surges can result from a lightning strike or fault in your electric company’s supply. Voltage fluctuations can also do this. Continuous vibrations can also burn out LED lights.
- Overheating
Continuous use makes LED lights overheat. High room temperatures and thick insulations can also be a reason. LED lights generate a small amount of heat when switched on. This transparent insulation traps this heat inside the LED that, causes it to burn out after working continuously for hours.
Similarly, high room temperatures add to this heat, making your LED lights out of order. LEDs become overheated when they work continuously for hours, even days, especially when installed in a dark place with no sunlight. It also reduces their working hours, and they burn out faster than other lights.
- Faulty Dimming Components
The latest LED lights allow you to control them using a dimmer. Such lights can not only be turned on and off, but you can also adjust their brightness. You may have accidentally turned off the LED lights, thinking that it has burnt out. It is also possible that the dimmer is at its minimum value.
In the worst case, the dimmer can be faulty. A faulty electronic component can make your gadgets useless. It is possible to repair them, especially when you have the right tools and components. Replacing a faulty dimmer is another option. Ensure that the kids are not around when you get this done.
- Very High or Low Voltage
Voltage makes the LED lights functional, and its certain value is also very important for turning them on. This value is defined before manufacturing LED lights. That is why different kinds of LED lights operate on different voltage levels, such as 220 volts, 115 volts, 12 volts, and 5 volts.
If you connect a 12-volt LED light to 115 volts, it will burn out. Not only this, but the type of current also matters. There are two main types of electrical current. Alternative Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC). An AC LED will hardly work on DC and vice versa. But some can work on both types of current.
- Untested Malfunctioning LED Light
A good company tests its product’s working and quality before bringing it into the market. They do so to check if it is working properly without any problems. In case of any issue in an individual unit, they do not sell it to anyone. Rarely do the products remain untested, causing such issues.
It can be an accident or negligence of a worker, especially the ones doing overtime. Such a product goes through all the processes, such as packing and distribution. It is possible that you had such an LED light that was not meant to be brought to the market and sold.
- Expired Lifespan
If the lifespan of an LED light is complete, it will eventually burn out suddenly. The life of an LED light is defined in hours, such as 50,000 hours. You can see it written on its box. As soon as your light completes its lifetime, it expires. There is no way to save such an LED light from burning out.
- Burnt Out Individual LED Light
In most LED lights, LEDs are connected and soldered in series to divide the load properly to operate at the defined input voltage, such as 115 or 220 volts. A disadvantage of this configuration is that when a single LED burns out, the circuit of the whole row breaks, and so does the current flow.
- Out-of-Order Electronic Component
LED lights have different electronic components that make them work properly. In the LED light strips, these components are present in the adapter and with each LED in the strip. These electronic components are present at the back or on the bulb’s circuit in LED light bulbs.
The electronic components in an LED light include a resistor, capacitor, IC chip, transformer, and small LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). Burning out one or more components can turn off the LED light completely or dim and dull it. In most cases, repairing such LED lights can easily fix the issue.
- Low-Quality LED Lights
There are hidden factories all around the world that manufacture copies of the original product. Such products have very poor or low quality because of their electronic components. Such LED lights burn out quickly, wasting money, time, and energy.
- Fixture Vibrations
A ceiling fan with an LED light can produce vibrations, especially when one of its wings is out of alignment. These vibrations can loosen the components inside the LED light and make it dysfunctional. Bulbs with filaments burn out because of the vibrations as their filament breaks into pieces.
- Power Surge or Unstable Power Generator / UPS
Power surges can result from poor management during maintenance by your electric company. It can also be produced accidentally. Surges contain very high voltage levels. When your LED lights receive such high input power, it burns out immediately, especially when you have no surge protectors installed in your home.
We use power generators and UPS after the main AC power is cut off. Old and faulty generators and UPSs provide unstable voltage. There is much fluctuation in such devices’ current flow. Fluctuations are not good for any electrical or electronic device. They can burn out your sensitive LED lights quickly.
Conclusion
Excessive overheating is the main enemy of LED lights that burn out quickly. This heat can be generated because of continuous use or high room temperatures. Faulty dimming components can also be the culprit behind this issue. It is also possible that the value of the dimer is set to the off or the lowest.
Malfunctioning LED lights that manage to escape the testing process burn out soon. It is because testing would have gotten them removed from the stock. Each LED light has a life defined by the manufacturers and mentioned in hours on its box. A light burns out once this life is completed.
If an individual LED in an LED light is burnt out, it can become out of order. It is because of the series connection of Light Emitting Diodes in the LED light’s circuit. Similarly, a faulty electronic component can make your LED light out of order. Low-quality lights also burn out quickly.
Power surges from faulty main power or lightning can easily fry your LED lights. Each LED has a limited operating voltage, but a surge has high and fatal voltage levels. UPS and power generators that produce fluctuating power can make your lights dysfunctional.
LED lights are more robust than incandescent bulbs that have filaments. Vibrations can break the filament into pieces, but LEDs are solid-state components that do not break easily, even after falling on the ground. LED lights’ lifespan is over 10 years, as mentioned in hours.
