How come LED Light Bulbs only last for about 2-3 Years?

I’ve bought and replaced a lot of light bulbs, and I noticed that all of them said “up to 20,000 hours” which would be about 5 years given 12 hours of daily use (which we definitely don’t).

  • FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.orgEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    Since people are just giving snarky douchebag replies, I’ll actually attempt to answer the question since that’s what this community is for?

    The estimate given on the packages of these bulbs are absolute best case scenario, using an optimal temperature range and pattern of use that won’t really match up with the average household because:

    1. You may go on vacation and let your house get cold or hot. This could affect the life of thr bulb

    2. The manufacturer is likely leaving the bulbs on 24/7 when measuring. Most people turn lights on and off multiple times throughout the day. This can decrease the life of thr bulb, just like with any other electronic device.

    3. Humidity in the house can change dramatically year round. Manufacturing tests probably keep a constant humidity level.

    4. If you’re buying cheap random LED bulbs off Amazon from dogshit brands (i do thid too so not knocking you), the manufacturer estimates might just straight up be a lie.

    I’m sure there are other reasons but that’s a good start.

    • trolololol@lemmy.world
      0·
      3 months ago

      LEDs can take quite a beating. The only thing that degrades then is being on, and being hot. For all purposes unless it’s inside a restaurant kitchen or they’re on, they’re not hot.

      Other packaged electronic components follow the same rules. Except wires and solder that can oxidize without being used.

      So no, I think that’s a grift if you can’t reach 5 years. When domestic LED lighting was in infancy we’d hear all power LEDs, like for cars, should last 10 years.

      • FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.orgEnglish
        0·
        3 months ago

        It wouldn’t degrade from being shut off and on a bunch of times? I know like HDDs can degrade faster if they’re constantly powered off and on.

        Appreciate the feedback. I just tried to answer the question the best I could since at the time most of the replies were unhelpful and rude

        • trolololol@lemmy.world
          0·
          3 months ago

          Mechanical things suffer a lot of stress from turning on/off. But even spinning disk storage turns off automatically if desktop is idle for a certain time, it’s a balance between switch vs continuous operation, they have overlapping kinds of wear and tear.

          Top of mind, you can expect 10k cycles from typical buttons and it’s hard to be less complex than a button. Because metal parts are subject to fatigue.

          Flash based drives would certainly fail faster or slower depending on the number of write bytes over its life.

          Then there’s erosion caused by electrons, which is my biggest suspect for the problems of last generation of Intel CPUs. You have to royally screw up to start selling something that overlooked this.