Probably just cutting corners in a race to the bottom. They probably over-drive under-sized chips with poor thermal management and lack proper constant current regulators.
There was a time when durable goods actually were durable. Now it seems that we are seen only as consumers and the purchase and re-purchase of what should be durable items is all we are good for.
Therein lies the difference. If you've ever looked at old ceiling fixtures, you'll notice how brittle the wire is from being cooked over x number of years. LEDs are highly efficient, but like all things work better if under-driven, but it is a balancing act with efficiency. You could put a 1000CC engine from a Ducati into a riding mower, but it wouldn't be very efficient, but it would have to work less (= longer component life) than if you put a 4HP Briggs & Stratton in on the same platform (= work much harder/undersized = component stress).
There was a time when durable goods actually were durable. Now it seems that we are seen only as consumers and the purchase and re-purchase of what should be durable items is all we are good for.
Watch this video, see the last minute or so, it is scary, people should be concerned.
Isn't it the AC-DC power circuits that die mostly?
That is the weakest link in almost all electronics. The other common failure point are the LED bond wires. I have several outdoor DC LED floodlights failed that way. Replaced the 10W LED (3x3) module and life is good.
POE is accelerating the trend to DC powered LED lighting. Powering lighting from the Ethernet network and you get both DC power and communications. As an aside powering stuff from DC also makes UPSes cheaper and more efficient.
Splitting up global emissions among countries doesn't make a helluva lot of sense since we're all being affected. I doubt anyone in the UK, France, etc., is patting themselves on the back saying "job well done, we fixed it!" This is a global issue and it requires a global response. Sadly, we're too damned late to make changes now to avoid significant climate change for the next several generations and beyond. Until the technology comes along to net reduce CO2 in the atmosphere on a large scale, we're boned.
Isn't it the AC-DC power circuits that die mostly? I know LEDs fade over time, but the power circuits fail.
Maybe if we had DC lighting circuits in our homes, everything would be more efficient.
It's the circuitry in general is subpar, typically the caps dry up and fail from the heat. The drive to have the lowest price seems to be the driver. Nobody wanted to pay $15 for a bulb, and of course the manufacturers really didn't want to put themselves out of business with everlasting bulbs.
I don't understand why they don't just use a current-limiting resistor and just connect directly to 120 VAC. A 6k resistor should do it.
Early bulbs and some of the chinese garbage do sort of that, except using a cap and diode. The downside of that design is flickering at 60-Hz and really poor dimming.
I don't understand why they don't just use a current-limiting resistor and just connect directly to 120 VAC. A 6k resistor should do it.
A 6K Ohm resistor would draw 20 mA from 120 V mains, and create about 2.4 W of heat. But, 20 mA is fine for a panel indicator LED, most lighting LEDs run at least 350 mA, up to 1 A for the high-power ones.
I run a string of 20 lighting LEDs in series at 350 mA to light my kitchen. That drops about 60 V. If it used resistors, it would need a 171 Ohm resistor, and that would produce 21 W of heat. It would be wasting as much energy as the LED string was getting. The commercial LED lighting power supply I use wastes about 1 W of heat.
Makes you wonder if the LED bulb makes are similarly conspiring. It certainly seems that LED bulb life is getting shorter and shorter.
I have given up on cheap Wal-Mart and Costco LED bulbs. They burn out faster than the old incandescent or CFL bulbs.
However, I went to a high-end lighting supply company and bought some fairly expensive Satco LEDs. None of them have burned out yet, with more than two years of use.
On the other hand, there is a 100W incandescent bulb in the ceiling of our master bathroom that we use a lot, and it is still going after more than 27 years!
On the other hand, there is a 100W incandescent bulb in the ceiling of our master bathroom that we use a lot, and it is still going after more than 27 years!
We lived in a house for 10 years and never replaced the bulb in the kitchen ceiling light, Took fixture down to clean off the grease and it had a 130 volt traffic signal bulb.
Big Clive has an interesting post about special long life high efficiency LED bulb only available in Dubai.
It also boils down to the TCO.
If the "better bulb" was on the shelf next to the $1.5 bulb, what do you think would be the highest premium it could fetch that would still make people say "it's more expensive but, I'm going to save $5 in electricity over the next 20 years"??? Personally I buy the cheapest with the color I like. Anyway they don't live anywhere close to the claim in real life.
Big Clive has an interesting post about special long life high efficiency LED bulb only available in Dubai.
It also boils down to the TCO.
If the "better bulb" was on the shelf next to the $1.5 bulb, what do you think would be the highest premium it could fetch that would still make people say "it's more expensive but, I'm going to save $5 in electricity over the next 20 years"??? Personally I buy the cheapest with the color I like. Anyway they don't live anywhere close to the claim in real life.
Depends on how hard it is to replace. Bulbs in a 30-ft ceiling in a commercial settings, I'm sure they'd pay a premium to have 20-year bulb life instead of scheduling maintenance every year.
Bulbs in a 30-ft ceiling in a commercial settings, I'm sure they'd pay a premium to have 20-year bulb life instead of scheduling maintenance every year.
… the highest premium it could fetch that would still make people say "it's more expensive but, I'm going to save $5 in electricity over the next 20 years"
and who'd believe it?
(My hobby: demanding replacements for failed LEDs that promise long lifetimes. Yes, I keep the receipts.)
And they probably don't give you much guff because you are an exception to the rule (most people discard receipts). Also, I've found that receipts that I do save for my larger purchases fade out after a couple of years. I keep them stapled to the manual which is then in a hanging folder in a closed file cabinet. Do you have any problems with receipt fade, assuming bulbs fail several years after purchase?
On the other hand, there is a 100W incandescent bulb in the ceiling of our master bathroom that we use a lot, and it is still going after more than 27 years!
Light bulb manufacturers have conspired to reduce lifespan since the 1920's.
The "Planet Money" podcast (NPR) had an excellent episode which discusses this as well as planned obsolescence. If you have the time, it's well worth a listen. I think it's only about 30 minutes long: »www.npr.org/sections/mon ··· s-cartel
Re: [Lighting] Re: The great light bulb conspiracy
Apart from major purchases, I only save LED receipts (and map them to specific bulbs) because when I first saw the extravagant claims for lifetime, versus the then-expensiveness of LEDs, I saw it as a challenge.
So far, no receipt fade into unreadability. They're in a box shoved in the back of a cupboard.
I moved 3 times in the last 5 years. But the cheap fluorescent bulbs lasted longer than the LEDs even in ceiling fans. Now in FL. the little candelabra lights good for 6 months. The 12v Halogen bulbs in the kitchen 6 months. Had a box of fluorescent bulbs(from the power company in NC) for recessed lights only changed 2 in 2 years. Still got about 6 left of them.
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