Household LED Bulb Failure

[copper67sat]

All you LED haters out there....feel free to cover your House and Christmas Tree with incandescent lamps..... talk soon.

I still use C9 incandescents for my outside Christmas lights because I like their warm glow a lot better than LED. We do use LED on the tree and I like them there. Yes, I do see an increase in my electric bill when we put the outside lights up, but it's only about a 5-6% increase for a month so it isn't breaking the bank. I have enough C9s to last me a couple more years. After that, I may switch over, but it will take a couple of years for the lower bills to offset the cost of all new lights.

Being in S FL with all electric appliances, 2 a/c units that run nearly 24/7/365 including occasional use of the blow dryers we call heaters, well water pump and pool pump, the type of light bulbs we use has almost no impact on our bill.

Most of the overhead lighting is either ceiling cans or fan lights. None of the fans were designed to use LEDs so we have problems with flickering and we have not had good experience with most LEDs or any CFLs in the can lights. They are definitely shorter lived than incandescents by a long shot. We also get a lot of power blips which probably contributes to their short life. Additionally, the listed Watt equivalencies are a complete joke. A supposed 100 Watt equivalent LED looks more like a 75W incandescent, definitely not 100W. Finding the right color has been a challenge as well but that seems to be getting better. Still, we have to replace all the lights in a room to get them to match even if only 1 bulb went out. Bottom line for us is that the higher initial cost of the LEDs has not been recouped through lower bills as far as I can tell. Not a fan.

I say let the free market decide which bulbs are available. Some will see benefits with the new bulbs and switch. If they worked better and saved me money, I would gladly change, but I am being forced to switch by mandate and have yet to see any benefits.

 

[YY1]

My buddies work requires him and several other guys to come in one weekend a year on Saturday and Sunday to change every LED light bulb within the business. The warehouse, offices, desk lights, storage rooms, bathrooms etc. Weather they need it or not, every bulb. Apparently, it is cheaper to do it that way, rather than randomly replace one whenever someone needs it all year long.

Who gets to keep what they remove?

 

[YY1]

We have been hoodwinked on lifespan claims. Half of my new LED shop lights died within 4 years. Last year I upgraded the high ceiling lights in my moth-in-laws place so I would never have to change them again..... nope. Half of them are dead within one year. It's hot there, but still.... 1 year?

That's crazy.

I bought the cheapest, most lumens per dollar fixtures I could find ($14-$24 Rural King brand) for my shop.

Not quite a dozen.

I've lost exactly one since 2017.

 

[6PKRTSE]

Who gets to keep what they remove?

They each keep a bunch. They save a few for when and if one does blow somewhere throughout the year and throw away the rest.

 

[YY1]

They each keep a bunch. They save a few for when and if one does blow somewhere throughout the year and throw away the rest.

Wow. Could be lucrative to go pick up what they throw away.

 

[Moms68]

FYI, some CFL's and florescent tubes contain mercury and should be recycled, not thrown in the trash. Home Depot and most big box retainers accept them.

 

[WileE]

I've noticed in recent years that florescent shop lite bulbs do not last anywhere near as they did years ago. Whether in the garage, or in the home garage, bulbs failed very infrequently. Now, it seems they go out quite often. I've since replaced with led lamps.

 

[AR67GTX]

I’ve had a lot of early led bulb failures. Also had problems with led bulbs in exterior motion detector and photocell fixtures, both rapid flashing and just plain failures.

 

[#41]

That's crazy.

I bought the cheapest, most lumens per dollar fixtures I could find ($14-$24 Rural King brand) for my shop.

Not quite a dozen.

I've lost exactly one since 2017.

Honestly, I think there was some kind of flaw with the first shop LEDs I used. When the first one went out I looked to replace it in kind but the manufacturer had already vanished. I'm having better luck with the replacement brand .....so far.