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).

  • sparky1337@ttrpg.network
    13·
    1 month ago

    Yep. When I moved into my house the previous owner had used all garbage Walmart LED’s. I think I had one fail each month and just bought a bunch on sale from Phillips eventually.

    Most common failure was the driver. So they turned into strobe lights lol. Most annoying failure ever.

    And more importantly, not every LED is dimmer compatible. Sometimes they’re super picky or just plain don’t work.

    • pseudonym@monyet.cc
      2·
      1 month ago

      Can you recommend which ones to buy? I have the strobe light problem and it is indeed very annoying

      • sparky1337@ttrpg.network
        3·
        1 month ago

        Generally I don’t buy anything else other than Phillips. They’re usually bulletproof if you don’t get the smart bulbs. I’ve not had a Phillips fail in ~10 years. But that’s a sample size of like 30 or so bulbs.

        • Blaster M@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          1 month ago

          While I’ve had a Philips fail, it was due to environmental reasons. Otherwise, Philips bulbs have lasted me literal years for hours every day.

          I also run General Electric bulbs, and they’ve also lasted years.

      • snf@lemmy.world
        1·
        1 month ago

        The strobe light problem might also be caused by putting a LED that’s not dimmer-compatible on a dimmer switch

    • trolololol@lemmy.world
      1·
      1 month ago

      Oh dang, a cheap driver is probably $0.50 cheaper than a half decent one that can take the hit.

      In Australia anything has 12 months warranty by law, this factory would bankrupt quick.