Understand the life of LEDs

Understand the life of LEDs

So how long does the LED last? Well, it's a busy question. Theoretically, a long time. But wait, it's not just the life of LEDs.

1. The life of the LED
The LEDs, and more particularly the diodes, are classified L70 or L50. But as a rule, L70 is the standard that most manufacturers test and display. What does it mean? This is the number of hours it takes for the LED diode to degrade to 70% of its initial lumens. Is an LED dead at L70? Absolutely not. What are the usual hours for L70? 50,000 to 100,000 hours.




What affects this life? A lot - how much does the manufacturer decide to control the LED? Full power? Half the power? As a general rule, a diode will last longer if you do not drive at full capacity. It's like it's heat. The harder you drive, the more heat is generated, and the heat is usually the "killer" of all electronics.

So why are not all manufacturers bringing their production back to 50%? Because this would require more LEDs to compensate for reduced diode output, this increases costs. So, are you building a durable LED light or are you selling at a good price? It's the compromise. (If you're wondering why some LED lights are cheaper than others, that's part of the story).

The "cheaper" solutions use less LEDs, but have a shorter life, because they are more required to produce lumens with fewer LEDs.

2. The lives of drivers
What is a driver? A driver accepts the native AC power and converts it to DC power, at the appropriate voltage, to power the LED. He also has a life. And most drivers of renowned brands, such as Meanwell or Philips, claim that their lifespan is 50,000 hours.

What does that mean? If you have an LED product with an L70 time of 100,000 hours but a driver with a life of 50,000 hours, chances are you will replace the drivers for the life of the LED product.

But that's where the cunning of marketing comes in. Some will claim an L70 of 200,000 hours, but never talk about the life of their driver. Even worse, their drivers are hard to replace. As a result, after 50,000 hours, you may have a dead LED product with a failed driver and good LEDs.

3. Gather it all together - what should you believe?
These numbers are in conflict and so you always have to take into account the life of the weakest link. However, the replacement of the drivers is relatively simple, provided they can be easily accessed. But there is no reason to believe that an LED product can not last 10 years or more, and even longer if you are ready to change drivers.

Most of company's are provider of upgrade solutions and new devices, such as UFO HighBays, Floodlights, Zone Lights and High Mast Lights.
For mor information click here.

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