5 ms·

What Happened to the 100k Hour LED Bulbs?

36 points by indy 5y ago

lmilcin 5y ago
I was pretty sure the electrolytic capacitor would be the first component to fail. They are usually the first thing to age and fail in normal supplies and here they are also subjected to high temperature. Good caps are expensive and cheap Chinese engineering guarantees that even if you find one marked 130C it is unlikely to be truth.
zxcvbn4038 5y ago
There is a YouTube channel - don’t have the link handy - where the host tears down failed light bulbs and generally the issue appears to be the leds are wired in series, one of the leds fails, and that kills the bulb. To verify his analysis he’ll bypass the failed one and the light works fine.
- BugWatch 5y ago
  Assuming it's not Big Clive, please do share it if/when you remember the channel.
  - SethKinast 5y ago
    Possibly Electroboom: https://youtu.be/lIK1jnYr0yw https://youtu.be/lIK1jnYr0yw
- randyrand 5y ago
  Sounds like: https://www.youtube.com/c/electronupdate/videos https://www.youtube.com/c/electronupdate/videos
guitarbill 5y ago
Interesting to see no mention of the "Dubai lamp". There was a previous discussion on HN [0], and of course the Big Clive videos about it [1]. In short, the LEDs are underrun, which increases the efficiency, and should increase the lifetime (which as the article mentions is mainly related to heat). Edit: They're called "Dubai lamps", because they're only supposed to be sold there (even though Philips makes them). [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25808959 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25808959 [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klaJqofCsu4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klaJqofCsu4
- ksec 5y ago
  I think I asked last time and didn't actually get an answer. There are no reason why we cant, or any other vendor cant recreate Dubai Lamps elsewhere. The only reason why it isn't sold elsewhere is because Philips thought there are no market for it due to cost issues. Now the idea has spread on the internet, why do they not make one to test the market?
  - guitarbill 5y ago
    What incentive do they have for producing longer-lasting bulbs? If they make them more expensive, will the general population buy them? A lot of people buy the cheapest option. I could imagine enterprising individuals shipping Dubai lamps in smaller quantities. I've orderer high CRI LEDs from abroad, so maybe there's a similar niche market (that's simply not worth Philips' time). But AFAIK, the Dubai lamps are only available in cold white, and in temperate climates, it seems that warm white is preferred. It's possible there's some export issue there though with UL/ETL listing.
PhantomGremlin 5y ago
tl;dr: This article is great. An in-depth analysis of the current state-of-the-art for common LED light bulbs.
yftsui 5y ago
I found it funny for the “LED never die” claim. My new home’s living room has 11 Philips BR30 LED lights, within 2 years I have already replaced 4 of them, all died with a super dim glow.
JohnClark1337 5y ago
Article begins by implying that there may be a conspiracy to keep LED bulb lifespans low so that the bulb companies can make more money, then ends with the author basically saying "eh, it's probably better that LED bulbs have a shorter lifespan". Felt like the author got kidnapped half way through and was forced to write a better ending.

36 points by indy 5y ago

I was pretty sure the electrolytic capacitor would be the first component to fail. They are usually the first thing to age and fail in normal supplies and here they are also subjected to high temperature. Good caps are expensive and cheap Chinese engineering guarantees that even if you find one marked 130C it is unlikely to be truth.

zxcvbn4038 5y ago

There is a YouTube channel - don’t have the link handy - where the host tears down failed light bulbs and generally the issue appears to be the leds are wired in series, one of the leds fails, and that kills the bulb. To verify his analysis he’ll bypass the failed one and the light works fine.

BugWatch 5y ago
Assuming it's not Big Clive, please do share it if/when you remember the channel.
- SethKinast 5y ago
  Possibly Electroboom: https://youtu.be/lIK1jnYr0yw https://youtu.be/lIK1jnYr0yw
randyrand 5y ago
Sounds like: https://www.youtube.com/c/electronupdate/videos https://www.youtube.com/c/electronupdate/videos

guitarbill 5y ago

Interesting to see no mention of the "Dubai lamp". There was a previous discussion on HN [0], and of course the Big Clive videos about it [1]. In short, the LEDs are underrun, which increases the efficiency, and should increase the lifetime (which as the article mentions is mainly related to heat). Edit: They're called "Dubai lamps", because they're only supposed to be sold there (even though Philips makes them). [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25808959 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25808959 [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klaJqofCsu4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klaJqofCsu4

ksec 5y ago
I think I asked last time and didn't actually get an answer. There are no reason why we cant, or any other vendor cant recreate Dubai Lamps elsewhere. The only reason why it isn't sold elsewhere is because Philips thought there are no market for it due to cost issues. Now the idea has spread on the internet, why do they not make one to test the market?
- guitarbill 5y ago
  What incentive do they have for producing longer-lasting bulbs? If they make them more expensive, will the general population buy them? A lot of people buy the cheapest option. I could imagine enterprising individuals shipping Dubai lamps in smaller quantities. I've orderer high CRI LEDs from abroad, so maybe there's a similar niche market (that's simply not worth Philips' time). But AFAIK, the Dubai lamps are only available in cold white, and in temperate climates, it seems that warm white is preferred. It's possible there's some export issue there though with UL/ETL listing.

PhantomGremlin 5y ago

tl;dr: This article is great. An in-depth analysis of the current state-of-the-art for common LED light bulbs.

yftsui 5y ago

I found it funny for the “LED never die” claim. My new home’s living room has 11 Philips BR30 LED lights, within 2 years I have already replaced 4 of them, all died with a super dim glow.

JohnClark1337 5y ago

Article begins by implying that there may be a conspiracy to keep LED bulb lifespans low so that the bulb companies can make more money, then ends with the author basically saying "eh, it's probably better that LED bulbs have a shorter lifespan". Felt like the author got kidnapped half way through and was forced to write a better ending.