About 5 years ago I replaced a light over my kitchen sink with an LED bulb I bought at Walmart for $12 under the brand Lighting America. Two weeks later, half of the LED array went out. I returned it and got another. Within a month it dimmed considerably and the brightness level was less than half of what it originally was.

I then spent $32 for the same type of ceiling bulb from Sylvania. That one has worked very well and has not dimmed at all for the past 5 years. I expect this one to last 20+ years. Today, I think the price is about half of what I paid 5 years ago.

You get what you pay for with LED lighting. Don't go for the cheap bargain brands.

 

About 5 years ago I replaced a light over my kitchen sink with an LED bulb I bought at Walmart for $12 under the brand Lighting America. Two weeks later, half of the LED array went out. I returned it and got another. Within a month it dimmed considerably and the brightness level was less than half of what it originally was.

I then spent $32 for the same type of ceiling bulb from Sylvania. That one has worked very well and has not dimmed at all for the past 5 years. I expect this one to last 20+ years. Today, I think the price is about half of what I paid 5 years ago.

You get what you pay for with LED lighting. Don't go for the cheap bargain brands.

I have not replaced a light bulb with a NON-led since i bought this house about 5 years ago. I have yet to replace a burnt out LED bulb. I have broken a couple by accident.

also some of my LEDs are always on 24/7. They are on dimmers and go to low but never off. The ones on the porch are on when it is dark.

of course it maybe that turning them off and on burns them faster than leaving them on. I am not sure.

 

$32 for a single light bulb?!!

 

They were expensive when that type of ceiling bulb first came out. Even standard lamp fixture LED bulbs were over $10 each when they first came out.

Now that I think about it, it was probably closer to 10 years ago. LED bulbs were just starting to hit the market and they were cost-prohibitive. I bought that one as a test because we leave that light on most of the time.

Some of the early models of LED bulbs couldn't be used in ceiling fixtures because they would burn up when inverted. I once used soem LED bulbs in a ceiling fan fixture and the room filled with smoke. I think those problems have been fixed.

But just like the guy in the video said, the cheap ones don't always last.

 

Outrageous price I too have had real poor performance from led bulbs but actually had better luck with cheap bulbs go figure still don’t care much for them the compact florecent were the worst

 

The problem with compact fluorescent bulbs is that they contain mercury. I have a few of those and only use them for outdoor fixtures.

A second problem is there are no USA manufacturers. All the CFLs sold in the USA come from China.

When they first came out, if you broke a CFL you were supposed to call in a HazMat team for cleanup. Since then, they've modified the procedures for cleanup. Be careful with CFLs. They are dangerous.

EPA: Cleaning Up a Broken CFL

 

I've had very good luck with the LED's I've been buying at Walmart

In the last 2 years, I've only had one go out, out of around 30 that have been purchased

Most of these are in the 40-60 watt range as far as the light they put out.

I've used 100 watt (equivalent) for my outside lighting, these are the large flood type bulbs, some of these are the dimmable bulbs for motion lights

Make sure what you're buying are for dimmable or non-dimmable applications. Read the package!


I certainly can't complain about what I've been buying

 

I have used LED bulbs for about 9 years. I started out buying them from China. It's been my experience that many of them do last a long time but that the quality control is not that good.

When most people were buying CFLs to replace their old type bulbs, I went straight to the early Chinese LEDs that did not put out much light and used
only a couple watts, because I hated the type of light the CFLs put out and
I don't like being exposed to what's in a CFL when it breaks. I used splitters to mount 2 LEDs in one socket.

Often times I will now buy more modern ones on Amazon but will study the reviews and only purchase multi packs that have a large amount of very good reviews, that are verified purchase. I have been replacing the old LEDs with more modern ones that put out much more light and use about
6-12 watts.

 

I've replaced every light bulb in my house with LED bulbs over the past 10 years. I refused to use those ugly CFL bulbs, so I bit the bullet and spent big $$ for LEDs. I"ve had one fail so far.
My most favorite ones are the LEDs that go on at dusk and off at dawn in my outside light fixtures...I think those are the best thing since sliced bread.

 

I went to LED's (mostly 60watt Daylight Eq.) 5 years ago but not of one manufacturer as I bought just a few initially and than more as I found good buys. I have had only 2 that failed in that time. They were branded ones that cost the most vs the cheaper Chinese multi-packs.

I would say based on my limited experience that LED's last as good as the CFL's that I replaced. I used CFL's for darn near 15 years with only a occasional failure. I do prefer the light I get from the LED's.

One thing I did was ensure most of my LED's were in open fixtures to minimize heat buildup. Especially the ones that are on the most. Heat seems to be a common cause of failure.

 

I have LEDs in every light in the house. Cut my cost down by quite a lot at least 30%.

I now only buy the Ones that say Daylight. I never called for cool or whatever for lighting.

Once I put in the Daylights I haven't had an issue with one going bad.

I have had more than a couple of the CFL's explode or break on me. Vacuum up and disposed

 

That's been my experience too. I've been very happy with the clear halogen bulbs though. Extra light for the given wattage and they seem to last..

 

I put an LED in the main lamp we use in the living room about three months ago. It started flickering a few weeks ago. I thought the lamp had a loose wire or something but it doesn't. I figure the bulb will fail soon and I'll try another. So far, it's the only one that's flickered.

 

I started by putting LED bulbs in fixtures that were hard to access, like ceiling lights. That was about 2015, right about the time I hurt my back. Within about a year everything in the house went LED. Bulb or CF failed? Put in an LED. Haven't replaced one yet.

I buy mostly Phillips brand at Walmart and Lowes. After getting so many bad deals on batteries online, I scrupulously avoid buying bulbs that way.

High failure rate might be caused by dirty power. Spikes, low voltage, high voltage. (I once had to monitor voltage where I lived in Rhode Island. At night it would go as low as 95 volts ! Was causing a regulated power-supply to overheat and shut down.) LED bulbs do have such a power-supply in the base of the bulb. I'm lucky enough to be on a well managed rural power co-op. ymmv

n.b. if it's flickering, make sure it's screwed in all the way. I have a floor lamp that loosened itself up until I made sure it was in nice and snug. No idea why.

 

I started by putting LED bulbs in fixtures that were hard to access, like ceiling lights. That was about 2015, right about the time I hurt my back. Within about a year everything in the house went LED. Bulb or CF failed? Put in an LED. Haven't replaced one yet.

That's what I've been gradually doing around the house... when an incandescent or compact fluorescent bulb goes out, it gets replaced with an LED. So far, I've had no problems with unusually short life spans.

The most recent bulb I had to replace was in this adjustable light fixture mounted over the fireplace, which takes a floodlight type bulb. Getting the old incandescent bulb out of that fixture was tough, I couldn't get a good grip on it because the bulb is recessed into the fixture and it was stuck in the socket, I guess from having been in there for so long. Plus, I was trying to do all this while perched on top of the ladder, because the main living area has a vaulted ceiling.

Anyway, that fixture now has an adjustable LED bulb. Flip the light switch on the first time, it comes on with a bright yellow light. Flip the light switch again, it changes to a daylight bulb. Flip the light switch a third time, it changes to a very soft yellow light.

I hope it lasts a long time, changing out that bulb the last time was nerve-wracking. However, I'm guessing the LED bulb won't get stuck in the socket like the old incandescent bulb, because of the greatly reduced heat factor.

 

All of my failures have been on the row of 6 kitchen overhead lights.

Maybe I need to check the wiring on that switch.

I had 2 other such wiring problems in the house where the idiot didn't tighten the terminal screws on the wall switches.

None of the other LEDs I have installed have failed.

Thanks guys!

 

Can lights? Those get hotter than the surface of the sun when incandescent bulbs are used. You may have heat damage to the center contact, or in the wiring to them. Worth looking at.

Never ceases to amaze me that codes even allow can lights.

 

Many (most?) of the LED bulbs I have bought for my home have failed within a year or two. Nearly every LED bulb in my new 5th wheel trailer failed after two years.

 

Apparently LED bulbs are very susceptible to voltage excursions. They contain sensitive electronics. Even the best regulated power company will have power surges from lightning and other causes.

 

I'm here to tell ya, this is generally true. In my professional career from 1993 to 2009 I was installing German-made high tech stuff. Germany's grid is far better regulated than ours, so I had to add buck-boost transformers and ultimately some 5Kva UPS units to keep our equipment alive. And as I posted earlier, the delivered voltage goes all over the map. Another example is (was) a plant I worked in back in the '70s, where the 440 incoming was seen to hit 500 volts on occasion. That was not spikes. Sometimes we'd see that all day.

 

Wow, I 'm glad to know it's not just me. I understood these bulbs were supposed to last for years. At first I was getting halfway decent mileage out of them but then they started going out within 6-8 months. Now it's more like 2 months if I'm lucky. I recently replaced the bulbs in my lamps, the light bar over the mirror in my bathroom and all the bulbs in my dining room chandalier. About 6 wks later some of my lights started flickering, then going out. I thought I had a wiring problem until it dawned on me it was all the bulbs I had just replaced.

 

You could have a wiring problem that a incandescent bulb can tolerate but an LED cannot.

 

Dollar Tree store has reg med base led bulb 60watt eqiv. for $1

https://www.dollartree.com/warm-white-8-watt-medium-base-led-lightbulbs/244270

I will try when I need bulbs again.

 

Just now pulled the wall switch and checked the connections.
Had 1 loose power wire, and paint totally covering the ground and half of the other power wire, which may or may not have been harming the contact.
paint is removed now and everything is tight. Lights actually look a little brighter, but hard to be sure.

Good chance that was the problem. Time will tell.

 

I've noticed that also, the life of LED or even compact fluorescent bulbs haven't lasted nearly as long as advertised.

For what ever reason it was a bad week for bulbs in my place. 3 went out. All were only about a year old.

 

Contrary to the advertising hype, these new LED light bulbs have a very short service life. I replaced about 15 lights with them and have been constantly replacing them after only a month or 2. I haven't kept track of all the brands, but have tried several brands and all the same. They flicker a while than go out.

This crap about they will last 30 years is not my experience. Just had another one fail yesterday.

Meanwhile I have not had a single light bulb fail in the bathrooms, hallways etc. since I bought the house 11 years ago.

Someone's teardown video.

Two failed LED bulbs for teardown to determine the cause - YouTube

Another failed LED bulb to teardown - YouTube

Dead LED lightbulb teardown to see what failed - YouTube

I'll give you some advice, buy GE or similar known brand. If I ever have one fail earlier than the advertised "life/hour" ratings, I call or email the company customer service about the issue and they send coupons for $10-15 worth of product, good for a purchase up to the price of the coupon (I did this with the CFLs as well). I have a whole cabinet full of new CFLs. You don't get money back, so buy as much as you can up to the max or a little over. All of my "name brand" LEDs have performed exceptional so far. I buy my LED bulbs from Sams Club in the 4 or 8 packs.

 

I buy my LED bulbs from Sams Club in the 4 or 8 packs.

When I built my house, I went with nothing but LED bulbs. I got them all at Sams Club in the 4 or 8 pack. Somewhere around $1 each. No failures in two years. I've since bought some reflector floods and some of those Edison style ones for decorative purposes.

My AVERAGE electric bill is $25/month. The highest I've ever seen it is $35 last month when the furnace was running a lot. 6 watts of actual power is a lot better than using 60 for the same amount of light. They also work fine in zero degree weather where the CFLs suck.

Earlier versions had a high failure rate. At my old place of employment we lost almost 25% of them which the lighting contractor replaced for free.

 

Several of the ones I've purchased have failed prematurely also.
I buy incandescent bulbs when I find them they just work.

 

I started replacing my mercury CFLs with LEDs when the LEDs become less expensive, around $3 each. This was probably 5 years ago, I'd estimate, more or less. I went thru the house and replaced all of the high-usage bulbs with LEDs. A slow transition, getting more LEDs as their prices went down.

I have certain lights that are on probably 12 hours per day (exterior lights). Others that are on probably 15 hours (home office, certain other lights). Some that are on 5-8 hours. Some that are off/on frequently (kitchen, living areas). Some lights are left on 24/7 (such as when I travel). I'd estimate I've got probably 30 LED lights. I think I replaced 1 in 5 years.

I just replaced a CFL over a staircase with 20' valued ceiling. A difficult and dangerous task. I put in an LED. If I get 5 or 10 years out of it I'll be thrilled. Worst light bulb change I've ever had to do.

So, in roughly 5 years, I might have had to replace 1 LED light in total. I think. Otherwise I have not replaced a single one. I have been extremely impressed with their longevity. Replacing incandescent or CFLs was a common chore in the past.

I'm also impressed with the lowered energy useage. My electric bill is noticeably lower.

 

I started replacing my mercury CFLs with LEDs when the LEDs become less expensive, around $3 each. This was probably 5 years ago, I'd estimate, more or less. I went thru the house and replaced all of the high-usage bulbs with LEDs. A slow transition, getting more LEDs as their prices went down.

I have certain lights that are on probably 12 hours per day (exterior lights). Others that are on probably 15 hours (home office, certain other lights). Some that are on 5-8 hours. Some that are off/on frequently (kitchen, living areas). Some lights are left on 24/7 (such as when I travel). I'd estimate I've got probably 30 LED lights. I think I replaced 1 in 5 years.

I just replaced a CFL over a staircase with 20' valued ceiling. A difficult and dangerous task. I put in an LED. If I get 5 or 10 years out of it I'll be thrilled. Worst light bulb change I've ever had to do.

So, in roughly 5 years, I might have had to replace 1 LED light in total. I think. Otherwise I have not replaced a single one. I have been extremely impressed with their longevity. Replacing incandescent or CFLs was a common chore in the past.

I'm also impressed with the lowered energy useage. My electric bill is noticeably lower.

My shop has 20 ft ceilings. I have a tool that cost 10 bucks. It is a pole that holds a bulb and you can turn it to install or replace a bulb. No ladder needed and done in 5 mins.

 

The first LEDs I bought were for my work lights, since every time I dropped an incandescent or CFL the bulb died. It's been about two years and my drop lights still have the same LED bulbs. Replaced all my bulbs with LEDs within the last two years and haven't had to change one yet.
Far as I'm concerned, if they don't blow out in lightening storms or when I drop them they are exactly what I was looking for.
I also put LEDs in all my vehicles including my motorcycles because the stop and signal lights are easier to see in bright sunlight, and all my flashlights and emergency lights also have LEDs. Since I hunt, fish and sometimes hike after dark, I bought headlamps that use LEDs, and since then I've never had to carry spare bulbs like in the old days, and the batteries last MUCH longer.

 

I have also noticed that LED's are a bit unpredictable. Some just fail early while others do fine. I am not sure why.:upsidedown:

 

From the videos I linked it seems that there are like a dozen LEDs on a bulb and they are all wired in series so if 1 fails, the light goes out.

Like anything else, there are probably good suppliers, like CREE, and then there are those nameless ones that come from a part of China that never heard the word quality.

it also seems that LED bulbs are more sensitive to noisy power, caused either by the utility or by a poorly wired switch.

With the help of this thread, it finally dawned on me that all the early failures I had were on the 1 bank of lights. (and by early, I mean 1 or 2 months). And when I checked the wiring, found a loose connection at the switch. A simple incandescent bulb doesn't give a crap about an intermittent contact, but it will purely wreck a semiconductor circuit.

The other LED bulbs I have had zero failures in 1 year of intermittent service so far.

 

Some LED bulbs are shaped so they do not screw all of the way into a deeper socket, so the middle contact doesn't make contact, so there's not a complete circuit, so the bulb obviously does not light up. These same bulbs, the base gets very, very hot when used in a lamp or whatever that it actually fits in. These are the super cheap bulbs with the smooth bases you can get at Ace. I truly believe they're a safety and fire hazard... I actually burned my fingers on one even after it had been out of the lamp over 2 hours

I really liked the expensive LED bulbs with the "vanes" that dissipate heat that I got at Ace when the LED bulbs first hit the market. The year I replaced all my big 40W incandescent lamp bulbs in the outdoor Christmas decorations with them, they paid for themselves in energy savings . After 4 years of use in cold, wet, icy, snowy conditions, they started to die. Considering I got something over 3600 hours out of each bulb, and saved a bunch on the Christmas electric bills, even after figuring the cost of the replacement bulbs, I'm not unhappy.

Now, the question is, will the good LED bulbs generate enough heat to keep the ice and snow from building up on the outdoor Christmas decorations here where it gets a lot colder and the wind chill is a lot worse? Guess I'll find out when I have my own place and can put up the outdoor decorations again :

 

Now, the question is, will the good LED bulbs generate enough heat to keep the ice and snow from building up on the outdoor Christmas decorations here where it gets a lot colder and the wind chill is a lot worse? Guess I'll find out when I have my own place and can put up the outdoor decorations again :

Ha ha, that's an important consideration!

I switched to LED Christmas lights years ago. I've never noticed an issue with ice build up, but then again I don't live in a region where the temps typically remain well below freezing for an extended period of time. :

 

I have better luck with LED fixtures (bulbs aren’t horrible) and have changed out many of my light fixtures to the new warm spectrum LED fixtures that seem much sturdier than the LED bulbs!

SD