Why LED lamps burn out

Do you change bulbs too often? Seriously, this question is hardly asked by those who use incandescent lamps in the old fashioned way. Indeed, incandescent lamps cost a penny, and there is no problem in replacing a burnt out bulb with a new one. If a person does not care about the energy saving problem, then everything is in order, he does not experience inconvenience.

But what about those people who have already switched to LED lamps? What if, for example, a zealous owner, deciding to take care of energy conservation, put LED bulbs at home, and they burn out all the time?

In this case, you have to forget about saving, because LED lamps are quite expensive compared to the same incandescent bulbs. This is where a person is faced with a real problem.

So why not eliminate the cause of regular burnout of LED lamps? Of course, it is worth eliminating it, but first you need to identify this reason. Let's figure out what causes most often lead to the burnout of LED lamps.

Miser pays twice

The main reason why LED lamps fail is the poor quality of the LED lamp itself. In order to attract consumers with a low price, unscrupulous manufacturers make LED bulbs bright, beautiful, but short-lived. Such lamps shine brightly on a demonstration stand, but are completely unsuitable for long-term long-term work.

They lack reliable current stabilization and protection against increased mains voltage. When the supply voltage jumps for some reason, the current through the LED crystals increases excessively, while the lamp shines quite brightly and impressively, but the crystal in this mode quickly degrades. The result is predictable - the lamp will soon burn out.

And some manufacturers specifically adjust the visual characteristics of their LED lamps so that they shine brightly even at normal supply voltages. But at what cost is this achieved?

In order not to make the product more expensive, not to install more powerful LEDs, not to use LEDs with a more giving phosphor, they simply adjust the voltage stabilization in the lamp so that the LEDs shine at full strength, without safety margin.

As a result, the LEDs shine very brightly, while overheating, and again quickly fail in this mode. Thus, the life of an inexpensive but bright LED lamp is doomed to be short-lived. And is it worth talking about the low quality of soldering in cheap LED lamps, where the installation technology is obviously violated ...

The cause may be sparking.

Suppose you are not trying to save at all costs, and you are buying high-quality branded LED bulbs. And now for the second time in the same chandelier, in the same lamp, an expensive bulb orders a long life almost immediately after installation.

Here the reason may lie in the poor connection of hidden conductors. Check the condition of the wire connections in the junction box and at other connection points, especially near the switch and cartridge. Check the cartridge and switch themselves. There should be no burnt contacts, no blackened twists.

If symptoms are found, then solder the damaged twists or install quality terminal blocks. Clean the charred contacts of the cartridge so that nothing sparks anywhere. If necessary, replace the cartridge with irreversibly damaged contacts.

No need to turn on - turn off LED lamps too often

In principle, any LED manufacturer will assure you that the number of times the LED is turned on and off will not affect its lifespan.Meanwhile, for a low-quality LED bulb, this indicator is very, very critical.

If you press the switch button several times a day, while the LED bulb is cheap Chinese with poor ballast, then from regular current surges it will fail very quickly.

Illuminated switches also adversely affect the performance of lamps with electronic ballast. If you decide to switch to LED lamps, then it is better to refuse a conventional switch with a backlight, or simply remove the backlight in the switch, otherwise abnormal lamp starts are possible, and accordingly, unacceptable modes of electronic ballast operation.

There may be a problem in the power supply

If we are talking about low-voltage LED lamps, like those that are installed in spotlights, they are powered by LED driver or from a power supply, which itself acts as an electronic ballast.

When the power of the driver or power supply is not selected correctly, the LEDs may burn out for two reasons: either the connection diagram of the LEDs is incorrect, or the power of the driver is lower than necessary. It is advisable to take a power supply with a power reserve of 15-20%, otherwise the power supply itself can quickly order a long life.

See also on our website:

How to properly install and connect LED ceiling lights