LED Lighting Fairy Tales
There are a number of manufacturers that claim their LED lights will last 10+ years. This is actually misleading.
LED Lights will last 10 years!
Although this is probably true for the actual LEDs themselves, prospective buyers need to be aware that there is also an electrical component or “driver” associated with each LED light fixture. LEDs operate on DC power, so the function of the driver is to convert electricity from our AC power grid to DC. The problem is the driver will fail long before the LEDs. Be aware of manufacturers that claim their LEDs will last ten years or more. I have seen companies make this 10 year claim, but only warranty their product for 2 or 3 years. Why? Because the driver will fail. When this happens, the whole LED fixture fails.
LED Lights do not generate heat!
Thermal management is critical to the life of an LED fixture. LEDs are actually small semiconductor chips which generate heat at their “junction” point. This heat must be dissipated away from the LED to allow it to operate with maximum efficiency. A number of factors can contribute to the overall heat generated by a LED fixture. These include efficiency of the driver, power quality and total harmonic distortion of the input voltage, and external temperature of the environment, to name a few. Below are some quotes from some top quality LED manufacturers:
“Proper thermal management is imperative to keep the LED emitter package below its rated operating temperature.” Phillips
“The majority of LED failure mechanisms are temperature dependent. Elevated junction temperatures cause light output reduction and accelerated chip degradation.”
Cree
“In order to achieve reliability and optimal performance a proper thermal management design is absolutely necessary.”
Osram Sylvania
The bottom line is the LED light fixture must have an effective heat transfer system to insure the light will perform properly. A happy LED is a cool LED!