How Long Do LED Light Bulbs Last?

Switching to LED light bulbs is hugely worthwhile. Why? Because this light source is renowned for being incredibly long-lasting.

LED light bulbs now have an average lifespan of up to 25,000 hours. Here are just a few more reasons why you should invest in energy efficient LED today.

The huge lifespan of LED light bulbs is one of their biggest advantages, which is made all the more impressive when compared to the life-cycles of other technologies.

Incandescent – 1,000 hours
Halogen – 2,000 hours
Compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) – 15,000 hours

While LED technology is typically a little more expensive, however as they become more popular, the price has rapidly come in-line with other technologies, coupled with the fact they use far less electricity than other light sources and don’t need replacing as often makes them a solid investment.

So what is the average rated life?
LEDs don’t burn out like incandescent light bulbs but like all electrical equipment, failures can happen before the average-rated life has been reached, a manufacturer will assign the average rated life based upon the amount of usage observed before failure. At least 50% of the light bulbs are expected to last this long.

So only half my LED light bulbs will last the claimed lifespan?
Yes and no! The light bulbs on average will last at least half of their rated life, however, 50% will last much longer, manufacturers will assign a replacement guarantee for light bulbs that perform below the average rated life and for cases where a light bulb fails excessively early.

Usage per day
The amount of time LED light bulbs are in use per day will differ from home to home but you can judge the average lifespan you’ll get from yours based on the usage estimations below.

4 hours a day – 17.1 years
7 hours a day – 9.7 years
12 hours a day – 5.7 years
(based on an LED with an average-rated lifespan of 25,000 hours)

What else affects their lifespan?
In some cases, LEDs won’t always last the average amount of time specified due to a range or combination of additional factors, including:

Surrounding temperature – Hot surrounding temperatures can shorten the lifespan
Electrical stress – Running LED on higher currents than required can shorten the lifespan
Chip fitted? – LED with constant current chips fitted combat shortened lifespans
Heat-sink – LED with well-designed heat-sinks combat shortened lifespans