Are your LED light bulbs failing too soon?

Four Xmases ago I treated myself to an LED to fit in my bedside light.
It made the light top-heavy and I soon knocked it over and broke the globe. £13 down the drain, I thought-but the lamp still worked. Deciding that the vertical shards of glass made it unsuitable for its original purpose, I put it in the outside light and left it on.
It’s still working 35,000 hours later. I put its longevity down to not switching it on and off

I bought 11 GreenWorld GU10 3.5w 280 lumen 5000k LEDs in September 2012 and all are working satisfactorally. Eight of these went in the bathroom and from the old 60w bulb giving not enough light there is now perhaps too much light – using only 28w total! In fitting six in the ceiling from the roof space I dropped one on the hard stone tiled floor – i.e. from seven feet – that bulb is still working! From the box the expected life is 40,000 hrs. They are on for perhaps 3 hours a day on average, so I have another 34 years to go before I know whether I’ve got my money’s worth! The bulbs cost £9.50 each. Part code: GWGU10B3W1BDND. I’m delighted with them.

I considered replacing my 8-year-old kitchen downlighters (still going strong) with energy-saving alternatives. However, I was told that the replacements would give a much lower level of light and, as an elder lemon, I need as much light as I can get!

Also, I was disappointed to find that in your recent Which? report on light bulbs, there was no mention of a 100W equivalent.

If anyone is replacing MR16 bulbs rather than GU10s, bear in mind that you might have to change the transformer to match. I didn’t and one of my multi-LED bulbs lost a few LEDs soon after installation.

All six of the GU10s I brought for my kitchen from IKEA, have failed after less than 18 months and definitely no where near 10000 hrs use as promoted.

I started using Loxa GU10 605W (£12.50 ea) from a local wholesaler in 2012 and they are gradually failing after nearly 3 yrs. Lasting far less that the halogen lamps they replaced but saving electricity.
However the more expensive Halers I bought for my lounge & dining room (dimable lamps with holder/transformer were £41 with 7 yr guarantee) are still going strong.
I’m replacing Loxa with LumiLife (£8) from LEDhut. Let’s see how they do.

In his introduction, Matt wrote: “We also tested 185 of those 410 bulbs for a longer period – all of them claimed to last at least 15,000 hours, but 69 (37%) had failed by that point.”

If there was one brand that was failing prematurely, a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority might be upheld. Is there any legal action that can be taken to stop manufacturers in general from making unsubstantiated claims?

Following bad experiences with LED bulbs, I will now only fit LED bulbs that are LOW voltage and run from a transformer built into the light fitting or remotely. My own finding is that most LED bulbs fail because the heat generated by the voltage reduction transformer built into the base cause the failures. LED bulbs without this run much cooler and do last.

As someone who is struggling to purchase suitable energy efficient bulbs that give out a really good light (bulb shaped not stick or other shapes), I am not impressed by the comments on here or the Which report itself on using LEDs. I have been using Energy efficient bulbs for nearly 20 years and I despair that the design and level of light are both becoming poorer as time goes on. The only CFL that gives out a decent light equal to 130watt is expensive and 2 have failed me in 2 years despite longevity claims. Halogen gives off a weird light in a main living area and who dreamed up those spiral ones!
Still hoping my latest purchase lasts as it looks as though LED s are not holding out great hopes for me ( PS 2 of my bedroom bulbs have been in use for 20 years ,They don’t make them like thy used to it seems)

I too have slowly been changing to the house from halogen to LED lighting. After a few false starts with colour selection they work well. I have found Phlips bulbs reliable but cheaper products from Clas Olson less so. Bulbs have lasted in one case just 24hours and in another just two months before failing. CFLs produce a horrible light and I have a box of them that are free to a good home! I am concerned if halogen lights are completely banned as there are many lighting fitments that would become unusable as LEDs would not fit the bill.
The cost of this changeover is huge and is being funded by the householder. Many dimmers will no longer work with LEDs and need to be replaced when LEDs are fitted. I do wonder how people with little or no engineering background manage. Good business for electricians I suppose.
I have seen a noticeable reduction in my electrical consumption.

Dear Which, i have saved the failed bulb if you would be interested in taking it to bits for a post mortem?

Hi all, I recently bought some 12 volt SMD (Surface Mounted Diodes) and they have less electronics in them and are cheaper at £1.70 each (in 10’s) These are running along side expensive but similar bulbs. I will update this if ther are any failures.
I have moved across to GU 10 fitting 5 watt SMD and these have been working OK for 6 months.
Roy

Most LED’s are mass produced cheaply made crap being passed off as something they are not by clever marketing people. Anyone else get bombarded with discount offers from online LED companies? Think you are genuinely getting a good deal or discount? Stop falling for it, stop being cheap skates and go and buy your LED’s from genuine experts and proper companies.

[This comment has been edited to remove promotional links. Please read our community guidelines. Thanks, mods.]

About half of the LED bulbs I’ve installed have failed within 6 to 9 months (by actual hours of use, typically around 1/15th the rated life). In most cases, this has been within the warranty period. I have returned the most expensive ones for replacement, but had to pay postage.

Ian Malone ,while wishing to believe what everyone says about LED lamps i personally wish to add that blaming the lamps sometimes seems out of proportion when the system as a whole is not looked at.
Rarely are switches changed ,these degrade with time causing arcing and surely would cause electronic problems, then there is the problem with the size of the switch , yes a lamp runs on a low wattage but start up is sometimes much higher, then you then have to question cable size and circuit design, as an electrician of more years than I wish to remember, many faults I have seen are caused by related items and take time to find. Sometimes the fault can be traced to another issue, I am sure in all domestic situations owners never buy non compliant portable equipment or forget to check dates on service plans and check for recalls on their white goods. We want to believe that its cheap bulbs but maybe we are cutting corners and passing blame.

I fitted 6 Megaman Modo GU10 dimmable LEDs in my kitchen last September 2015. This part of the house is generally darker so these lights are on for a good part of the day. Hence the use of the low wattage LEDs. To date 4 of the 6 LEDs have failed completely. I estimate they have lasted only just over 4000 hours at the very most – a far cry from the 25000 hours displayed on the packaging. It’s appalling that manufacturers can make such outrageous claims.

One reason why CFLs can fail is using non-dimmable ones with a dimmer, though some dimmable CFLs are available. After I moved home I had one go bang and set off the smoke alarm nearby. That encouraged me to buy some LED bulbs for the house and so far I’ve only had one that has caused radio interference.

It’s generally recommended that LED lighting is used with dimmers intended for the purpose. Older dimmers are often not capable of working with loads of less than 40-60W, though that can be fudged by leaving one incandescent bulb in the set served by the dimmer. It is generally advised that LEDs are used dimmers designed for the purpose than the older type that have been in common use since the 70s. Sometimes these are referred to as ‘trailing edge’ dimmers, whereas the older type are ‘leading edge’ dimmers. The new ones are more expensive, though I am not sure why this is.

I wonder if the use of older dimmers is a factor in premature failure. Has anyone experience of this?

Newer designs of LED lamps have the LEDs separate from the electronics. There are various examples, but the most obvious is the ‘filament’ LED, where the electronics are in the base. This means that the electronic components will be less subject to heat emitted by the LEDs than earlier designs, hopefully resulting in greater reliability.

In the past few months I have installed over 30 LED lamps of various shapes and sizes. Only one has caused interference and that has been consigned to the downstairs toilet because I could not be bothered to return it. All of the lamps are still working, though it is early days and the receipts are there in case I have to ask the local retailer to replace failed lamps.

For some time I have been wondering if incorrect use of dimmers might be a reason for premature failure.

1. Although the packaging of LEDs shows whether the lamps are dimmable or not, the lamps are not generally marked with this information or it is in small print, so non-dimmable lamps could easily be used on circuits with a dimmer. (Maybe other people don’t move lamps around to find out which type is best in different fixtures and rooms, but I do.)

2. It is generally recommended that LED lamps are used with dimmers designed for this type of lamp – technically known as trailing edge dimmers.

I wondered what would happen if I tested a dimmable LED lamp on a standard dimmer, the sort that have been used for years with old fashioned bulbs and halogen bulbs. I carried out a test using a dimmable LED that had been in daily use for a month. The dimmer worked fine, so I left it on at intermediate brightness. After half an hour the lamp (GU10 Philips spot) failed. I was in the room at the time and there was no flickering or or overheating. Obviously it would not make sense to conclude that use of the wrong sort of dimmer can cause failure of LED lamps, based on a single experiment, but it would be interesting to know if others have had this experience.

It would be good to see an update to the 2014 LED lifetime testing to see if things have improved and whether paying more or buying well know brands makes any difference. My own experience with about 25 LED bulbs of various makes is that about half have last less that 6 months. It also seems that some types (not brands) last longer than others eg GU10s last appreciably loger than B15s.

Not for the first time I have been let down with a LED bulb buy. The one I use in my desk lamp, on for about 6 hours a day was purchased in Oct 2014 (16 months use or around 3000 hours) failed last week. It was a R50 LED 5W E14 spot bulb with a 30000 hour life but both the supplier (a Amazon Market Place trader) & the manufacturer states that it has only a 2 year warranty.
My response was immediate & forthright given that 2 years warranty could only give you 17520 hours of use if left on all the time. I pointed out firstly this lamp was purchased specifically for its low energy consumption & savings. Clearly two years usage is neither a cost saving or indeed environmentally sustainable. Secondly where does the two year warranty come from, the Sale of Goods Act refers to merchantable quality & fit for use & supersedes any time limit that they had imposed. All in all a poor product & we should be able to identify & public shame such sharp practice.

The March 2017 issue of Which? magazine includes a review of LED bulbs. I see no mention of poor reliability or radio interference. Maybe these problems are becoming less common, but I wonder how long the lamps claimed to deliver the light output equivalent to an old fashioned 100 W lamp would last. If only the manufacturers/retailers would offer a decent guarantee rather than making fabulous claims for their products I would be more convinced.

I’m pleased to see reference to dimmers and the fact that they may need to be replaced with LED-compatible types.

Just over 2 years ago I purchased 10 GU10 LED LumiLite (not cheap) lamps 4.5W. 2 failed after 15-18 months ( replaced free by supplier) and another has just failed after 27 months. 30% failure way earlier than promised lifetime. One problem is that 12 LED flush spots I have in our kitchen are now of various different designs and inconsistent brightness/colour because designs keep changing. LumiLife now give 5 year warranty but seems doubtful that most will last that long. Bought a DIALL GU10 LED bulb today and specification says 15000 hours life – not even average hours life – are they guaranteeing 15000 hours ? It seems to me that the technology has been introduced before it is proven and ready.