# LED Bulbs and Garage Door Openers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 24, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842 "2020-12-24T20:17:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![19USMC69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ac91a4/32.png) [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842/1 "2020-12-24T20:17:32Z")
Garage door openers usually include sockets for light bulbs. What is it about using regular LEDs that can cause interference with the remote operation of openers? The LEDs specifically for openers are considerably more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Sensitive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/58956e/32.png) [@Darth\_Sensitive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Sensitive)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842/2 "2020-12-24T20:32:02Z")
Is it LED bulb interference with the opener, or is it that the heavy vibration of the garage door opener vastly accelerates the death of a standard bulb. (That was my vague recollection from last time I had to do a replacement of a garage door bulb). ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842/3 "2020-12-24T20:33:12Z")
I’ve been using regular household LED bulbs in my Chamberlain for years with no issues at all. ---
**Author:** ![19USMC69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ac91a4/32.png) [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842/4 "2020-12-24T20:41:58Z")
I was told by a garage door opener serviceman the issue has to do with the operation remote operation. Some kind of frequency conflict. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842/5 "2020-12-24T22:10:18Z")
LED lamps use “switching” regulators which generate high-frequency RF interference. In theory, they might reduce the range of the remote control, but I’ve never seen an issue. ---
**Author:** ![19USMC69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ac91a4/32.png) [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842/6 "2020-12-24T23:04:03Z")
Thank you. We have been having problems with our remotes. I just removed the “regular” LEDs and replaced them with ones that are supposedly designed for openers. In a few days I will post my experience. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842/7 "2020-12-24T23:19:02Z")
Huh. I, too, am using regular household LED bulbs in my garage door openers. I think. Unless the bulbs are so old they are compact fluourescent. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842/8 "2020-12-25T01:14:14Z")
I’ve been using regular LED bulbs in my Lift-Master for years with no issues at all. Well, one issue really. The early LED bulbs had larger bases than most of the current models. They didn’t screw into the socket quite far enough for good contact and would blink when the door operated. I had to reach in and pull up the center contact for a better connection. No issues since. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842/9 "2020-12-25T01:19:13Z")
Modern LEDs are fine in modern garage door openers. It was CFLs that that didn’t work in garage doors openers. CFLs were to fragile it seems. Also generally poor for use in the cold also. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842/10 "2020-12-25T01:24:24Z")
LED bullbs _do_ interfere with garage door opener remotes. _However_ when you use your remote, the garage is generally closed and the LED bulbs _in the opener_ are off == no inteference. Or if you’re leaving, the garage door is open so your remote signal closing the garage door is strong enough to overcome the LED bulbs interference. If I turn on the other LED tubes in my garage, forget they’re on and leave the house closing the garage door, when I return my garage door remote doesn’t work because of the interference from the _other_ LEDs not in the opener housing plus the aluminum door providing extra shielding making things worse. TLDR: it’s complex. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842/11 "2020-12-25T01:33:18Z")
This one’s just _killing it_ in our GDO: > **[Genie Light Bulb-60 Watt (800 Lumens) -Made to Minimize Interference (Compatible...](https://www.amazon.com/Genie-Bulb-60-Minimize-Interference-Compatible/dp/B01IHHVZTW)** > > Genie Light Bulb-60 Watt (800 Lumens) -Made to Minimize Interference (Compatible with All Major Brands) – LEDB1-R LED Garage Door Opener Bulb, 1 Count (Pack of 1) - - Amazon.com ---
**Author:** ![19USMC69](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ac91a4/32.png) [@19USMC69](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/19USMC69)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/led-bulbs-and-garage-door-openers/928842/13 "2020-12-27T19:27:37Z")
This is a follow-up to my initial post. Last year I started replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs, to include the two in our GDO. While I did not make the connection, we started having trouble with the remote operation of our GDO. Well, after replacing the two in our opener with LEDs designed for such usage the problem is no more. As noted in previous posts, standard LEDs definitely can conflict with GDO operation.