# Light Bulb Longevity Question **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 24, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755 "2015-05-24T23:04:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/21 "2015-05-28T15:39:25Z")
Plus a frosted bulb might be preferable, for more diffuse light. ---
**Author:** ![Obnoxious\_Hood\_Ornament](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Obnoxious\_Hood\_Ornament](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obnoxious_Hood_Ornament)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/22 "2015-05-28T17:15:21Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Which are dimmer, redder, and even less efficient than regular incandescents! > Win all around! … but have a tendency to last for a decade or longer as opposed to their 120V counterparts. I think OP values that most. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/23 "2015-05-28T18:49:57Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > When the incandescent light bulb ban was about to go into effect, I stocked up on 100 Watt bulbs. I figured I had purchased enough to last my natural life. Or at least, until the LED technology was mature enough and cheap enough that I would be happy with those, and wouldn’t have to resort to the damnable curly CFLs that I loathe so much. My question is, why did you try to skirt the ban? Did you have a valid reason or you were simply against the government banning things? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/24 "2015-05-28T19:14:21Z")
He said that he doesn’t like CFLs. A lot of people don’t like them. But they’ve gotten better, and the LED bulbs have also gotten better and also cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/25 "2015-05-28T20:20:39Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > My question is, why did you try to skirt the ban? Did you have a valid reason or you were simply against the government banning things? Partly because I hate the flicker, the slow startup, the toxic chemicals in them, and the quality of light they give off. But also because I hate when the government tells me what to do “for my own good.” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/26 "2015-05-28T21:17:19Z")
Do you also refuse to eat vegetables because it’s “for your own good”? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/27 "2015-05-28T21:29:22Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Partly because I hate the flicker, the slow startup, the toxic chemicals in them, and the quality of light they give off. Yep, and those things were gone except in the earliest or the cheapest. You can get LED or CFL bulbs that you cant tell from incandescent- based on the light they give off. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/28 "2015-05-28T23:43:24Z")
FWIW - I was on the board of the condo association where I used to live. We had volunteers that replaced light bulbs - instead of paying $75 for the property management place to do so. I don’t remember the exact number of bulbs we had (inside we’re small U shaped fluorescent - outside halogens spotlight) - but well over 100 of the fluorescent. I ran up projections on the total costs based on estimated lifetime and we bought the cheapest U Shaped fluorescents we could find. I was pleasantly surprised that these bulbs - I believe probably close to 90% - maybe more - exceeded their estimated life. Granted these were on 24/7 - and I don’t know if any switching on and off causes wear and tear. In personal use - it seems like some bulbs last much longer than others. I have a couple 1910 style Edison bulbs (no hour rating on package) at 40 watts that haven’t ever burned out and I believe I’ve had for at least three years while 60 watts that are used at the same time were replaced probably 10 times or more. I know that lower wattage tend to last longer (I believe the one in that firehouse in the Guinness book is a 7w bulb), but I don’t know if it’s linear or not. I’ve only rather recently switched to CFL, Hue, and other led/fluorescent type bulbs for personal use - and haven’t had enough experience on them to comment. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/29 "2015-05-28T23:53:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yep, and those things were gone except in the earliest or the cheapest. > > You can get LED or CFL bulbs that you cant tell from incandescent- based on the light they give off. Yes - the quality of light has vastly improved. They even have bulbs now that follow (at least in concept): > **[Kruithof curve](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kruithof_curve)** > > The Kruithof curve describes a region of illuminance levels and color temperatures that are often viewed as comfortable or pleasing to an observer. The curve was constructed from psychophysical data collected by Dutch physicist Arie Andries Kruithof, though the original experimental data is not present on the curve itself. Lighting conditions within the bounded region were empirically assessed as being pleasing or natural, whereas conditions outside the region were considered uncomfortable, di... Which is what I think bothers many people, but the aren’t aware of the concept. I am extremely anal about my lighting - and even have the official color swatches used by NIST for calculating CRI (although I don’t use them for that purpose). If you want something that emulates incandescent - make sure you look for 2700k on the box (almost all have the color temperature). If you want something that can be dimmed - it won’t look like incandescent unless you buy something more expensive that has a range of color temperatures. Even then it doesn’t exactly emulate the same curve - as the ones I have can’t be dimmed as far as incandescent can, but over the range that it can - it looks very close. If you are getting some for the kitchen or somewhere else where you might have existing fluorescent - check that bulbs color temperature (usually on bulb itself) and try and match. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2015, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/30 "2015-05-29T10:54:46Z")
I can still get regular IC bulbs by me, people seem to have what they need of them and they have not moved. But halogens seem to work just as good as IC. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/31 "2015-05-31T13:55:40Z")
welp, just had my first dead LED bulb. it’s an older Philips 5 watt (25W equivalent) which I put into one of the hall lights in my apartment building after I didn’t need it anymore. been on continuously for 3.5 years. 30k+ hours out of a bulb rated for 25k ain’t too shabby. and unlike the CFLs I’ve had fail, there was no smoke or popping. I think the diode(s) just got bored with life. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/32 "2015-05-31T15:19:00Z")
I wonder if that LED bulb lasted longer because it was on continuously? Do repeated on/off cycles reduce the life of LED bulbs? ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/33 "2015-05-31T17:49:02Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I wonder if that LED bulb lasted longer because it was on continuously? Do repeated on/off cycles reduce the life of LED bulbs? LEDs last a long time. When is the last time you saw one go out in a cable box or something else? Granted these are much higher power, but very rarely do LEDs go out. I was told at the last lighting convention I attended that the ones (led bulbs) that do go out - are usually do to the electronics regulating the voltage rather than the LED itself. I have no other source than this, but I suspect it is true. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/34 "2015-05-31T17:56:40Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I wonder if that LED bulb lasted longer because it was on continuously? Do repeated on/off cycles reduce the life of LED bulbs? Not that I’m aware of. It will shorten the life of a CFL though. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755/35 "2015-05-31T18:37:32Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > LEDs last a long time. When is the last time you saw one go out in a cable box or something else? Granted these are much higher power, but very rarely do LEDs go out. I was told at the last lighting convention I attended that the ones (led bulbs) that do go out - are usually do to the electronics regulating the voltage rather than the LED itself. I have no other source than this, but I suspect it is true. I’m not sure that observation is relevant, due to the very low power used in indicator lights as compared to illumination lights. According to the [Arrhenius](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrhenius_equation) model, degradation rates accelerate exponentially with higher temperatures and power levels. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/light-bulb-longevity-question/720755.md?page=1)