# My LED Bulbs Keep Burning Out?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 7, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196 "2015-01-07T04:44:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/1 "2015-01-07T04:44:00Z")
Probably like the rest of you, I am adapting to the discontinuation of incandescent bulbs as best I can. But there is just one problem. I keep buying LED bulbs (which should be good quality–and look like regular bulbs, for all intents and purposes). And they keep burning out on me. Not in a matter of hours, perhaps. Maybe in a matter of months, I suppose.
I might as well tell you all. I live in Detroit. And my house was built in 1946. It originally belonged to a Jewish couple, call them the B’s. And then my parents bought in, probably in the late 1960’s.
I don’t think the fixtures in my house are c. 70 years old though. They do look more modern than that. (Although actually, my whole house looks very modern. People are surprised when I tell them it was built in 1946.)
The base of the bulbs are a little hot, when I take them out. But I do follow the recommended wattage on the box of the LED’s. And I think if there was a fire hazard, it would be apparent by now (I would never post a question about a life-and-death situation, of course).
So what could be wrong?
:):):)🙂
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/2 "2015-01-07T04:57:35Z")
What brand are you buying?
I only buy Cree’s, and I write the date on each lamp when it is installed, and save the receipt and UPC, since they have a 3-year warranty. So far, I’ve had no failures.
You might want to have your voltage checked, to see if it’s particularly high or low.
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### Author:  [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/3 "2015-01-07T05:03:40Z")
the base will get warm due to the electronics inside.
what brand of bulbs?
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### Author:  [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/4 "2015-01-07T05:10:44Z")
> [@johnpost](#):
>
> the base will get warm due to the electronics inside.
>
> what brand of bulbs?
I typically buy GE, which should be pretty good, I should think.
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### Author:  [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/5 "2015-01-07T05:14:27Z")
I think it has less to do with your home’s electrical circuitry and more with the quality of the LED lights themselves. It would help if you named the brand(s) you’re using. They are not all the same and have standards of quality just like all electronics. My best guess is that the LEDs you’re using don’t have a proper heat sink and are “burning out” prematurely. More so if you’re using the lights in a sealed enclosure.
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### Author:  [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/6 "2015-01-07T05:18:16Z")
I’m gonna go ahead and blame the Jews.
Seriously now…as you know, you can still buy incandescent bulbs, as well as long-lasting compact fluorescents. Do the other types of bulbs seem to burn out quickly too? Correct me if I’m wrong but if there are voltage problems it should affect all types of bulbs, right?
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### Author:  [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/7 "2015-01-07T05:25:32Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#):
>
> I think it has less to do with your home’s electrical circuitry and more with the quality of the LED lights themselves. It would help if you named the brand(s) you’re using. They are not all the same and have standards of quality just like all electronics. My best guess is that the LEDs you’re using don’t have a proper heat sink and are “burning out” prematurely. More so if you’re using the lights in a sealed enclosure.
I think I usu. buy GE’s, as I said. Or whatever the grocery store has (but I just looked at all the bulbs I bought–and they are all GE, sure enough).
There’s another strange thing I’ve noticed. I buy these fluorescent bulbs, from Dollar Tree. And they last much longer than the LED’s. The only problem with them, is I can’t fit them in all my light fixtures.
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### Author:  [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/8 "2015-01-07T05:36:01Z")
I saw your response of GE brand LEDs after I made my post. At least they are a brand name so let’s give them the benefit of doubt:p
I still think high heat is the cause of your LEDs failing. You’re sure you’re using the correct lumens-rated lights in the appropriate wattage-rated sockets?
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### Author:  [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/9 "2015-01-07T05:37:58Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#):
>
> You’re sure you’re using the correct lumens-rated lights in the appropriate wattage-rated sockets?
The light bulbs in the socket were always 75 watts, I believe. And so I use 53 watt, LED, which is I believe what is recommended.
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### Author:  [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/10 "2015-01-07T06:02:38Z")
LEDs are not rated in Watts, rather in lumens. Is there a lumens rating?
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### Author:  [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/11 "2015-01-07T06:19:00Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#):
>
> LEDs are not rated in Watts, rather in lumens. Is there a lumens rating?
Well, it says “uses only 53 watts”. But since you asked, it also says “790 lumens”. Boy, I really need to learn up on this subject, don’t I?
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### Author:  [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/12 "2015-01-07T06:19:05Z")
I went to the GE sight to look for you LEDs and could not find bulbs with your stated rating, but I did find this: [http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=CONSUMERSPECPAGE&PRODUCTCODE=63008](http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=CONSUMERSPECPAGE&PRODUCTCODE=63008) Are these the lights you’re using? Because they’re not LEDs, but halogen bulbs. They are estimated to last
> [@](#):
>
> Lasts 0.9 years based on 3 hours per day usage
Their LEDs have a 10-year limited warranty, BTW.
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### Author:  [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/13 "2015-01-07T06:24:17Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#):
>
> Well, it says “uses only 53 watts”. But since you asked, it also says “790 lumens”.
Now I’m almost certain you are not using GE’s LEDs. It sounds like you’re using the halogen bulbs I linked to in my previous post. They are energy-efficient bulbs, i.e. uses 53 Watts to output the equivalent of 75 Watts worth of luminosity.
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### Author:  [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/14 "2015-01-07T06:35:53Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#):
>
> The light bulbs in the socket were always 75 watts, I believe. And so I use 53 watt, LED, which is I believe what is recommended.
An LED that is equivalent to a 75 watt incandescent would use 13 to 15 watts. I don’t think they sell any LEDs that use 53 watts for regular home consumer use. Such a monster would probably cost hundreds of dollars and blind you.
Looking at the GE web page, I agree with **Saturn Dreams** that you are almost certainly using halogen bulbs.
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### Author:  [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/15 "2015-01-07T06:40:16Z")
What you want is [one of these](http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cree-75W-Equivalent-Soft-White-2700K-A19-Dimmable-LED-Light-Bulb-BA19-11027OMF-12DE26-1U100/204715054).
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### Author:  [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/16 "2015-01-07T06:55:55Z")
All I can say, is I buy whatever they have, be they LED’s, halogen or whatever. Also, since I am a relative newbie (if that’s the right word) when it comes to electronic issues, I use the word “LED” as a very broad (and perhaps inaccurate, I now realize) term.
Btw, it does say “.9 Year Life” on the package. So could burning out after a couple of months, in fact, be normal? (Although I could swear they sometimes burn out only after a much shorter time, say a month or two.)
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### Author:  [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/17 "2015-01-07T08:15:18Z")
If these are indeed the bulbs you are using, the [reviews on Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/GE-Lighting-63008-Energy-Efficient-replacement/dp/B0057EZHUC) are mixed. The good reviews talk about the nice colour of the light, but the several bad reviews all talk about early failure. Seems like it’s a common problem with this product.
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### Author:  [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/18 "2015-01-07T08:59:13Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#):
>
> All I can say, is I buy whatever they have, be they LED’s, halogen or whatever. Also, since I am a relative newbie (if that’s the right word) when it comes to electronic issues, I use the word “LED” as a very broad (and perhaps inaccurate, I now realize) term.
It’s not “perhaps” inaccurate, it’s totally wrong. Being a “newbie” doesn’t excuse it.
That said, halogen incandescents eke out a bit more efficiency by running the filament at a higher temperature. If the quality control is spotty then I could see that they’d be more likely to fail.
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### Author:  [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/19 "2015-01-07T10:51:10Z")
I used halogens for a while but rarely got more than a year out of them. I switched to CEFs to save money, but they were horrible - slow to ‘warm up’ gradually losing efficiency and still a short life. Now I now use LEDs everywhere I can and I like the (instant) light and the minimal power use. I don’t like the up front cost, but I can live with that if they last as long as they are supposed to.
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### Author:  [@Doughbag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doughbag)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2015, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-led-bulbs-keep-burning-out/709196/20 "2015-01-07T11:23:44Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#):
>
> LEDs are not rated in Watts, rather in lumens. Is there a lumens rating?
ALL bulbs are rated in lumen and the wattage they use.
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