# Reverse Polarity on LED bulbs? Worst case scenario.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reverse-polarity-on-led-bulbs-worst-case-scenario/825356>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 30, 2018, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reverse-polarity-on-led-bulbs-worst-case-scenario/825356 "2018-11-30T23:11:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reverse-polarity-on-led-bulbs-worst-case-scenario/825356/21 "2018-12-09T13:42:22Z")

</div>

> [@Gorsnak](#):
>
> Right. Diodes in general absolutely care about polarity. However, they’re also DC devices, and the LED bulbs in question are AC devices which are transforming and rectifying and regulating the incoming AC into the preferred flavour of electricity of the diodes themselves. Those transformers and rectifiers don’t give a crap about the “polarity” of the incoming AC, if it even makes sense to talk about the polarity of AC.
> 
> There are good electrical safety reasons to take care not to get the hot and neutral wires mixed up, but the lamp will work fine regardless.

This is the best explanation.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reverse-polarity-on-led-bulbs-worst-case-scenario/825356.md?page=1)