Do LED shop lights get dim over time?

[Bottlecapdigger]

Maybe it's just my eyesight getting worse but the shop lights don't seem as bright as they were when I first installed them. They are about 4 years old now. There are the round 4400 lumen ones with the round shade that thread into a regular lamp base. Anyone else notice this too? . BCD.

 

[niget2002]

Do they have layer of dust on them?

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

 

[Jinks]

Yes, LED lights dim with time. OTOH, they're still brighter & whiter than incandescent or florescent. Mine are six or more years old & I can tell a little difference. Of course at my age everything back when I was young was better..........

 

[Bert_]

All LEDs dim over time. This is the normal failure mode. The fixture is considered "dead" when it reaches 70% of original output, this is referred to as L70. If you can physically see that they are dimmer then they are probably past 70% and should be replaced.

The cheap fixtures might be noticable after a few years. Better fixtures are rated for 100,000 hours or more before they hit L70 and should be replaced.

 

[Bottlecapdigger]

Thanks Bert, I think I got one of the packages still around, going to see if it as an hrs rating written on it. I know I spend quite a bit of time in the shop but I don't think I'm close to 100,000 hrs in 4 yrs. May have to upgrade to new ones. BCD

 

[Bert_]

Thanks Bert, I think I got one of the packages still around, going to see if it as an hrs rating written on it. I know I spend quite a bit of time in the shop but I don't think I'm close to 100,000 hrs in 4 yrs. May have to upgrade to new ones. BCD

If the hour rating does not have the L70 reference behind it then it's useless. The the lights might be "rated" for 50,000 hours but if it only puts out 1/10 the light then 50,000 hours is not a useful rating.

It should be referenced as 50,000hrs at L70 or 100,000hrs at L70. The cheap ones will not be worded that way and it means the hour rating cannot be trusted.

 

[PhysicsDude]

Yes, LEDs will dim over time. The cheaper ones will dim faster than the expensive ones.

I bought a bunch of cheap LEDs for my house 3 years ago. Some of them started failing, and I replaced a few with the same cheap ones, and replaced some with more expensive ones. To my surprise after only 3 years of normal use (definitely less than 8 hours/day average use) the 3 year old LEDs were definitely at least 20% dimmer than new ones out of the box. Not like they're terrible, they still work fine and I didn't really notice until replacing one.

I'm hoping the somewhat more expensive brand will keep their brightness longer.

 

[GRB]

Those Costco Feit Shoplights that everyone claims are absolute perfection are clearly about done at a bit over 4 years of heavy use. Pretty obvious when you put a new one next to one that is 4 years old. I put them there for temporary use until I could install new proper lighting in a year or so............and we all know how that works out.

 

[SGKent]

human aging does that too

 

[Farmall450]

Those Costco Feit Shoplights that everyone claims are absolute perfection are clearly about done at a bit over 4 years of heavy use. Pretty obvious when you put a new one next to one that is 4 years old. I put them there for temporary use until I could install new proper lighting in a year or so............and we all know how that works out.

Those lights are really ideal for basements, etc with sporadic use. You got your money out of them, though

 

[GRB]

Those lights are really ideal for basements, etc with sporadic use. You got your money out of them, though

Yes, excellent for intermittent use. Extra light over a workbench or tool, etc.