A bunch of light bulbs all dying/going out/flickering within a few weeks of each other

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › A bunch of light bulbs all dying/going out/flickering within a few weeks of each other - cause for concerns?

turtleattacks

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#296250 1-Jun-2022 20:46

Hi all,

We only change our bulbs when they die and that’s only once or twice per year throughout the house, in different rooms/circuits.

However, over the past 3 or so weeks, we’ve had about four bulbs dying, 2 in the living room, one in the kitchen (next to living room) and one in the upstairs hallway.

They are varying types of bulbs, mostly LED and one was a twisted florescent lamp style.

Should I be concerned? Do we need to get the house aired out for evil spirits?

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timmmay

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#2921584 1-Jun-2022 21:12

Modern LED bulbs are fairly unreliable. They have huge numbers on the packs but many burn out just outside of warranty, and quite a few just inside the warranty. Philips I don't find great. Panasonic you can't easily get any more but were good.

Not much you can do other than get the power quality monitored. Might be a bunch that were installed around the same time failing. But let's hear what people who know more than me say.

pih

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#2921591 1-Jun-2022 21:40

I'd say the CFL is a coincidence that it died when the others did, but the LEDs are possibly not coincidental.

For the LEDs either:

They are the same make/model, perhaps even the same or similar batch, were installed at the same time and have had similar on times and running conditions.
All have experienced additional heat lately (have you been running a fireplace or other high-heat source near the bulbs? Or (if recessed) was insulation installed around them in the last 12-24 months?)
Possibly a power surge or other dirty power issues are messing with the LED drivers or LEDs themselves
You are indeed cursed with evil spirits and should leave the house immediately

Heat kills LEDs: make sure that your LEDs are well ventilated and not too close to additional heat sources.

Rikkitic

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#2921599 1-Jun-2022 22:19

I changed all house bulbs to LED and had terrible problems with them dying in various ways. Some failed almost immediately, some after just a few months. It has settled down now but having a half-dozen go out in a short period of time is not exceptional in my experience. It may just be bad luck, nothing to do with other factors.

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Scott3

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#2921601 1-Jun-2022 22:47

I am interested to see what others with more knowledge have to say.

For OP, I suggest 4 even't isn't enough to establish there is an issue. A bunch of bulbs could have simply just reached end of life at similar times.

As others have mentioned heat is a factor. Put a CFL in a exterior bulkhead fixture (enclosed with glass), and it failed in short order.

Should note that with sudden failures, they are typically the electrical components not the LED's them-self's, which should fade / Colour shift with age, rather than suddenly fail.

But at a flat years ago, bulb consumption was excessive. There was one light fixture (a fairly open one, so it wasn't a heat issue) that seemed to kill every incandescent bulb in a matter of days. But an LED bulb held up OK . (this is back when LED bulbs cost $50, and had a big finned heat sink mounted on them). Strongly suspect power quality issue in that case.

As a side note, calculating the lumen per watt is a good way to identify better LED stuff. Cheap stuff will be aggressively over-driven, which gives more light from less components, but at the cost of efficiency and lifespan.

The Dubai Lamp (sadly only available in that market) makes for interesting reading. 200 Lumens / Watt. (for comparison the cheap 1000LM orbit bulkhead light in my hallway makes only 71/Watt).

eonsim

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#2921605 1-Jun-2022 23:27

Check your mains voltage if it's outside the 220-240V range that might be contributing to it.
For a while we were dropping down to 190V during peak times and it seemed to kill off a number of bulbs, lines company fixed the issue and we're having less problems with bulbs dieing regularly now.

steve2222

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#2921664 2-Jun-2022 07:03

eonsim:

Check your mains voltage if it's outside the 220-240V range that might be contributing to it.
For a while we were dropping down to 190V during peak times and it seemed to kill off a number of bulbs, lines company fixed the issue and we're having less problems with bulbs dieing regularly now.

Ditto - we had exactly this issue. Since the lines company fixed it we have had no LED failures. If you have a UPS with a voltmeter on it, then that is an easy way to glance at your power supply every now and then to check it is within range.

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Scott3

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#2921667 2-Jun-2022 07:39

On voltage, if OP doesn't already have something with a mains voltmeter readout, a device like the following will provide that info (but the display is very small to read):

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/arlec-energy-cost-electrical-meter_p4410270

tripper1000

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#2921685 2-Jun-2022 08:50

If you have LED's on the same switch circuit failing sooner than other circuits, a commonly overlooked culprit is arching in the (failing/cheap/old/worn/ant-infested/water-contaminated/corroded) switch, which is less perceptible with LED's than it was with the higher current incandescent cousins (remember those light switches that used to buzz and crackle and cause the incandescent lights to flicker?).

Reason as follows: LED's require DC power but the mains is AC, so LED's include a power supply. Cheaper designs use a 'capacitive dropper' to saved money (not because it is a good design). These are frequency sensitive - when the frequency of the AC increases, they pass more current (i.e. they don't regulate very well). This is not normally a problem because the mains is a very consistent 50 Hz. However if the switch contacts are arching sometimes, this effectively produces high frequency AC, causing the capacitive dropper to pass more current, which puts too much DC current to the LEDs and they fail.

Likewise, if there is a bad/loose connection in the power supply to the house from the street, it can cause the same problem (but can be intermittent in sympathy to load changes) and is possibly what was the root of the above posters problem (under-volt on its own doesn't typically kill LED's but an over-frequency will and a bad/arching connection can result in both symptoms).

BC LED's are typically quite reliable.

neb

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#2922064 3-Jun-2022 06:10

turtleattacks:
Should I be concerned? Do we need to get the house aired out for evil spirits?

Contact your local Illumination Workers and Devices Union rep, the kitchen one went on strike from being exposed to too many cooking fumes and the rest went out in sympathy.

neb

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#2922065 3-Jun-2022 06:13

Rikkitic:
I changed all house bulbs to LED and had terrible problems with them dying in various ways. Some failed almost immediately, some after just a few months. It has settled down now but having a half-dozen go out in a short period of time is not exceptional in my experience. It may just be bad luck, nothing to do with other factors.

If you're going to put in LEDs, put in recessed LED ceiling lights with massive heatsink plates on the back. I can't think of anything worse than an E27/B22/whatever form factor when creating an LED-based lumiere, there's no room for proper-sized components and no way to dissipate the heat generated.

Rikkitic

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#2922089 3-Jun-2022 08:56

neb:
Rikkitic:

I changed all house bulbs to LED and had terrible problems with them dying in various ways. Some failed almost immediately, some after just a few months. It has settled down now but having a half-dozen go out in a short period of time is not exceptional in my experience. It may just be bad luck, nothing to do with other factors.

If you're going to put in LEDs, put in recessed LED ceiling lights with massive heatsink plates on the back. I can't think of anything worse than an E27/B22/whatever form factor when creating an LED-based lumiere, there's no room for proper-sized components and no way to dissipate the heat generated.

Normal fittings with normal air flow on different circuits throughout the house. Nothing recessed or otherwise trendy. Bulbs failed in random fashion. Some were dead LEDs, which in spite of another comment here, happened several times. At first I fixed a few by bypassing the bad one, but they didn't last long. Other failures were in the power supply. Some simply went dead, others dropped to very low light level, others started flashing. All kinds of random stuff.

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neb

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#2922091 3-Jun-2022 09:00

Rikkitic: Some were dead LEDs, which in spite of another comment here, happened several times. At first I fixed a few by bypassing the bad one, but they didn't last long. Other failures were in the power supply. Some simply went dead, others dropped to very low light level, others started flashing. All kinds of random stuff.

I would say it's heat-related, they're cooking themselves due to inadequate heatsinking/heat dissipation ability. Can you get access to a thermal camera, or at least a non-contact thermometer to measure the heatsink temp?

Rikkitic

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#2922095 3-Jun-2022 09:08

neb:
Rikkitic: Some were dead LEDs, which in spite of another comment here, happened several times. At first I fixed a few by bypassing the bad one, but they didn't last long. Other failures were in the power supply. Some simply went dead, others dropped to very low light level, others started flashing. All kinds of random stuff.
I would say it's heat-related, they're cooking themselves due to inadequate heatsinking/heat dissipation ability. Can you get access to a thermal camera, or at least a non-contact thermometer to measure the heatsink temp?

They are just standard bulbs, most around 11 watts, in standard fittings. Probably bad batches, though an awful lot of them, since it is much better now. I spent time trying to diagnose it once, can't be bothered any longer. I just replace them when they go.

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olivernz

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#2922411 3-Jun-2022 19:46

We had this once. Turned out to be the feed to the house arcing outside. The strong winds had ripped it out of its socket! Scared the living daylights out of us.