The lengthy average lifespan of LEDs may have drawn your notice. Well, who wouldn't want something with that kind of longevity? Having such a lighting system will reduce the need to buy and install replacements, freeing up time and funds for things you truly enjoy. But what is the lifespan of RGBW LED strip lights? How can their average lifespan be measured?
The Lifespan of LED Strip Light and the L70 Metric
LEDs age differently than fluorescent and incandescent bulbs, which eventually flicker and burn out. Rather than a total blackout, the light output progressively drops. You can anticipate that your LEDs' lifespan will come to an end whenever they become too dim to use, given the frequent failures brought on by voltage surges and mechanical damage.
You can ask yourself, "How dim is too dim?" There are numerous answers to that topic, and you can approach it using either the L70 metric or your own preferences. You will most likely discard your LEDs before they reach the designated disposal rate or after the recommended switchover if you discovered it on your likes and dislikes.
On the other hand, 30% of lumens depreciation or 70% of light remaining should be the end of the queue if you base it on the L70 metric. The L70 metric indicates how many hours it would take an LED to lose just 70% of its initial light output.
L70 Calculation in Metrics
The lifespan of LEDs is influenced by a number of parameters, including material, quality, and durability. Higher driving currents and temperatures, however, generally lead to a quicker drop in light output. The LM-80 advises testing sample specimens at a predefined temperature and current drive, with light output change measurement at 1000-hour intervals at 10,000 hours, due to the large and varied variety of materials among different LED types and manufacturers.
To ensure accuracy and fairness, the LM-80 test is usually conducted by a third-party laboratory, and the results are released in a report format. A legitimate LED provider should have no trouble demonstrating this to you, particularly if you're purchasing in volume, as all respectable manufacturers will have this test performed on their LEDs!
The lifespan test of LEDs is difficult since it takes a very long period. The 10,000-hour test will take about 14 months to finish, even if the LED is on all the time! In a field that moves quickly, like LED lighting, this is forever. Six years of continuous testing are required to test a fitting for the entire 50,000 hours claim.
The LM-80 test is not yielding results as quickly, hence TM-21, an exploration algorithm, was created. Over the first several thousand hours, the procedure absorbs the data from the LM-80 samples. After that, it generates an expected lifespan number, which is what you see on warranties and specifications documents.
Three Reasons LED Lifetime Estimates Could Be Wrong
There are several prerequisites and parameters for lifespan rates in both the TM-21 process and the LM-80 test. Your LED supplier's lifetime claim may not be true if they did not follow these guidelines.
Only six times as many hours as were actually tested may be declared. Therefore, even if the LED under test operated flawlessly, the maximum extended lifespan claim based on the data gathered could only be 30,000 hours if the LM-80 test result was only up to 5,000 hours. This is to ensure that hasty judgements are not drawn from incomplete data.
For the LM-80 test, the drive current and case temperature must be higher than those for the LED strip. As previously stated, the two variables that affect an LED's lifespan are temperature and drive current. The real-world use scenarios might surpass the LM-80 test if your LED strip can tolerate a greater drive current and temperature. The initial lifespan estimate would therefore be overestimated.
The TM-21 and LM-80 tests are not flawless. The test process does not account for additional variables, such as humidity and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) included in the potting compound for waterproof strip lights. Using the same LM-80 test report, there are also some guidelines on the materials that can be used in an LED's design. You never know-manufacturers might employ less expensive materials for production and better materials for test samples.
Over time, LED strips change colour
Some LED strips change hue over time in addition to losing brightness. The hue shift is seen in the LM-80 test report, however it is not mentioned in the technical specifications. Finding any documentation of the acceptable shift level for both your own use and the industry as a whole is difficult.
You'll be able to comprehend colour stability more clearly with the metric known as "delta u'v." Just remember that the human eye perceives anything greater than 0.003 as conspicuous. Therefore, you will require the "delta u'v" or the LM-80 test report if you are particularly picky about this.
For many indoor applications, a delta u'v of less than 0.006 during the lifetime of the LED strip is generally considered acceptable. However, for more specialised installations, such as lighting artworks in museums, it is essential to select a fixture with higher colour stability.
Additional Factors Affecting the Lifespan of an LED Strip
Even while LED chips are essential to the longevity of an LED strip light, other factors can compromise it! An LED strip's lifespan may be shortened by the power supply and the adhesive backing. If your strips don't have a sturdy backing and keep falling off the surface you fastened them to, the continuous impact could harm the LEDs.
If the power source fails, your strips will go dark right away, so don't expect them to dim over time! Therefore, you must make sure that there are other high-performance and long-lasting options outside your strip lights. For them to function, the power supply must likewise be of the highest calibre!
Don't just buy LED strips from any store because some do take significant short cuts.
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