How To Properly Care For Your LED Light Bulbs

It’s no secret that LED light bulbs are the gold standard in modern lighting, boasting unparalleled energy efficiency and durability. These bulbs, however, still need a bit of maintenance and proper care to ensure they make it to their average expected lifespan.

If you’ve never bothered to check on the LED bulbs in your Scottsdale home, below are a few maintenance tips you can try right now.

Spend Time On Preventive Maintenance

The LED lighting manufacturing industry has done an excellent job of ensuring LED bulbs require very little to no maintenance at all. Still, LEDs require checking every now and then.

For starters, check for signs of dirt and accumulated dust on the bulb’s glass envelope, and wipe as needed. You also want to remove any cobwebs that might have collected around the bulb and its base—spiders like to build webs near light bulbs as they attract insects.

It’s also a good idea for owners to check the manufacturer’s label and instructions—some LED makers will have maintenance tips to improve the light bulb’s life expectancy.

Check The LLMF

With LED light bulbs, the brightness of the device at a specific time in the future is called the lamp lumen maintenance factor (LLMF). The lifespan of an LED is defined as the time it takes for its light output, or lumen maintenance, to reach 70 percent of its initial output.

This means that even if an LED bulb’s lumen output were to dip down to 70 percent of its original brightness, it won’t die out instantly like an incandescent bulb. The LED will still be usable, but it will slowly lose its brightness as the years go by. The LLMF of LED light bulbs typically ranges between 70% and 80% or more, depending on the make and model. The higher the percentage, the longer the bulb retains its full brightness.

For maintenance purposes, it helps to have an idea of when an LED bulb in your home might begin losing its brightness. That way, you’ll know when a replacement is due.

Cover Up Your Outdoor Lighting

Although many LEDs on the market are built for outdoor use, it’s still a good idea to keep them protected, which will prevent wear and tear. Outdoor lighting is constantly exposed to the elements, which means they have a higher possibility of breaking down before their expected lifespan.

One way to keep your outdoor lights protected is housing them in a special fixture or housing, which gives your lights an extra layer of protection from the heat and cold. You can find these light fixtures in most home and garden improvement stores.

For bulbs used near water, place them in a solid casing where the water won’t seep through and damage their electronics.

Steer Clear Of Extremely Hot Temperatures

As surprising as it may sound, one of the biggest reasons why LEDs fail is because of heat. High temperatures are an LED’s worst enemy. From LED chips to light bulbs, fixtures and modules, countless tests have shown major issues with LEDs operating in high heat. It causes imminent technical failures as well as a significant drop in performance.

Avoid using your LED bulbs in areas where it tends to get very hot. For LEDs places outdoors, you might want to place them in a shaded area to keep them cool during the day. For indoor lights, it’s best to keep the room cool to minimize any possible deterioration of the light’s performance.

If you follow these tips, your LED light bulbs should last well beyond their rated lifespan. And remember to apply the basic rule when it comes to any electronic device: turn them off when they’re not in use.