As the time passed, the common fire turned into gas lanterns, the lanterns turned into fluorescent bulbs that were later replaced by LEDs. LEDs have a long life, are energy-efficient, cause lesser overheating and are easily available in the market.
Although LEDs are the more popular choice these days and there are many advantages to using LEDs. The LEDs replaced the incandescent bulbs on a large scale due to the benefits associated with the new lighting system which involved lumens instead of wattage.
As we can see there are many benefits of replacing your common bulbs with LEDs, but what are the common problems related to LED lighting?
List of the Common Problems with LED Lighting
Lets discuss each led problem in detail.
1. LED Light Flickering
One of the most common problems in LED lights is the problem of flickering. Whether or not you are using the LED light in an emergency, it is always annoying when LED lights flicker. You might be doing something critical that demands the complete focus of light but be interrupted by the flickering of light.
There are many reasons for the LED lights to flicker, for instance, a bad capacitor or a bad driver may cause the flickering of light. Another reason for this flicker is the connection of LED lights to other appliances which demand too much power. The circuit does not have the power to control the bigger appliances.
If your LED is not getting a sufficient amount of electricity, it is going to flicker. This could be an indication that your LED device might be dying and it would be prudent to have more reliable sources of illumination.
2. LED Buzzing or Humming Noise
It is common in LED lights to have a certain buzzing sound coming from the torch. There can be a handful of reasons for which this humming sound exists. The main reasons for this humming sound are the poor quality of the light switch or the other dimming switch.
The compatibility of a switch can reduce or even kill the annoying sound. Similarly, if your torch has a bulb that is dying, that can also produce this low machine-like buzz. Usually, when the bulb is not getting enough electricity, the bulb can make such noises. We can either change the bulb or buy a new LED light.
When the buzzing sound is not taken care of, it can get very annoying. If you need to sleep with the torch on, this could be a problem as the sound will not let you sleep.
3. LED Light too Bright
One of the other common issues with LED lights is the brightness level of the lights. While using LED flashlights, we must remember that other people are also around us. The excessive brightness of the LED lights in dark may cause other people to be bothered by the light hitting their eyes.
If the light is too severe, it may also cause migraines and headaches. Even if there is no one around you, the brightness level of the torch must be kept in check or it puts a great strain on your eyes.
These problems usually occur because the wattage bulb being used in your torch is higher than your requirement and needs. Most people do not consider checking the Kelvin ratings mentioned on the bulbs. If one chooses a lower kelvin setting, it would be more manageable. The standard range of the kelvin is below 4000K.
4. LED Light too Dim
Having an excessively bright LED light is as bad as having a dim LED light. A light that is too dim for your needs will affect your productivity and be unreliable when you need it the most. Imagine trying to concentrate with your eyes screwed and your forehead pinched; that is no way to work.
A dim LED light is not something that you buy but something that happens over time. When the battery weakens, the bulb and the light also begin to dim. Sometimes when you switch the light on, it works fine but after a while, it would begin to falter.
The core reason for this battery death is the cheap diode materials that are made in overseas factories. The capacitor can also be bad in case the light is not as bright as it used to be. Swollen capacitors can cause fires if they burst and they are a safety risk.
5. LED Light Stopped Working
The one thing that is even more annoying than the flickering bulbs and the excessive brightness is the LED light that stops working when you need it the most. As you know, flashlights are mostly used in cases of emergency. If we search, we will find that the major use of flashlights is during car repair, home intrusion, or power outages.
This means that the flashlight is required when a person is completely in the dark and solely relying on the light to guide him. If a flashlight stops working at that time, it is not convenient at all. There can be many reasons for an LED light to stop working even though they have a better shelf life than fluorescent bulbs.
Cheaply made driver parts and bad capacitors are responsible for the problems in the LED lights. One must always have a reliable source of illumination so that in the time of need, there is an alternative.
6. LED Dimming Does not Work
Most people are unaware of the problems inside their LED lights and all they can see is if the torch or the lamp is working or not. If your LED bulb does not dim it means there is probably something wrong with either your bulb or the switch.
First of all, we need to understand that all not bulbs have the dimming option attached to them. It may be that we have bought the wrong bulb. However, if you are certain that the LED bulb has the dimming function before and it doesn’t work anymore, then you have a problem.
Another possibility is that the dimmer works only with incandescent bulbs and not LEDs. Even if they are compatible, the switch or the bulb may have been burnt out because of excess usage. PWDs can be used for dimming bulbs with non-dimming functions as the pulse width modulation.
7. LED Strip Showing the Wrong Color
If you ever see accent lighting on display shelves you will see a cool variety of LED lights. Indeed, LED lights to look very nice in all the different colors, but what to do when the LED doesn’t show you your desired color?
The wrong color shown on the LED strip can mean that the connection between the wires is faulty. Since the RGB color changing system is used in the light strips through the use of three basic colors.
The color can be fixed by fixing the wired connection of the RGB as well as fixing the driver installed. Make sure all the wires go to the correct color connector. You can also reset the color settings on the controller in order to get back the original color. This can be done easily and manually after unscrewing the driver and checking the labels.
8. LED Recessed Light Turns Off Shortly.
The problem with a recessed light is that the light gets turned off immediately after turning on. Once upon a time, all we could see in houses where the recessed lights, however, they were replaced with LED lights as they became popular.
When recessed lights have an LED lamp installed, some problems can be seen. The most common reason for which this happens is due to the heat buildup that causes the flickering and the shutting down.
In reality, the cooling system of the recessed light is flawed as the base of the lamp is the way for the heat to get out. Usually, the base of the lamp is kept on a table or a floor blocking the base from getting access to fresh cool air.
Such lamps can cause the overheating of the lamp and in some cases, the heat could damage the furniture or even cause a fire.
9. LED Light Attracts Bugs
One doesn’t need much convincing when being persuaded to dislike bugs. Indeed, bugs can ruin your outdoor parties and make you go crazy indoors. Although the bugs are attracted to all kinds of lights the kelvin setting of your LED may be a little too comfortable for these creatures.
If you want a kelvin range to reduce the number of bugs around your LEDs, then your range should be between 2000K to 5500K. The bugs also dislike particular colors including yellow and red hues that are in some ways similar to the incandescent bulbs.
Other measures can also be taken against the bugs like spraying pesticides in your garden or keeping your window closed. The flypaper and electric fly traps are also good ways to get rid of the begs that pester you. The best way to deal with these bugs is to use the mentioned hues and to make sure that your kelvin range lies between 2000 to 5000K.
10. LED Light Overheating
When the incandescent lights were replaced by the LED lights, the major benefit was that LEDs did not heat as much as them. It is not a foolproof thing, however, and LEDs do heat up. The constant heating of the LED is the reason why they get burnt up so easily these days. The more energy that is converted to heat energy, the little there is to be converted into light energy.
Although LEDs are better than incandescent lights when it comes to heating, if the LEDs are placed in a small and constricted environment with little or no ventilation, there is bound to be excess heat.
Overheating can cause many problems which include damage to the lamp, damage to the furniture and if there is no ventilation for a longer period, a fire can be caused as well. This is not just a problem for the lamp or the furniture but it is a safety hazard as well.
11. Wrong LED Beam Angle
There are various beams available in the market when it comes to LED light. It is a common problem that people do not read what is written on the box and purchase the wrong beam angle. Imagine having a large room and a narrow beam angle instead of a floodlight one?
Since the different beam angles have different reflectors installed, the wrong beam angle can’t be fixed by making any updates to the light. It is advisable to read the box and look for the LED that is the most suitable for your need in order to avoid confusion and mismanagement.
Unfortunately, if you have purchased the LED with the wrong beam angle, you have to purchase a new one. This teaches us that we should buy our LEDs from a local buyer so that the act of replacement becomes easier on the customer. If you have purchased your LEDs from some distant place or online, the company may or may not return the product and you will end up paying extra for the LED you require.
12. The Blue Light Pollution of LED
The brightness of an LED can be a problem when it comes to buying the perfect LED. Not only would a brighter light make it difficult for you to function with all that brightness but it will also damage your eyes to a great extent.
Purchasing an LED temperature sounds all cool until you realize all that blue saturation and its intensity is causing headaches and leaving your eyes strained. Those kinds of lights are not required in a home or office setting and they can be quite difficult to be around.
The high Kelvin lights are to be used for specific functions only where they are necessary to deal with and most definitely not suitable for home and office settings. In order to avoid the blue light pollution of LED, one must consider a series of warmer hues such as yellow or orange.
13. LED Light and Extra-high Wattage/Current
The compatibility of your fixtures and your LED lights is very important for a smooth running of events. Many times, consumers will buy LEDs that are not compatible with the fixtures they have in their homes.
Since the production of the LED lights relies on the Lumens instead of the wattage, the consumers can’t think ahead of this problem. Consider using 25-Watt LED light in a fixture and the lampworking perfectly, now picture using a 150-watt LED light in the fixture you were using before and the same lamp will not work.
Although the LED uses lumens instead of wattage, there is a chart that could be used to convert the wattage into lumens. The consumer must know which wattage the fixture works on, after that they can convert it to lumens and buy an LED according to that information.
14. Low Color Rendering Index (CRI)
Since there are different kinds of LEDs available in the market, some are better than others. Some LEDs include CRI which refers to the Low color rendering index. The CRI is a better version of light that provides better light quality. Your comfort level may rely on the level of CRI in your LED.
As the light beam increases in width, the light in a floodlight beam will lose its focus. However, the CRI level helps create a balance between the lighting level. The CRI will also prevent the light from hurting your eyes and it will provide you with a comfortable environment to work in.
While buying an LED light, you need to make sure that you have the level of CRI-80 or CRI-90. Even if CRI-90 is too saturated, it is still a better option than buying a low CRI-level LED.
15. Wrong LED Driver
Every LED is made with an inbuilt driver and they can get damaged sometimes. There can be many reasons for the driver getting damaged but at times, there is also a chance of getting the wrong driver.
If your driver is damaged, let a professional help you with the replacement of it, and do not try to fix it yourself. Replacing a driver is a technical thing to do and should be left to professionals. There can be complications in changing the driver yourself because we need to make sure that the driver is compatible with your LED.
Not only is it important to get the right driver but it is also essential that the power ratings match. If the details are not accurate, it would be difficult for your fixture to perform well or at all. The important lesson is to buy the right driver, to begin with and if it is damaged and you have to replace it, then make sure you have the right specs.
16. Corn Bulb Protrudes from the Lampshade
If your fixture was previously holding an incandescent bulb and now you are in search of an LED bulb, make sure that you have the right size. Many people in this situation would buy a random-sized LED bulb not keeping in mind that the fixture would only hold one size.
If your LED is not a particular size, it would be particularly hard to fit the bulb into the fixture due to the special shape of the fixture. Not only are they hard to fit and replace, but the fixture also tends to get extra hot due to the lack of room inside.
As the room inside the lamp diminishes and there is no ventilation, the lamp would heat up. A lamp that overheats causes the LED to burn up a lot faster than a normal bulb and it would decrease the shelf life of the light.
17. LED Light and Incandescent Light Fixture
As we know, LEDs are energy-efficient but when you replace your bulbs with LEDs, there might be some issues with overheating and issues relating to dimming. The compatibility of your LED and the dimmer switch is not always ensured. Similarly, the fixture may not support a certain kind of shape.
The simple way to tackle this problem is to either take the fixture with you or note down the specs of the bulb that you want so there is as little room for mistakes as possible, otherwise, the bulb may not even fit the fixture.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do the LED lights Overheat Like the Incandescent Bulbs?
The LEDs are believed to have a longer life than the incandescent bulbs as it produces lesser heat, but in a close environment with no ventilation, an LED can also overheat.
What are the Best Hues to be Used if You Want to Avoid Bugs Near Your LEDs?
In order to avoid the bugs, two things could be done. The first thing is to choose your LED between 2000k to 5500K so that it is less ideal for the bugs. The second thing is to choose better hues such as yellow and red because these are the colors bugs do not like.
Why Does Your LED Flicker?
There are many reasons for the LED lights to flicker, for instance, a bad capacitor or a bad driver may cause the flickering of light. Not getting enough electricity might also be a reason behind the flickering.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are many common problems when it comes to buying and owning LEDs. Most of these problems can be avoided if a person knows what they are buying. It is, thus, suggested that the consumer must take notes of all the specs of the LED they require before they hit the market.
While some problems can be addressed by researching the LED problems, there are others that can only be fixed if the bulb is replaced completely. One needs to know why the problem is occurring in order to fix it or buy something better.
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