LED is a cutting-edge solution in the area of lighting technology and LED light bulbs are well known for their long lifespan. Unlike halogen or incandescent bulbs, LEDs do not demand frequent maintenance and there is no replacement required once they are installed. The thermal management used in these lights prevents them from overheating and The reason why LED light bulbs last so long is because there is no heating filament used to produce light and therefore, LED lights do not burn out like incandescent bulbs. LED lights generally have a lifespan of 50,000 hours, which is approximately 50 times longer than a typical incandescent bulb, 20 to 25 times longer than a halogen bulb and 8 to10 times longer than a typical CFL.
Even though LED bulbs do not burn out, they suffer lumen depreciation over time. This simply means the brightness gradually gets dimmer instead of burning out; however, this decline is too slow to notice. When this process reaches a certain point, the LED is considered to be at the end of its usable life, where it drops to almost 70% of its original brightness. LED light bulbs receive their rating based on this. For example, an LED light with L70 rating and a lifespan of 25,000 hours will produce only 70% of its original light after 25,000 hours in use. The life of an LED is unaffected by turning it ON and OFF and the average lifespan of LED can differ from home to home since the amount of time LED lights are in use per day may not be the same for all the light fixtures that incorporate LED.
LED is the most commonly used light source in a solar street light system as they are environment friendly and emits zero UV rays when compared to fluorescent and incandescent lamps. The silhouette of an LED solar street light is determined by the LED configuration, the heat sink used and the design preference. The most common LED brands used in solar street lights in India are Philips and Nichia which are both well known for their energy efficiency. The energy saving features such as motion sensors and timer-based dimming reduce the operating hours and help to extend the lifespan of the LED light bulb used in the solar street light unit.