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Service life and thermal management

Service life and thermal management

Service life of LED luminaires

Our LED luminaires are developed as durable products. The service life of the luminaire and the installed electronics is at least 50,000 operating hours (high-power LED technology) or at least 60,000 operating hours (mid-power LED technology). As soon as the luminous intensity drops below 80 %, the service life of the LED is considered fulfilled. However, this does not mean that the luminaire fails immediately, but a further reduction in luminous flux below 80 % of the original value can be expected.

The LED chips themselves are also much less sensitive to vibrations than conventional light sources. As a rule, the LED luminaires outlive the plant in which they are installed.

Comparison of LED luminaire lifetime in single-, two- and three-shift operation at 50,000 and 60,000 hours, based on 250 operating days per year.

Lumen maintenance chart of an LED luminaire over time, showing luminous flux retention from L100 to L70 across more than 60,000 operating hours.

L80: The L-value of a luminaire indicates the percentage of the total luminous flux of an individual LED module remaining at the end of its service life (LED2WORK usually 60,000 h).

The reason for this is that a light source slowly degenerates over its lifetime and emits a little less light. In the case of LED2WORK, this maximum reduction corresponds to the 20% mentioned above after 60,000h.

B10: The B value indicates that 10 % of the LED modules used can exceed the drop in total luminous flux specified by the L value, but maintain at least 90 % of it or even fall below that.

External Factors Affecting Service Life

Compared with conventional light sources, a complete failure of LED chips is extremely rare. Once integrated into a fixture, they are virtually maintenance-free. Only the luminous output decreases slightly over the operating period. Both internal and external factors influence the service life of the LED.

Depiction of an LED machine light with influencing factors such as humidity, temperature, electrical and mechanical impacts, radiation, and chemical exposure in an industrial environment.

LED machine light shown in detail with the relevant influencing factors: electrical impacts, temperature, and chemical exposure in industrial applications.

A high-quality housing made of specially alloyed aluminium also acts as a heat sink for the built-in electronics and therefore ensures optimum thermal management of the LED chips. At LED2WORK, we work with aluminium core circuit boards for fast heat dissipation on the housing. With the right thermal management, we succeed in maximising the service life of the LED chips used.

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