LED bulbs flickering

[THAIPHUKET]

Flickering is not regularly but all the more disturbing. The bulbs are new.

How to get  under control?

[Crossy]

Define "flickering".

 

When on, when off, when there's an extra load? 

 

Rapid, slow, random?

 

[lopburi3]

That seems to be the death march in my experience - seems some just do not last at all, even from major makers.  But first would try in another fixture and hope for the best.  If same in other fixture store may replace if major brand and really new.

 

What type of bulbs and some or all have this issue?

[carlyai]

Sometimes the cheap screw in threads on the socket don't make for good contact. 

[THAIPHUKET]

On 8/29/2022 at 6:58 PM, Crossy said:

Define "flickering".

 

When on, when off, when there's an extra load? 

 

Rapid, slow, random?

 

It's rapid irregular blinking. Load to the system is normal 220V, no relevant fluctuation,

LED BULBS are said to last longer, my experience is mixed in that respect

[sometimewoodworker]

8 hours ago, THAIPHUKET said:

It's rapid irregular blinking. Load to the system is normal 220V, no relevant fluctuation,

LED BULBS are said to last longer, my experience is mixed in that respect

It is almost certainly a poor designed circuit that doesn’t have the correct size, possibly any,  control circuit. It could be designed for 1 input to be neutral and wired in reverse.

 

The/a way to test is buy a really good quality bulb and see if it also has the problem.

[Crossy]

9 hours ago, THAIPHUKET said:

Load to the system is normal 220V, no relevant fluctuation

 

Are you using a power logger? You are not going to see short duration dips with any domestic level meter.

 

As @sometimewoodworkersuggested, get a good quality lamp and see if the flicker persists (indicating a supply issue).

 

I've certainly had cheap LEDs start flickering and then failing altogether in the past but the modern ones are much, much better but still not immune from supply blips.

 

 

[sezze]

9 hours ago, THAIPHUKET said:

It's rapid irregular blinking. Load to the system is normal 220V, no relevant fluctuation,

LED BULBS are said to last longer, my experience is mixed in that respect

They do last longer , normally . Problem in Thailand is 2sided . nr 1 is your 220V fluctuates a lot in Thailand , short spikes both ways , aren't very good for electronics . Nr2 and especially the case for LED is heat . Thailand is many times hot , and heat is a killer for LEDs .

[lopburi3]

9 hours ago, THAIPHUKET said:

LED BULBS are said to last longer, my experience is mixed in that respect

Actually believe main selling point is cost of use as they only use a fraction of the wattage for same light output.  But as anything mass produced at low cost for consumer there will be those that fail with little or no lifespan.  As pointed out the quality/reliability has greatly improved but there are still duds.  But a new bulb cost is a lot less than chasing our sss as a first check - if that, of a different brand, also has same issues is the time to go deeper.  Sez I who just removed a perfectly usable on/off remote module from a light outlet that had flickering from two bulbs (which it turned out were both bad) so now have to unscrew the bulb I want off.  

[stratocaster]

The Dubai Lamp: “World’s Most Efficient” LED Light Bulb

Back in October of 2016, the partnership of Dubai Municipality and Philips Lighting released their Dubai Lamp, a series of the “world’s most efficient commercially available” LED light bulbs.

Through their partnership, Philips Lighting and Dubai Municipality created the Dubai Lamp, a light bulb that is said to decrease an electricity bill by 90%. According to a press release on Philips Lighting website, this is the world’s first commercially available light bulb that produces 200 lumen per watt. The Dubai Lamp comes in 4 different light bulb varieties:

1 Watt, equivalent to 25W incandescent light bulb. Lifetime = 15,000 hours, or 15 years based on 1,000 hours a year.

2 Watt, equivalent to 40W incandescent light bulb. Lifetime = 15,000 hours, or 15 years based on 1,000 hours a year.

3 Watt, equivalent to 60W incandescent light bulb. Lifetime = 15,000 hours, or 15 years based on 1,000 hours a year.

3 Watt Spot light bulb, equivalent to 35W or 50W halogen light bulb. Lifetime = 25,000 hours, or 25 years based on 1,000 hours a year.

[sometimewoodworker]

3 hours ago, stratocaster said:

The Dubai Lamp: “World’s Most Efficient” LED Light Bulb

Back in October of 2016, the partnership of Dubai Municipality and Philips Lighting released their Dubai Lamp, a series of the “world’s most efficient commercially available” LED light bulbs.

Through their partnership, Philips Lighting and Dubai Municipality created the Dubai Lamp, a light bulb that is said to decrease an electricity bill by 90%. According to a press release on Philips Lighting website, this is the world’s first commercially available light bulb that produces 200 lumen per watt. The Dubai Lamp comes in 4 different light bulb varieties:

1 Watt, equivalent to 25W incandescent light bulb. Lifetime = 15,000 hours, or 15 years based on 1,000 hours a year.

2 Watt, equivalent to 40W incandescent light bulb. Lifetime = 15,000 hours, or 15 years based on 1,000 hours a year.

3 Watt, equivalent to 60W incandescent light bulb. Lifetime = 15,000 hours, or 15 years based on 1,000 hours a year.

3 Watt Spot light bulb, equivalent to 35W or 50W halogen light bulb. Lifetime = 25,000 hours, or 25 years based on 1,000 hours a year.

 

 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

 

 

I got a few while I was visiting the U.K. this spring 

[sometimewoodworker]

5 hours ago, stratocaster said:

The Dubai Lamp: “World’s Most Efficient” LED Light Bulb

 

But you can not buy them. They are exclusively available in Dubai!!!

[sometimewoodworker]

 

 

 

I got a few while I was visiting the U.K. this spring, they are not cheap at £9.99 or ฿2,900 each. Though due to a shipping mixup I actually payed £8.00 each

[lopburi3]

2 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

฿2,900 each.

That sure would not be cheap by any standards.  ????

[bluejets]

You need to show what type of LED bulb you have installed into what type of fitting/controller.

 

Most LED small reflector type lamps i.e. those that replace to old dichoric lamps, need to have a matching driver.

Even light fittings that had a LED bulb fitted sometimes will give the flickering due to incompatible driver unit.

[bluejets]

On 8/31/2022 at 1:08 AM, THAIPHUKET said:

LED BULBS are said to last longer

They do to some degree but worth noting the thousands of hours they used to quote on the packaging has now disappeared.

In my experience, and I deal with electrical everyday, is it's normally the driver unit that gives up.

Also worth noting the old fluro tubes would regularly last for up to 10 years, albeit at lower light output as they progressed.