DOE recommends new approach to LED luminaire lifetime ratings

Jun 10, 2010 The DOE has published a new recommendation for testing and reporting LED luminaire lifetime that accounts both for failure attributable to declining light output or lumen maintenance, and to catastrophic failure of the luminaire.

The new "LED Luminaire Lifetime: Recommendations for Testing and Reporting" guide recommends that luminaire makers specify an F rating for catastrophic failures – for example F10 at 30,000 hours would imply that 10% of the luminaires in a given population would fail catastrophically by 30,000 hours of usage.

The DOE recommendation actually identifies 12 reliability considerations that could contribute to a catastrophic failure lifetime rating including electrical connections, printed circuit boards, thermal elements, the drive electronics and more. The F rating should account for all of the considerations.

The DOE further recommends that luminaire makers choose the shortest life rating between L/B and F specifications as the one used in a luminaire lifetime rating. For example, if a luminaire L70/B50 point is 50,000 hours and the F10 point is 40,000 hours then the luminaire maker should report a lifetime of 40,000 hours.


Author:  BIO T&T