Light Fixture with Integrated LED

[FIYes]

A few years ago we purchased a outdoor light fixture for the back porch. We had it set to light up dusk to dawn. Recently the light went out. I thought that I needed to replace the bulb….forgetting that it was an integrated LED. Well, now I see that it is not a simple light bulb change. In fact, looking on the internet leads me to believe that I’m just as well off to replace the fixture.

Has anyone else dealt with this? It seems very wasteful to replace a fixture when in the past a new light bulb is all that would be needed. Of course, I’m the one who gripes that cell phones no longer come with replaceable batteries!

Oops, I didn’t mean to post this in FIRE and Money. If a moderator wants to move it to Other or Technology that would be great. This is not primarily a money issue…more of an environmental waste issue.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I don’t know the answer to your question but I’m glad you asked because I’ve been wondering the same.
I’m looking to replace all of my light fixtures and integrated LED lights seem to be all the rage. They look great. But as far as I can tell you have to replace the entire fixture when the light burns out in about 5 years.
Seems incredibly wasteful and for a person like me with no mechanical abilities whatsoever a really big hassle and expense.

 

[badatmath]

Yep, they are throwaways. I will not buy one for that reason but it is getting harder to find things that use plain old bulbs.

 

[Aerides]

Integrated bulbs mean the whole thing is meant to be thrown away in a few years. Generally these lights are rather cheap, and LED bulbs mean they should last well over 5 years. But yeah for outdoor lighting, I'm not big on changing that so often so I've avoided them.

Plus I don't like the whole dusk to dawn thing anyway. I want to turn off and on when I decide.

 

[Sunset]

I don't want to replace the whole fixture every time the light stops working, so I prefer the old style that take a regular bulb.
I just put in a Dusk to Dawn LED light bulb. (about $5 on sale).

When it burns out I change the bulb.

 

[FIYes]

I like the dusk to dawn feature. I feel that it is a security feature and I don’t have to remember to turn it off and on.

I’m not big on changing light fixtures. We have changed some of the fixtures in our house in last 35 years, however some have been here since before we moved in. We have switched to LED bulbs, but the light fixtures are the same.

 

[disneysteve]

I would never buy a light fixture like that. Who wants to replace a whole fixture every time the bulb dies? What a stupid concept.

 

[RASAP]

I would never buy a light fixture like that. Who wants to replace a whole fixture every time the bulb dies? What a stupid concept.

Not to mention that if you have two or more of the same fixture that you probably won't be able to find an exact replacement and will need to replace all of the matching fixtures.

 

[disneysteve]

Not to mention that if you have two or more of the same fixture that you probably won't be able to find an exact replacement and will need to replace all of the matching fixtures.

Exactly. Even if it’s just one fixture, you need to find one you like each time.

 

[RetMD21]

I put an integrated LED kitchen light in last week. It replaces a Circline Fluorescent fixture. The new one was inexpensive but it works great. I hope for a long time

On the deck I have a dawn to dusk flood light fixture that uses bulbs.

 

[TripleLindy]

We changed out the ceiling fan in our living room a year or so ago and the light kit for the fan we bought was an integrated LED. It has a much cleaner, more modern look, and is supposed to last much longer than a bulb, but it will go out eventually. Who knows if I’ll even be able to buy a replacement kit when it does. The good news is that we don’t use the light very often and could do without it.

 

[TrvlBug]

Our experience with LED bulbs as well as integrated lights.

Outside "street" lighting on the fence (we live in hilly area with few to no street lights) with led bulbs that have not needed replacement in 15 years. These are programmed dusk to dawn. Three lights. Landscape light bulbs were replaced with leds 3 years ago and we've had no problems with them.

Inside integrated led fixtures replaced fixtures in our 3 bathrooms and all canned lights replaced mid 1996. No problems except for 1 canned light which bit the dust about 6 months ago. The electrician was surprised it only lasted for 6 years. IIRC when I first researched the integrated fixtures I was also concerned about their longevity. I was assured that even though the fixtures were warrantied for only 5 years, they would last much, much longer.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy integrated fixtures again.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I just bought 4 of these on Amazon last week without the dusk to dawn feature for $18.99 each. I have not installed them so can't recommend them yet but the price was right and I plan to just add the dusk to dawn or motion detector bulbs as others are suggesting. They are really nice for the price I paid which seems to have doubled since then.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R3M8N94

 

[FIYes]

I don’t recall when I bought this light, but it has been several years. From strictly a monetary view I have nothing to complain about. I just don like the idea of a throwaway light fixture! It just seems very wrong to think about replacing the entire fixture instead of a light bulb.

Apparently these integrated led fixtures are very popular!

 

[Freedom56]

A few years ago we purchased a outdoor light fixture for the back porch. We had it set to light up dusk to dawn. Recently the light went out. I thought that I needed to replace the bulb….forgetting that it was an integrated LED. Well, now I see that it is not a simple light bulb change. In fact, looking on the internet leads me to believe that I’m just as well off to replace the fixture.

Has anyone else dealt with this? It seems very wasteful to replace a fixture when in the past a new light bulb is all that would be needed. Of course, I’m the one who gripes that cell phones no longer come with replaceable batteries!

Oops, I didn’t mean to post this in FIRE and Money. If a moderator wants to move it to Other or Technology that would be great. This is not primarily a money issue…more of an environmental waste issue.

It all depends on how good you are with de-soldering and re-soldering. Most LED components are available online.

 

[rk911]

A few years ago we purchased a outdoor light fixture for the back porch. We had it set to light up dusk to dawn. Recently the light went out. I thought that I needed to replace the bulb….forgetting that it was an integrated LED. Well, now I see that it is not a simple light bulb change. In fact, looking on the internet leads me to believe that I’m just as well off to replace the fixture.

Has anyone else dealt with this? It seems very wasteful to replace a fixture when in the past a new light bulb is all that would be needed. Of course, I’m the one who gripes that cell phones no longer come with replaceable batteries!

Oops, I didn’t mean to post this in FIRE and Money. If a moderator wants to move it to Other or Technology that would be great. This is not primarily a money issue…more of an environmental waste issue.

we replaced all of our exterior light fixtures, 13 of them, a few years back. while shopping those that made the final cut required a choice between integrated LEDs or regular bulbs. we went with regular bulbs. as you've discovered bulbs are much easier to replace than complete fixtures. since you're going to replace the fixture consider a standard bulb fixture and use LED bulbs.

 

[RobbieB]

I've been buying integrated fixtures for over a decade now. Some get used 50% duty cycle (dusk to dawn)

None have failed.

With integrated you get better heat sinking and a smaller size. Increased cuteness -

 

[ERD50]

Not to mention that if you have two or more of the same fixture that you probably won't be able to find an exact replacement and will need to replace all of the matching fixtures.

I'm sure I ranted about this on the forum some years back. Yes, with matching fixtures, and stores changing their suppliers so often, you are unlikely to find that matching replacement. Economic waste and environmental waste to replace multiple fixtures when one component of one of them (probably a 10 cent capacitor) went bad.

It all depends on how good you are with de-soldering and re-soldering. Most LED components are available online.

Now, I think a form of 'integrated LED' would be great - if they made the components readily available and easily replaceable (no soldering required especially). Should be almost as easy as changing a light bulb (hey, an analogy that actually fits!). More on this below...

I've been buying integrated fixtures for over a decade now. Some get used 50% duty cycle (dusk to dawn)

None have failed.

With integrated you get better heat sinking and a smaller size. Increased cuteness -

This is why I say a form of integrated lighting would be great. A problem with the regular LED replacements for old bulbs is that they have to cram all that heat-sinking and components into the size of a standard light bulb. Though an LED bulb produces less heat, the components are more sensitive to that heat. Capacitors in particular.

So an integrated LED fixture, if more optimally designed, can have the heat generating components separated by some distance from the heat sensitive components, and all can be better heat-sinked. It's really a win-win, but all that is tossed in the trash (another fitting analogy!) if you can't easily replace a failed module. And the modules could be standardized (to some degree). Basically a driver module, and an LED module.

As I'm on a rant, the other is these XX,XXX thousand years of life claims. That is NOT an estimate of how long you can expect it to work, it's an extrapolation from limited testing of how long it takes to dim by 20%. It's an aging thing, not a "it's broken" thing. Arghhhh!!!!!

Search engine time....

It's called LM80...

https://www.eetimes.com/understanding-lm-80-to-evaluate-leds/

LM-80 can be a useful tool for lighting professionals who are looking to analyze LED products; however, it is not a measure of LED system performance or reliability. It only describes how to measure how one part of an LED luminaire—the LED light source—performs over a period of time and under certain set conditions.

Other components, including the LED optical system, heat sink, LED drivers and luminaire housing, should also be taken into consideration to form a full picture of an LED luminaire’s projected useable life.

-ERD50

 

[disneysteve]

A problem with the regular LED replacements for old bulbs is that they have to cram all that heat-sinking and components into the size of a standard light bulb. Though an LED bulb produces less heat, the components are more sensitive to that heat. Capacitors in particular.

I assume this is why LED bulbs fail as early as they do. It isn't the LED iteself that is failing. It's the other components.


I just realized that I do have one (actually 2) integrated LED fixtures - basement work lights. And guess what? I installed them both at the same time a couple of years ago and one has already failed. It still works but it flickers quite a bit. I'd love to just change the bulbs but I can't. I need to buy a whole new fixture.

 

[JoeWras]

I'm a compensated product tester, and one thing I've tested are these integrated units.

10 years ago, they were crap. Didn't last too well.

I currently have 3 outdoor lights that are over 7 years old, going strong. 1 is dawn to dusk, the other two are motion detector.

Now that I have posted this, they will die.

The point is, it seemed like the quality was getting better. However, I have done some interior LED light testing the last few years and the designs seem to be going down the drain. It is getting worse. And the unbranded knock offs without UL, ETL, EC or even Mexican NOM certifications is alarming.

 

[ncbill]

When it came time to replace the standard twin-tube fluorescent in the kitchen (ballast failed again) just a few years ago I looked at same-size integrated LED fixtures.

They all had terrible reviews.

So I bypassed the ballast (actually, removed it) and wired line (mains) voltage to the tombstones as instructed for the 4' LED tubes I bought.

Cost? About $8 each after tax for a package of four from Amazon.

Still working fine...someday I'll need the extras for the fixture in the basement laundry room.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

We changed out the ceiling fan in our living room a year or so ago and the light kit for the fan we bought was an integrated LED. It has a much cleaner, more modern look, and is supposed to last much longer than a bulb, but it will go out eventually. Who knows if I’ll even be able to buy a replacement kit when it does. The good news is that we don’t use the light very often and could do without it.

I had a screw in led flying saucer look conversion unit go out on a ceiling fan. I purchased a flat plate type led and replaced some of the guts. Worked well for me but certainly would not be suitable for most as a time consuming modification. I believe i went this route as i could not find the conversion screw in unit just to purchase and i liked the modern look that fit the room nicely.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

When it came time to replace the standard twin-tube fluorescent in the kitchen (ballast failed again) just a few years ago I looked at same-size integrated LED fixtures.

They all had terrible reviews.

So I bypassed the ballast (actually, removed it) and wired line (mains) voltage to the tombstones as instructed for the 4' LED tubes I bought.

Cost? About $8 each after tax for a package of four from Amazon.

Still working fine...someday I'll need the extras for the fixture in the basement laundry room.

I did this in a walk in closet and it worked very well. Really do not miss the hum and flickering of the old fluorescents. Ballast disposal can be a problem though think we had a recrycle drive locally right at the time i did that.

 

[retire48in2018]

It is annoying when you have a set (that need to match) - in plain view of each other - and one fails

And no longer sold.

I’ve had to buy extras at time of purchase, or decide to only buy those where you can change the light source.

It’s much more expensive to get the changeable light sources and not much selection as- it seems so many are integrated.

 

[Jerry1]

I have four outside and have only replaced one and it was on warranty. They are all dusk to dawn but they also have a motion detector which will turn the light brighter when motion is sensed. The one I replaced was a little bit different but it was close enough and they’re far enough apart that it doesn’t matter that they’re not a perfect match. I got them at Menards but next time I’m going for a better quality fixture. My biggest “beef” is that they’re mostly made to be mounted on a vertical surface (the wall) and mine need to be hung on the eaves, hanging down. Some are dual mount, but they are not as good when you convert them to under eave hanging. It doesn’t allow for the lights to be aimed as well. My next set will be made specifically for under eave mounting.