Do solar light bulbs burn out?
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Having solar powered lights installed at home and outdoors is a great way to bring brightness and light to your residence.
But since solar lights contains light bulbs it is obvious to know do solar light bulbs burn out?
In this article, I have braked down all the nuances of solar light bulbs and their lifespan. So let’s start.
If you are thinking about this question, then this article is for you.
Key takeaway: Solar light bulbs do not burn out instead they degrade slowly over time.
What type of bulbs are used in used in solar powered light?
The first thing that we need to know before going deep down into the question is to learn about the type of light bulb used in solar powered lights.
In solar lights, light emitting diodes or LEDs are used to provide light. A diode is a semiconductor component which is used as a one directional path for the flow of current.
It allows current to flow only in one direction and restricts its movement to move in the opposite direction.
It is used in modern day devices to protect the circuits from over flow of voltage.
These LED lights are made up of these tiny microchips or semiconductor diode materials through which electricity is passed.
On passing electricity through these semiconductor devices photons are produced.
LED’s are very small in size which makes them suitable to install in solar lights. Plus they are more energy efficient then the traditional light bulbs(incandescent bulbs, CFLs, etc.).
Difference between Incandescent, CFL, and LED lights?
Incandescent light bulbs are a source of electric light where light is emitted by heating a suitable material commonly called filament.
CFL bulbs or Compact fluorescent lamps are long tube shaped bulbs containing fluorescent materials which produce UV light when electricity is passed through them.
LED’s are source of electric light where light is produced by passing electric charge through semiconductor material resulting in the production of photons.
Reasons which can burn out light bulbs?
There are many reasons which can cause the burn out of light bulbs. I am listing out two major reasons for the burning out of light bulbs. These two are:
- Voltage fluctuations– If there is voltage fluctuations like high voltage passed through the light bulb then it can burn out.
- High temperature – If the temperature of the light emitting material has gone too high then in this case too the light bulb will burn out.
Do LED’s burn out?
As we saw above the two most common reasons for the burning out of bulbs is high voltage and high temperature.
The burning out of bulb happens in incandescent and CFL bulbs where in case of incandescent bulbs the filament becomes too hot and breaks , and in case of CFL bulbs short circuit in electric board is the main cause.
On the other hand, in solar powered lights, AA-rechargeable batteries are used which are DC in nature. DC or direct current sources are known to provide constant voltage over time.
When the voltage will be constant there is very minimum chance of any damage to the LED lights of solar enabled lights.
Therefore in case of LED’s they don’t burn out but their lifespan decreases because of the reason I gave you above. This is called Luminous decay.
Related:- Can You Replace Bulbs In Solar Lights?
If in some cases when a high voltage passed through the LED’s more heat will be produced by them. The more heat they will produce less amount of light will be produced by them. Also their working lifetime will also be impacted significantly.
If a condition arises when the voltage deviation is more than 10% they may fuse.
So with the help of DC AA batteries a constant voltage supply is provided to them.
Conclusion
Solar powered lights are a great way to light up your home and outdoors. Solar lights contain LED lights which prevents them from burning out.
They can degrade over time but will not experience burning out normally. In rare cases this can happen.
Due to this fact, solar powered lights have much larger lifespan then other forms of light bulbs.
If you were worried by this burning out thought of solar light bulbs, I hope this article cleared your confusion.
In case you solar powered lights are lighting very dim, you can check this article to identify the cause – Solar lights not bright.