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why do LED bulbs flicker now. They use to be stable

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jmelson:

--- Quote from: snarkysparky on March 11, 2024, 01:12:58 am ---Thinking about making my own lighting.

--- End quote ---
I did this in 2014 in my kitchen.  They are STILL going strong.  I did use a commercial LED power supply.  Since the LEDs dim for several seconds after power-off, I know they have some decent capacitors in those power supplies.
http://pico-systems.com/Lighting.html
Jon

twospoons:

--- Quote from: snarkysparky on March 11, 2024, 01:12:58 am ---Thinking about making my own lighting.

--- End quote ---

And I did it for my wife's painting studio - so I could use 98 CRI LEDs, a solid heatsink, and pick a decent driver.  Chose the driver off Aliexpress based on the number of capacitors I could see in the pic  ;D
Seems to have worked out well so far - at least 5 years.

All of which goes to show its not the LEDs which are bad, but the 'race to the bottom' design philosophy of so many companies and consumer unwillingness to pay for quality.

EPAIII:
I have 39 four foot florescent style LED tubes in my home and shop and have seen the after-glow. That after-glow may be more due to the phosphors they coat the LEDs with to get the spectrum they want/need than to the capacitors. With a 120 Hz (100 Hz for many) rectified power line frequency, the capacitors only need to hold a charge for around 10 cycles to overcome flicker. The manufacturers are unlikely to use a capacitor that will keep the LEDs glowing for several seconds which is 10 to 50 times longer.

PS: My four foot LED tubes are Sunco brand which I purchased on the internet. Their prices are not the cheapest: I could have purchased four footers locally for 1/2 to 1/4 of that price. But the Sunco tubes have been working for several years and I have not needed to replace a single one. And there is no noticeable flicker. I am sure I have saved the purchase price in my electric bill at least two times over. I do recommend them.




--- Quote from: jmelson on March 12, 2024, 01:14:16 am ---
--- Quote from: snarkysparky on March 11, 2024, 01:12:58 am ---Thinking about making my own lighting.

--- End quote ---
I did this in 2014 in my kitchen.  They are STILL going strong.  I did use a commercial LED power supply.  Since the LEDs dim for several seconds after power-off, I know they have some decent capacitors in those power supplies.
http://pico-systems.com/Lighting.html
Jon

--- End quote ---

EPAIII:
For better or worse, most consumers are not educated to the point where they understand the differences. They do buy LED lighting because it is more efficient so they get lower electric bills. Beyond that they only see the claims on the package and you are lucky if they understand the difference between "warm" and "cool" bulbs.

The other things could be taught in schools; secondary/high schools would probably be the best choice. In fact a course in "practical decision making" would probably be a better subject than a history course where the instructor only asks for a bunch of dates on the exams.




--- Quote from: twospoons on March 12, 2024, 01:57:47 am ---
--- Quote from: snarkysparky on March 11, 2024, 01:12:58 am ---Thinking about making my own lighting.

--- End quote ---

And I did it for my wife's painting studio - so I could use 98 CRI LEDs, a solid heatsink, and pick a decent driver.  Chose the driver off Aliexpress based on the number of capacitors I could see in the pic  ;D
Seems to have worked out well so far - at least 5 years.

All of which goes to show its not the LEDs which are bad, but the 'race to the bottom' design philosophy of so many companies and consumer unwillingness to pay for quality.

--- End quote ---

5U4GB:
If you want to DIY the checking, you can get plastic grating spectroscopes for a few dollars from your favourite crapvendor and can check for flicker with, from memory, a fidget spinner, acting as a cheap timing stroboscope.  Some years ago when we needed new lighting I went into a local hardware store with those two and checked the various display lights until I found one that had no flicker and was perfectly daylight-balanced, then got that.  It's a few dollars invested up-front but then you know exactly what you're getting.

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