How heat affects LED lights

Did you know that high temperatures affect the life cycle and brightness of LEDs? Heat sinks can help keep your lights from getting too hot. Too much heat means that the ambient temperature allowed on the LED is exceeded. LED lights naturally have a cooler ambient temperature, and the longer the LED runs efficiently, the longer its estimated lifespan, saving you money, time, and energy.

In the world of LEDs, there are two forms of heat sinks, passive and active. The passive heatsinks are larger, and the concept is the large heatsink that draws direct heat away from the face of the LED and allows it to operate at an optimal temperature. Some brands of heat sinks contain one or more fans for use in very hot areas. They both work fine. Hot energy drinks allow for a smaller footprint. Also, they work quite efficiently inside a closed fixture, drawing air away from the face of the LED toward the outer fixture, thereby raising the scale of the heatsink.

Heat is the worst enemy of all things electronics, and LEDs are no exception. Some products, such as LED upgrade kits, use a large fan and thermocouplers mounted on the front of the driven head to mitigate the heat. If the thermocouple senses heat above the desired stage, it will automatically begin to dim the LED head until the temperature drops. It will then raise the brightness levels to normal ranges as soon as the hot conditions resolve. So not only can you remedy heat issues with a good heat sink design, but you can use electronics and logic to observe and protect LEDs from the damaging nature of heat.

The mechanical effects of manufacturing on LEDs

Mechanical stiffness during manufacturing, assembly, or just handling of the LED affects the lifespan and worse, it can destroy the LED. Pay attention to ESD (electrostatic discharge) causing a short but excessive pulse present. ESDs can break LEDs in addition to the LED driver with a couple of volts. To avoid these problems, be sure to work with a reputable company that tests all of their merchandise for at least 24 hours. Any negative issues that occur during manufacturing should be detected during the trial period, although some manufacturers may skip this step. It is important to stay away from very low cost LEDs because of this.