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I have experienced, and read in several articles that LED’s get dimmer “over time”. I’m looking for a clarification: is it really over time, or is it hours of usage?

So if I put an LED bulb in a cabinet (with no power on it) for 10 years, and then power it on, will it be noticeably dimmer than when it was new?

All the articles I’ve read (even one that gave a pretty good laymen’s description of how LEDs work at the electron valence level) simply say “dimmer over time”, and not “dimmer with use”, so I’m guessing that the answer to my question is “yes”, I just wanted to verify that.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ you asked three questions .... only one can have a yes/no answer \$\endgroup\$
    – jsotola
    Commented Aug 11, 2019 at 17:24
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    \$\begingroup\$ @jsotola, no, only one - in the first paragraph. Rest just outlines OP's thinking :-) \$\endgroup\$
    – TonyM
    Commented Aug 11, 2019 at 19:11

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According to this article, it is mostly heat over time that causes loss of brightness. And LEDs used for illumination can get really hot.

https://www.digikey.com/en/articles/techzone/2012/feb/understanding-the-cause-of-fading-in-high-brightness-leds

So, if the LEDs are ON, they will age faster. Ambient temperature is still probably warm enough to cause some aging, so they won't last forever at ambient.

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It's time of use (heat specifically), just like transistors and other semiconductors, unless environmental degradation get to it first.

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