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The lifetime of smart bulbs is one of the most concern point that we all care about. In the market, there are numerous ratings offered by smart bulb’s manufactures’ saying they will last more than 15 or 20 years. But, are their states genuinely accurate? Well, I’m sorry. It isn’t that much true, and you should not believe it directly. In this article, with the data from 31 smart bulbs, I’ll explain how much time a smart bulb last. At least, you will have the proper idea of determining smart bulb lifetime. Before going for details explanations, here’s a summary. Based on manufacture’s rated data gathered from 31 smart bulbs, the average lifetime for a smart bulb is a range between 15,000 to 20,000. This is approximately 25 times longer than a typical incandescent, five times longer than a typical CFL, and two times lower than a pure LED only bulb.! Calculating the lifetime of a smart bulb, depend on various parameters. However, let’s learn why it is so hard to give an exact number as lifetime. If you are curious, dig into the section where I explain how to keep smart bulb properly for a longer lifetime. How Long Do Smart Bulbs Last: Based on the data of 31 Smart Bulbs While looking through the different data provided by different smart bulb manufacture’s, I’ve seen that some of this information is misleading. Most of the manufacture’s claim more than 20 years of use. Believing that as a fact, is wrong and manufactures, seems to limit the proper information that may help to understand the real lifetime of a smart bulb. One of the major misleading fact is the number of years that they say. Each manufacturer seems to be using a different number of hours to calculate this. Some of them, even do not mention the number of hours they use for a single day. For example, let’s say A company bulb is rated for 15,000 hours. They widely market their bulb by saying it will last for 6 and a half years. Then the B company which has a bulb rated 15,000 hours says their bulb will last 13 years. Now, most of the urgent buyers will rashly purchase the bulb from B for obvious reason. How, this difference on two bulbs if both has the same rated hours, 15,000. Well, that’s because company A calculates the life span by using 6 hours per day. The second company calculate and market their life span by using 3 hours per day. This information is hidden in the product information or nowhere to find. Once, I’ve seen this, I did some research work to find mostly purchased smart bulbs in the market and tried to find their rated lifespan in hours. Based on the found information (rated hours were found from either manufacture’s website, product datasheet or authorized seller’s marketing web page), I’ve plotted below table and calculate the lifespan for continues use of 6 hours per day. Bulb Type (Click to check latest price)Lifespan in HoursContinues 6 Hours a DayPHILIPS HUE A19 Smart Bulb15,000~6 and half-yearsLIFX Smart Bulb25,000~11 yearsIKEA TRÅDFRI Smart Bulb15,000~6 and half-yearsTP-LINK Kasa Filament Smart Bulb25,000~11 yearsSengate Smart Wi-Fi Bulb15,000~6 and half-yearsWyze Smart Bulb15,000~6 and half-yearsTP-LINK Kasa Smart Light Strip25,000~11 yearsYeelight Smart Bulb25,000~11 yearsNanoleaf Canvas25,000~11 yearsTreatlife Smart Bulb30,000~13 and half-yearsRing A19 Smart Bulb25,000~11 yearsLUMIMAN Smart Bulb31,320~14 yearsOHLUX Smart Bulb10,000~4 and half-yearsSAUDIO Smart Bulb20,000~9 yearsTECKIN A19 Smart Bulb30,000~13 and half-yearsGeeni LUX A19 Smart Bulb25,000~11 yearseufy Lumos A19 Smart Bulb20,000~9 yearsBERENNIS Smart Bulb20,000~9 yearsWIXANN Smart Bulb30,000~13 and half-yearsSUNCO Smart Bulb25,000~11 yearsLOHAS Smart Bulb30,000~13 and half-yearsAoycocr Smart Bulb25,000~11 yearsHelloify Smart Bulb30,000~13 and half-yearsMagicLight Smart Bulb20,000~9 yearsAXTEE Smart Bulb20,000~9 yearsHYDONG Smart Bulb30,000~13 and half-yearsBoxlood Smart Bulb30,000~13 and half-yearsDORESshop Smart Bulb30,000~13 and half-yearsC by GE A19 Smart Bulb15,000~6 and half-yearsNOVOSTELLA Smart Bulb50,000~22 and half-yearsLE LampUX Smart Bulb15,000~6 and half-years From the table, I’ve found that the majority of bulbs have a rating between 15,000 to 25,000 hours. However, there are some brands which stated very high lifespan like 50,000 hours. I really doubt that kind of performance without proper scientific evidence. Even to give an average lifespan for a smart bulb, there should be an almost perfect scientific procedure which will cost money and time (most manufactures does not even care). Do smart bulbs burn out? Yes, smart bulbs burn out as any other bulb would. The difference is, it has a lifetime more than your CFL or incandescent bulb. By the way, keep in mind that non-smart LED bulbs can last longer than smart bulbs. Even both bulbs use the same LED technology. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N48_6d4goUc How L-70 been used to measure typical lifetime of a LED bulb This is because of the additional functionalities offered by the smart bulbs. To offer those smart abilities, each bulb has complex circuits inbuilt. These controlling modules will add an additional factor to the bulb lifetime. These kind of modules are very sensitive to heat and voltage fluctuations. Simply, it, means these circuits can burn out quite easily. Therefore, typical LED bulbs can last longer than smart LED bulbs. Moreover, there are several independent studies carried out to determine the LED bulbs lifespan. These studies show that most LED brands fail to meet their rated lifespan. The surprising fact is some of these LED bulbs are from well-known electronic manufactures. This kind of studies are really important to understand the smart bulb’s lifetime too. Both types of bulbs use LED technology. However, smart bulbs are more complex than the typical LED bulbs; it can burn out way before a typical LED bulb. Therefore, my conclusion is not to believe what manufactures say. The actual lifespan could be 40% to 50% less than their product rated lifespan. Are smart bulbs worth it? Smart bulbs are really worth having. There’s no doubt of that. However, the purchase decision should take after carefully considering the right requirements. If you just want a light with minimum electricity, then go for a LED bulb. If you want a bulb that could change the color or able to schedule automatic on/off cycles, then go for a smart bulb. You won’t regret it. By the way, in the below table, I have calculated the price for a continuous 24 hours of operation for 31 smart bulbs. I hope this table will provide useful insights about price wise perspective for different smart bulb brands. One more thing, do not go for the lowest price bulb. That’s not the way you should select a smart bulb. There are other factors you need to consider. Bulb Type (Click to check latest price)Lifespan in HoursPrice Per Continues 24 Hours ($)PHILIPS HUE A19 Smart Bulb15,0000.035LIFX Smart Bulb25,0000.057IKEA TRÅDFRI Smart Bulb15,0000.037TP-LINK Kasa Filament Smart Bulb25,0000.014Sengate Smart Wi-Fi Bulb15,0000.024Wyze Smart Bulb15,0000.026TP-LINK Kasa Smart Light Strip25,0000.067Yeelight Smart Bulb25,0000.026Nanoleaf Canvas25,0000.067Treatlife Smart Bulb30,0000.008Ring A19 Smart Bulb25,0000.029LUMIMAN Smart Bulb31,3200.015OHLUX Smart Bulb10,0000.022SAUDIO Smart Bulb20,0000.011TECKIN A19 Smart Bulb30,0000.008Geeni LUX A19 Smart Bulb25,0000.018eufy Lumos A19 Smart Bulb20,0000.017BERENNIS Smart Bulb20,0000.011WIXANN Smart Bulb30,0000.008SUNCO Smart Bulb25,0000.010LOHAS Smart Bulb30,0000.016Aoycocr Smart Bulb25,0000.009Helloify Smart Bulb30,0000.009MagicLight Smart Bulb20,0000.010AXTEE Smart Bulb20,0000.010HYDONG Smart Bulb30,0000.008Boxlood Smart Bulb30,0000.007DORESshop Smart Bulb30,0000.012C by GE A19 Smart Bulb15,0000.020NOVOSTELLA Smart Bulb50,0000.006LE LampUX Smart Bulb15,0000.016 At least, you need to care about these points before buying a smart bulb Brand – Brand is a tread off between quality and price. A well-known brand does not offer bad products. If they do so, it will backfire on their brand name. But, those big names can offer you a high price tag for the same product that can be obtained from a small brand.So managing both points is kind of tricky process. User reviews – User reviews are one of the great ways to assess a product. You can have an overall idea about the product and its initial problems with good research on user reviews.Keep in mind that there are some buyers who give bad reviews all the time. These reviews are not honest or concrete.So, evaluating their opinion by looking at trustworthiness. Lifespan – Yeah, you need to think this one too. I’ll not be going to talk much about this in here. This article is all about this point. Environmental Conditions – This is a point that many buyers may not consider. Some products do have operating conditions.That means some of them may not work correctly on high heat or extremely cold weather.So, if you are looking for a smart bulb that may go outside or near a window, then check the products working conditions. User-friendliness – Some smart products can be very hard to configure. Sometimes, they will work only for their native app.If you are planning to connect your smart bulb to Alexa or google home, then you need to check whether your selected product supports those. How safe are smart bulbs? In terms of safe, I can’t say that smart bulbs are very safe to use. There are some risks involved with these devices. Well, let’s categorize these risks into two parts. So, it will be easy to understand. Security Concern of smart bulbs There are studies that show smart bulbs can be hacked. That’s scary. Right? Since this smart bulb technology is still new, it does not have many security protocols. Therefore, there are ways that can exploit these devices. As a solution for this, the experts in the industry suggest using very strong passwords for your smart bulb controlling apps. Fire hazard ability in smart bulbs Each and every bulb does have a fire hazard potential. It’s not a secret. When bulbs are working, they tend to increase their internal heat rapidly. This is the key reason that many bulbs can catch fire. But, for smart bulbs, they use LED technology. LED’s are capable of converting current into light more than conventional bulbs. Therefore, the ability to increase heat is minimum. This means smart bulbs are safer than conventional bulbs like CFL or incandescent. Do smart bulbs use more electricity? Electricity bill is another factor that is associated with the process of selecting a suitable smart bulb for your home. Even you have selected a longer lifespan bulb, you could end up with high energy-consuming smart bulb. That’s your thoughts. Right? Well, do not worry. Actually smart bulbs are good for saving your electricity bill. You can even schedule your bulbs to turn off automatically. This kind of feature can save lots of energy. Moreover, as you are aware, it is using LED technology, which is one of the best energy-saving option right now. But, I saw that some of the new users claim that smart bulbs use electricity even there are off and cause high bill. Technically speaking, there are right about electricity use even the smart bulb is off. But, it does not cause additional charges on the bill. Smart bulbs do use electricity in their circuits; even light seems off. However, what you need to know is this electricity amount is pretty much small. The amount of electricity may cause one or two penny for a month's use. It’s really that small. Do you have to replace smart bulbs? Yes. If the light burnout, then you need to replace it. You can’t repair it due to its relatively complex internal circuits. How long do color changing light bulbs last? There is no such difference between smart or colour changing bulbs. Both bulbs can be considered as smart bulbs. Therefore, color changing bulbs do last for average 15,000 to 20,000 hours. How do you use smart light bulbs: for a longer lifetime? To maximize your smart bulb’s lifetime, first, you need to understand the factors that affect their rated life period. Components – The bulb needs to have grade A quality electronic parts. Some companies use grade B or C parts in order to reduce product price tag. Lower quality electronic parts are very vulnerable to heat, humidity, and voltage fluctuations.Operating Environment – Smart bulbs consist of complex controlling modules. These sensitive circuits are needed to protect from dust, heat, or moisture. Otherwise, the smart bulb can burn out way before it’s rated lifespan. Build Quality – This means the overall build quality of the device. Not just the internal components. The bulb’s main circuits need to have proper safety circuits, proper enclosures, heat dissipation mechanisms, and many more. Cheap manufacturers do not care about these.Stable Power – If the powering electricity has a higher fluctuation rate, then it will degrade your bulb’s electronic parts and eventually burn out the bulb. Now, I think you know why we can’t estimate an exact life period for a certain smart bulb. As I explained in earlier points, there are lots of factors that play in the smart bulbs lifespan calculation. So, to ensure your smart bulbs to achieve its maximum lifetime, you can follow the steps I have noted below. There are not perfect. But they will add a proper environment for your bulbs to last longer. When selecting a smart bulb, go for a well-known brand with proper reviews. Do not blindly select your smart bulb, just watching the brand name. There are some small brands that offer the same quality at a low price. User reviews are the helping factor in this case.Check your bulbs working condition and set your bulb to match those parameters where possible. Do not mount your smart bulb where it is too hot or cold.Avoid the place where produces much moisture when mounting your smart bulb.Pre-check your house voltage for any variations. If it seems there are voltage fluctuations, then call for an experienced electrician to fix that. Frequently Asked Questions regarding smart bulbs lifetime Read More: How smart bulbs works